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