Is Politics Americas New Religion

the 1619 project

and the 1776 commission are two

historical efforts that have occurred

over recent years

seeking to define america’s past either

as virtuous

and bold or as exploitative and greedy

however i noticed something interesting

that these two efforts have in common

the polar opposite initiatives both

argue that politics

and religion are foundational to

america’s story

on this statement these deeply divided

scholars have no dispute

the best example of this is the first

amendment of the constitution

which seeks to deliberately separate

religion from politics

trying to prevent another salem witch

trial or spanish inquisition

but despite the framers best efforts i

believe america is

and always has been both a religious and

political country

now the relationship between religion

and politics in america today

is frankly confusing you can find people

from every religion on both sides of the

aisle claiming that they are correct

that the other side does not accurately

represent their belief system

individuals like supreme court justice

ruth bader ginsburg

or senator john mccain have turned into

pseudo-gods in our remembrance of them

similar to washington mlk and others

they’ve become holy caricatures

of the people they actually were with

flaws and shortcomings

just like the rest of us and as for the

debate of ideas

it’s become a messy affair plagued by

cancel culture echo chambers and a

simple

unwillingness to associate with those

with whom we disagree

i think all this confusion and distrust

comes from a core misunderstanding

about the things that we worship and

what we supremely value

let me give you a few examples of what

i’m talking about

on june 2nd 2020 i saw black boxes

posted all across

social media from my best friends to

celebrities with millions and millions

of followers

it was virtual activism in support of

the black lives matter movement

but the effort quickly turned sour

when those who didn’t post were

confronted for their apparent racism

and even using the wrong hashtag made a

person a bad ally

well many had legitimate concern and

investment in the black lives matter

movement

and posted to express that opinion many

more chose to post to please the mob

offering a sacrifice at the altar of

public image

and then on the other side of the aisle

the q anon conspiracy theory

has gained significant following

especially over the last year in some

religious communities

the theory claims that president donald

trump is the savior who will end a

global child sex trafficking ring

and put high-level political figures in

prison

the end of trump’s presidency signaled

the end of this hope

the loss of a savior metaphorically

similar to the death

of jesus christ elevating the status of

president trump to a figure

destined to save america certainly makes

the cause to prevent president biden

from taking office

not acceptable but at least a little

more understandable

well many had real concern around

election security in a pandemic

many more chose to worship trump and his

vision for america and tried to deny the

certified election results

in the process so sure maybe we can get

involved in political issues for a

variety of reasons

but have those political issues actually

become religions themselves

do we worship the ballot box and our

elected leaders as much as god

or another higher power well let’s

compare christianity

a major religion today and the

environmental crisis a major political

issue today

and see what america is truly worshiping

in christianity there is a renewed

heaven and earth

that comes about with the arrival of

god’s kingdom well

in the environmental crisis there’s also

a renewed earth that comes about by

responsible human practices

in christianity there’s hell which is

eternal disunity from god

well in the environmental crisis there’s

also hell which is a fiery

increasingly unstable ecosystem with a

loss of biodiversity

a warming climate and even threat to

human life

in christianity there’s sin choosing

one’s own way

rather than god’s way well in the

environmental crisis there’s also

sin choosing one’s own way rather than

the way of scientists and research

namely by polluting and choosing to

remain ignorant

about climate change in christianity

jesus

is the sacrificial savior well swedish

teenager greta thunberg

is the hero or prophet of the

environmental crisis giving up her

childhood and innocence for the cause of

saving the planet

which she herself laments in her 2019

united nations speech

in christianity the holy text is the

bible the divinely inspired word of god

well in the environmental crisis there’s

also a holy text

the green new deal a legislative

resolution sponsored by new york

congresswoman

alexandria ocasio-cortez and in

christianity there’s grace

mercy and forgiveness that comes about

by the death and resurrection of jesus

christ

who’s paid for the sins of the world

well in the environmental crisis

or any other political issue on either

side of the aisle

you cannot find grace mercy or

forgiveness

so can a religious person still engage

in politics can a political person still

engage

in religion well the bible shows

significant support for taking care of

the environment like god’s command for

adam and eve to take care of the earth

in genesis 1.

but when taking care of the earth

supersedes god

when politics supersedes religion it

deliberately breaks the first

commandment thou shalt have no other

gods before me

so even as we engage in the same

activities like cleaning up a highway

reducing waste and educating others

about climate change a religiously

motivated

individual and a politically motivated

individual

worship at different altars so let’s

take a step back

and return to our original question is

politics

america’s new religion i actually think

the answer is no because i believe

politics has always been

america’s religion and there’s actually

a name for it american civil

religion the term comes from a

sociological theory

that observes that as the founding

fathers were creating this country

and tried to separate religion from

politics they actually created

something else a belief system of sorts

that ties closely together what is good

and what is government we can see

american civil religion at work

in the apotheosis of washington a fresco

painted on the ceiling of the united

states capital rotunda

yes the very same capital that was under

siege by insurrectionists

just this year the painting depicts

george washington as a godlike figure

ascending to the heavens

surrounded by angels roman gods and

traditional symbols of virtue

we can see american civil religion at

work in the plane of our national anthem

as we stand and put our hands over our

hearts or we kneel in protest

just for the plane of an old song

we can see american civil religion at

work in the architecture of our

government buildings which models

ancient greek

and roman temples places of worship

we can see american civil religion at

work

in the displaying of the american flag

with the rules and regulations that go

into displaying the stars and stripes

we can see american civil religion at

work in black lives matter

and q anon in the environmental crisis

and in political issues

all across the board and because we

value our votes

and our voice and our representative

democracy so

highly i believe america’s religion

is america so if we can’t agree on

politics and we can’t agree on religion

where can we go from here i think the

first step in any

positive direction is to be brutally

honest about the things that we worship

jesus says you cannot serve both god and

money and i think that’s pretty good

advice for us today

friends we cannot serve both religion

and politics and if we can understand

the role that american civil religion

has played in this country’s past i

believe we can finish what the founding

fathers started

i believe we can truly separate religion

from politics in our country

and create a better future for everyone

thank you

you