Is Politics the New Religion?

[JustGeorge]

I have felt something similar in attending the very progressive Methodist church that my partner is part of. Although I applaud their welcoming and affirming stance on LGBTQ+ folks, and their advocacy for poor and marginalized groups in society, it started to annoy me a while ago that sermons were constantly centered around politics and the news of the day. Not that those issues are unimportant, but I have wished that they would focus on more perennial topics like...how to be a better person? How to be more patient, kind, loving to the people in my life? How to forgive people who have done wrong? How to be less anxious or depressed and more mindful? I can get political commentary and advocacy so many other places.

I fully agree. Some of life's lessons transcend politics, and are useful to all. Those would be what a good sermon would focus on.

 

[URAVIP2ME]

I wanted to share an op-ed from the Christian Science Monitor that I think is pretty even-handed and asks a fascinating question that will interest folks from all across the political and religious landscapes:
I think politics and religion have honestly been intertwined as long as they've been around, so I'm not sure this is entirely "new." However, it does seem like as Americans have become increasingly polarized (and less formally religious) in recent years that we often approach politics with a kind of religious zeal and dogmatism. We view those who don't think like us as evil, we listen to sources that simply reinforce our own beliefs, and we regard our view as "The Truth" and refuse to even consider that we may be wrong.
What are your thoughts? Is politics a kind of religion for people? Is this good, bad, something in between?

Yes, politics and religion have been intertwined as long as they've been around. Not new because we can see this from the time of Nimrod and when the people of ancient Babylon migrated away from ancient Babylon with impressive speed spreading their religious-myth ideas and practices all abroad.
So, ancient Babylon's dominate feature was false religion, and 'modern 'Babylon' (worldly religions) so to speak, plays the harlot by comprising with political elements, even with 'Christendom' (so-called Christians) supporting political wars, blessing their arms often on opposite countries or national sides of Christendom.
Even using the pulpit as a recruiting station so that parents will sacrifice their sons on the Altar of War as if that is the same thing as the Altar of God which it is Not.
The corrupted 'religious' world winks or looks the other way at corrupted political practices.

 

[firedragon]

Hey RF!

I wanted to share an op-ed from the Christian Science Monitor that I think is pretty even-handed and asks a fascinating question that will interest folks from all across the political and religious landscapes:

Is politics the new religion?

I think politics and religion have honestly been intertwined as long as they've been around, so I'm not sure this is entirely "new." However, it does seem like as Americans have become increasingly polarized (and less formally religious) in recent years that we often approach politics with a kind of religious zeal and dogmatism. We view those who don't think like us as evil, we listen to sources that simply reinforce our own beliefs, and we regard our view as "The Truth" and refuse to even consider that we may be wrong.

I'm generalizing of course, but I hope you see what I mean.

What are your thoughts? Is politics a kind of religion for people? Is this good, bad, something in between?

Statism is a religion. Politics is the strategy of taking control of this religion. One of the protocols in politics is religion. That is just one of the strategies to ultimately take control of the main religion. "STATISM".

Any politician who masters this game can get good people to vote for and condone a million murders in the guise of anything.

 

[Kooky]

I think historically it's been the former, and in more recent times it's become the latter.

Why do you think that?

 

[stvdv]

What are your thoughts? Is politics a kind of religion for people? Is this good, bad, something in between?

Politics is most far away from religion

Politicians find it kind of hard to speak the truth, to act righteous, to bring peace, love and nonviolence, which form the basis of Spirituality

 

[Vee]

What are your thoughts? Is politics a kind of religion for people? Is this good, bad, something in between?

Given people's enthusiasm for politics, fair point. Many people follow politicians and parties in a cult-like fashion. Should they put their trust in those people?
I believe they're wasting their time and energy and will end up disappointed. Every time elections come around it's the same story "this time will be different". Right, good luck with that.

 

[MikeF]

Hey RF!

I wanted to share an op-ed from the Christian Science Monitor that I think is pretty even-handed and asks a fascinating question that will interest folks from all across the political and religious landscapes:

Is politics the new religion?

