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H. Humbert
SFN Die Hard
USA
4574 Posts |
 Posted - 04/08/2009 : 13:15:58
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Newsweek just published an excellent article on the growing tide of secularism in the U.S.: The End of Christian America.
It begins by noting the recent waning of Christian political power, but goes on to put this in historical perspective and points out that such pendulum swings of religiosity are nothing new. In fact, the main thesis of the article seems to be that whenever Christians try to enforce their religious morality on the rest of the country, this has always been met with a fierce public backlash. The author concludes that religion in America is most robust when it stays out of politics and remains content with the religious freedom they enjoy without trying to regulate everyone else's lives as well. It also benefits the religious by keeping their institutions free of the corrupting influence of politics.
It's a really good read and I recommend it for giving one of the fairest overviews of culture wars I've seen.
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"A man is his own easiest dupe, for what he wishes to be true he generally believes to be true." --Demosthenes
"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself - and you are the easiest person to fool." --Richard P. Feynman
"Face facts with dignity." --found inside a fortune cookie |
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 04/08/2009 : 14:42:36 [Permalink]
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Fascinating. Though I don't agree with Meacham in all particulars, since he has a moderate Christian viewpoint, I do find it interesting to see how the Religious Right is beginning to retreat into a bitter exile from politics (perhaps becoming even more radically religious in the process), and how even-faster-declining moderate Christianity is flirting with abandoning the "god" thing entirely. (IMO, this last is self-destructive. The moderates may be watering themselves down to the point of irrelevancy.)
I suspect that the next time there is an epidemic of faith in the USA, the moderate churches will be all but gone, while the evangelicals will be crazier than ever.
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“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
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H. Humbert
SFN Die Hard
USA
4574 Posts |
Posted - 04/08/2009 : 15:07:26 [Permalink]
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For me, the money quote was on pg. 2. "If we apply an Augustinian test of nationhood to ourselves, we find that liberty, not religion, is what holds us together."
Christianity owes its strong vibrancy in America in large part to the Constitutional right to follow one's individual religious conscience. I liked that, even as a Christian man, the author recognized that Americans need to protect that choice for everyone if they wish to ensure Christianity has safe "garden" in which to prosper. Because whenever religious claims are subjected to "the wilderness of the world" they tend not to fair so well. Faith claims are by definition lacking evidence and religious morality sits upon a dubious foundation. The more a religion is forced down non-believers throats, the greater the counter-effort to show that the religion is full of shit.
Plurality guarantees that Christianity will remain a strong facet of American life, but only one among many. On the other hand, a fascist push for social homogeny like we've seen over the last 10 years could very well end up dooming religion to social irrelevancy after the ensuing backlash. So the message I took away from the article was "Hey, Christians, let's not ruin a good thing here!" I wish more Christians took this message to heart.
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"A man is his own easiest dupe, for what he wishes to be true he generally believes to be true." --Demosthenes
"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself - and you are the easiest person to fool." --Richard P. Feynman
"Face facts with dignity." --found inside a fortune cookie |
| Edited by - H. Humbert on 04/08/2009 15:31:11 |
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The role of religion in America
