Politics of religion in America
A church in LA
This is a rather unconventional post. I will talk a little bit about religion and politics.
First, i like to say that religion and politics should not mix. Mine is a pretty radical position on religion - religion is a fiction, a relic of anachronistic age and an opium for the masses. Religion is a social construct to tranquilize masses, keeping them in conformity and giving them (false) hope. Now, mine is pretty idealist position and idealism has little place in politics. Politics is a dirty business and it’s dictated by realpolitik, not idealism. So today, I keep aside my idealist position for a minute and examine the situation of religion in US politics.
What motivates me to rethink religion in US politics? Getting right to it. It’s because religion (orthodox Christian vote bank and evangelicals) has been largely captured by a single party - Republicans. And Donald Trump is projected as savior of Christianity. This I call ‘sellout of the Christ’ for political purposes. I don’t believe in any religion but if religious doctrines are correct, then if anyone deserves to be labeled as evil, an agent of Satan or the Devil - Donald Trump should be on top of the list. Donald Trump has committed every Sin that is written in every holy book. Trump has committed every immoral, unholy, inhuman act that one can think of. It’s one of the greatest Irony that Trump is given godlike reverence by evangelicals and so called Christian nationalists.
But I don’t intend to go into all the sins and crimes of Trump. I want to focus on the state of politics. To get to my broader point which the title of this article suggests, let me start with a quote of a politician. Can you guess whose word are these? (without searching on google)
“What they have done is bring about the glorification of secularization, which I think is terrible,” . . . . . . “The founding fathers of this country founded it under God. ‘In God We Trust’ they put on the coinage. They began their Declaration and their Constitution with references to Almighty God. They jolly well knew they served God and not man, and that they had no hope of success with any nation so conceived if they didn’t do it under the will and under the rule of God.”
This politician was also against prohibiting bible from schools and educational institutions (such is the liberal trend in some places). The above mentioned words are not of some conservative hack Republican politician. These are words of Francis Perkins, the architect of New Deal and who I regard as the greatest women in American politics to this date (I have a pretty low opinion of Hillary Clinton and her ilk like Samantha Powers, Susan Rice etc).
The position of Francis Perkins on religion is actually not an exception. The reverence for Christian values was quite common in many liberal politicians of the past including Roosevelt himself. Later Christian values also became LBJ’s basis for war on poverty. There’s no denying that the Church and the State should be separate entities. But that doesn’t mean that a progressive secular party should stop talking about religious values altogether as it happened in modern Democratic party. I will also get into the real reasons why Democratic party abandoned politics of ‘Christian values’ and the reasons have little to do with any philosophical reasons.
When Democratic party left politics of religion, GOP filled the vacuum and consolidated religious/Christian/evangelical vote bank. In a Democracy, if you don’t capitalize on a social force, the opposing political force won’t hesitate to capture it for their own benefits. And in a grotesque irony, a Satanic politician like Trump managed to utilize social force of Christianity for his own goals.
Why did Democratic party abandoned politics of religion?
Democratic party politicians are not some great philosophers of political science who idolize concept of secularism and separation of the Church and the State. Democrats abandoned politics of religion as a matter of practicality so as to capture a better vote bank. This they found in social forces of identity politics of LGBT community, BLM & feminist movements and Hollywood populism. Surely, there were also some genuine merits in these political movements.
Religious institutions are based on anachronistic principles which make them obsolete in modern age. The most visible aspects of it are women rights, abortion and homogeneous sexual relationships. Recall what Pope Francis said about 2024 elections - he said Trump and Kamala Harris are both evil. While Pope was against Trump’s position on immigrants, Pope was also against Democratic party’s position on abortion. Here, i would say that Democratic party’s positioning away from religion is also due to failure of religious institutions to reform themselves to current age.
So Democratic party moved away from religion. The moral virtues, the Christ’s message against greed, the spiritual basis of life (including political activism), the higher purpose of humanity - all this idealistic messaging was abandoned by Democrats. We know that Trump came in and cunningly co-opted these issues with his evil & subversive ways. Democratic party stuck to practicality of things and it appeared a sound political strategy.
Recall the interesting Hollywood phenomenon in politics. Democrats thought that endorsement from big celebrities will be critical for 2024 elections. Many liberals said that Taylor Swift’s endorsement of Kamala Harris is a game changer which spells the final nail in coffin of Trump campaign. Taylor Swift’s music is loved by large section of American society and they will vote in record numbers against Trump crossing party lines.
Democrats also bet big on pop culture to sink Trump. Recall the bland comedy show SNL which regularly mocked Trump. Actually, mocking of Donald Trump was among the tactics of Democratic party campaign. The evangelical & Christian nationalist’s reverence of Donald Trump was greatly ridiculed. It was an absurd spectacle indeed. You may remember how Trump is routinely blessed in religious gatherings and prayers, treating him as a holy saint. Such absurdity deserves to be ridiculed but ridiculing didn’t diminish Trump’s political outreach.
Prayer for Donald Trump
Surely, there’s also the matter of corruption in religious institutions. Many of the chieftains of these institutions are not really disciples of Christ, they are disciples of Mammon. These religious figureheads elevated Donald Trump to level of saint who’s defending values of Christianity (!). These religious leaders are corrupt and foolish at the same time. In Michigan, Trump - a racist anti-Muslim bigot - even managed to get backing of Arab Americans. How? Because he promised to end bloodshed in Gaza (!). Donald Trump’s promises counts for nothing but many still got duped by him.
Trump with Imams in Michigan in October 2024
In Republican party’s version of Christianity, religion is about bigotry against homosexuals & transgenders etc, religion is about protecting fetal cells while cancelling rights of women, religion is reduced to cultism in service of Donald Trump. The critical messages of religion - on morality, egalitarianism, greed, compassion, love, charity etc - these are omitted.
Conclusion
Realpolitik is about capturing social forces for political purpose. Democrats have done little to capitalize on politics of religion and Trump shrewdly filled the vacuum. It would be wise for Democratic party to create a flank on politics of religion. This can be done by assembling progressive churches and religious forces which have constructive position on abortion and other social issues.
Democrats can also create their own brand of religious leadership if they want. For example, there are people like Dr Bandy Lee who have a spiritual philosophy and have authentic intellectual insight on humanity. This kind of leadership is far superior than religious leadership of pastors & bishops who are corrupted by Mammon.
Ridiculing Donald Trump’s religious followers is not enough and it’s not an effective strategy. Even if you don’t care about the moral motivations & greater spiritual purpose of life, Trump’s control on politics of Christianity still has to be smashed for cynical purpose of politics. Bottom line is that Trump cannot be allowed to encroach upon Christianity and use it for his malignant political ends.
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