I think politics and religion have honestly been intertwined as long as they've been around, so I'm not sure this is entirely "new." However, it does seem like as Americans have become increasingly polarized (and less formally religious) in recent years that we often approach politics with a kind of religious zeal and dogmatism. We view those who don't think like us as evil, we listen to sources that simply reinforce our own beliefs, and we regard our view as "The Truth" and refuse to even consider that we may be wrong.

I'm generalizing of course, but I hope you see what I mean.

What are your thoughts? Is politics a kind of religion for people? Is this good, bad, something in between?

I am going to weigh in with a hard no; that being zealous and dogmatic about a subject does not make that subject a religion. Being a religious subject makes that subject religious.
Certainly, a persons religious beliefs inform and impact their belief and activity in other subjects, but simply sharing the behavioral characteristics of zealotry and dogmatism does not make a religion.
I have the same criticism when people say those who rely solely on scientific explanations for the Cosmos are practicing another kind of religion.
Certainly from a poetic and metaphorical sense, one can describe some political beliefs as having a "religious fervor" etc., but that in no way makes politics a separate religion.

 

[Left Coast]

Why do you think that?

Because in prior centuries religion had more overt and direct control over political life. And now we are becoming less religious, and and our society is more secular, but in the political realm we have maintained a sense of dogmatism about our beliefs and other traits that are typically associated with religion.

 

[Kooky]

Because in prior centuries religion had more overt and direct control over political life. And now we are becoming less religious, and and our society is more secular, but in the political realm we have maintained a sense of dogmatism about our beliefs and other traits that are typically associated with religion.

In that case, I can only reject the premise of this question, sorry.

 

[Augustus]

we have maintained a sense of dogmatism about our beliefs and other traits that are typically associated with religion.

This is the error of many "Rationalists", that they think getting rid of religion removes one 'problem' from society.

In reality, the problems attributed to religion are simply problems with human nature, and 'removing' religions simply creates a vacuum that must be filled by something else.

The idea that this 'something else' is bound to be better than what it replaces is very much wishful thinking.

(this is just a general point, I'm not saying this reflects your views)

 

[Left Coast]

In that case, I can only reject the premise of this question, sorry.

Sorry, which premise?

 

[ronki23]

Politics is the new racism: if you support the British Conservative Party you are called an idiot and if you support Brexit you're called a racist. Pathetic losers don't respect what the majority voted for. There are at least 3 such losers on these forums

 

[Kooky]

Sorry, which premise?

"in prior centuries religion had more overt and direct control over political life. And now we are becoming less religious, and and our society is more secular, but in the political realm we have maintained a sense of dogmatism about our beliefs and other traits that are typically associated with religion"

I think it is too vague and too simplistic to frame the relationship of politics and religion like this, and I don't in fact think that our society is becoming more secular, or more detached from religion.

In short, my views are not suited for this thread, and I apologize for having wasted your time like this.

 

[Kooky]

Politics is the new racism: if you support the British Conservative Party you are called an idiot and if you support Brexit you're called a racist. Pathetic losers don't respect what the majority voted for. There are at least 3 such losers on these forums

Shouldn't people be allowed to criticize what a majority has voted for?
Should I be disallowed from speaking up merely because my voice is in the minority?

Personally, I don't think so. The majority might as well have the stomach to be criticized for getting what they wanted.

 

[Left Coast]

This is the error of many "Rationalists", that they think getting rid of religion removes one 'problem' from society.

In reality, the problems attributed to religion are simply problems with human nature, and 'removing' religions simply creates a vacuum that must be filled by something else.

The idea that this 'something else' is bound to be better than what it replaces is very much wishful thinking.

(this is just a general point, I'm not saying this reflects your views)

I think the problem is more specifically with fundamentalist varieties of religion that want to impose their dogmatic supernatural beliefs on other people who don't agree with them. I can say as a gay person I'd much prefer to live in the secular society I live in now than in more fundamentalist societies of the past (or even today, elsewhere in the world) wherein my sex life (not to mention my apostasy from the religion of my youth) would be capital crimes. I think some atheists get sloppy and paint all religion with criticisms that are really more about fundamentalism.

