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This week we’re going to be talking about politics, but not in the way that political pundits discuss politics. Instead, we’re going to be considering how politics has replaced religion in America and how we need to respond to this as Christians.
STORY – How Politics Has Replaced Religion in America
“America has always been more religiously devout than other Western democracies. But now, like them, it has begun to secularize rapidly. And, as religion has declined, political ideology has intensified, society has fragmented, and cultural common ground has disintegrated. As a result, politics is increasingly divisive and existentially fraught.
“For over three decades, debates about politics and about what it means to be American have been undertaken with a sweated anxiety and with the zeal of a religious fundamentalist.
“Make no mistake: politics is inherently religious. As the great bishop, Augustine of Hippo averred, deeply felt political conviction should be understood as redirected religion. Similarly, over a century ago, Dutch theologian and prime minister Abraham Kuyper sought throughout his career to show that ideologies are essentially faith-based.
“That faith and politics are inherently conjoined is not all bad. In fact, religious commonality has often helped societies gain and maintain a certain amount of political cohesion. If most people in a society adhere to roughly the same religious beliefs, the odds are better that the political common ground among its members is broader than it would be otherwise.
“For this very reason, Americans now have much less common ground than we did before. However, we might find temporary common ground when under attack by an enemy such as Al-Qaeda, we have very little in common when it comes to deeply-held beliefs and values. Whereas in the past, most Americans assented to significant components of the Judeo-Christian moral framework, today no such consensus can be found. Members of various ideological tribes are less able to understand each other or extend goodwill to one another and thus tend to view each other’s members with suspicion and, often, hostility.” (Carolina Journal)
Related material:
- The Foundation for a Godly Society
- The Divinely Given Role of Civil Government
- The Gods That Men Serve
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