 

[Left Coast]

"in prior centuries religion had more overt and direct control over political life. And now we are becoming less religious, and and our society is more secular, but in the political realm we have maintained a sense of dogmatism about our beliefs and other traits that are typically associated with religion"

Which aspect of this do you disagree with? That the US has become less religious? More secular? Or that despite our secularism we often remain dogmatic about our political beliefs and their centrality to our lives in ways that mirror religion?

 

[Secret Chief]

Shouldn't people be allowed to criticize what a majority has voted for?
Should I be disallowed from speaking up merely because my voice is in the minority?

Personally, I don't think so. The majority might as well have the stomach to be criticized for getting what they wanted.

Plus of course which "majority" .. the majority of British adults did not vote for Brexit.

 

[Secret Chief]

Hey RF!

I wanted to share an op-ed from the Christian Science Monitor that I think is pretty even-handed and asks a fascinating question that will interest folks from all across the political and religious landscapes:

Is politics the new religion?

I think politics and religion have honestly been intertwined as long as they've been around, so I'm not sure this is entirely "new." However, it does seem like as Americans have become increasingly polarized (and less formally religious) in recent years that we often approach politics with a kind of religious zeal and dogmatism. We view those who don't think like us as evil, we listen to sources that simply reinforce our own beliefs, and we regard our view as "The Truth" and refuse to even consider that we may be wrong.

I'm generalizing of course, but I hope you see what I mean.

What are your thoughts? Is politics a kind of religion for people? Is this good, bad, something in between?

Is the article not simply using the term "religious" as an adjective, as in "religious fervour" ?

 

[Kooky]

Which aspect of this do you disagree with? That the US has become less religious? More secular? Or that despite our secularism we often remain dogmatic about our political beliefs and their centrality to our lives in ways that mirror religion?

As I said in my edit, it's too simplistic and vague of a framework to adress this in depth. I believe our relationship to religion has changed, but I don't think we can say that society, as a whole, has become more or less secular as a result of it. I also think that talking about "past centuries" in this manner makes it even less useful, because our relationship with religion has, again, changed significantly at several points in the past three centuries to an extent that would probably fill volumes of discussion, and here is especially notable a pretty stark distinction between Europe and the US, urban and rural spaces, intellectuals and uneducated masses etc. that I feel is often swept under the table in favor of broad overly general statements.

The one thing I feel could be adressed in this small space is the change in the politization of religion from 1970 to now, where again we have a fairly stark divide between American politics, British politics, and continental European politics (and even here, Western/Central and Eastern Europe provide stark contrasts). In brief, while there have been great advances in the secularization of legal frameworks in the US (Roe vs. Wade, legalization of gay marriage) we have also seen a re-emergence of political religion to an extent that had been dormant since the prohibition era, if not earlier. I am of course, referring to the great alliance of corporate-conservativism on one hand, and the religious right on the other, but there had been moral panics that had already shown the increased interconnectedness of conservative politics, suburban culture, and religiously motivated moralist zealotry.

In Europe, we see a different development, where the secularization comes later but much more starkly with the waves of marriage equality of the early 2000s, but similarly a much stronger return of political religion as an instrument of right-wing political mobilization. Here, we have in particular the politicization of religion as a marker of ethnicity, with "Judeo-Christian" Europeans on one hand and "Islamic" non-Europeans on the other (the "Judeo" part of this otherwise very Christian construction is important, as it allows for a political alliance between the otherwise antisemitically-inclined European nationalist right with Israel and its own ethno-religious pillar serving nationalist-conservative policies). From there, we see a rapid conflation of European conservative-nationalism with Christian religion on one hand, and the reduction of non-European ethnicities to a singular "Islamic" entity, propelling us into our current mess.

As you can see plainly, my view on this issue is a rather complicated, tangled mess that doesn't really fit very well into the framework you previously laid out.

 

[RestlessSoul]

there are FOUR motivations

religion
politics
military
economy

what motivates you?

I thought there was two; finance and romance