Well, said. I would like to think that we are a
long way from experiencing a serious religious movement in the West a la
Taliban (despite my frequently referring to the Religious Right as Taliban in
suits). However, the recent
history of the Southern Baptist Convention is a good example of how a small
group can take over a larger group and then maneuver it in less than ten years
into something altogether different. It’s true, society in
general has become more tolerant and by comparison many evangelical Christians
appear to be more conservative.
Nevertheless, when the growth factor of these groups is considered you
have an instant political base, which the GOP has catered to successfully. Pat Buchanon made this initial
projection and is probably why some in the GOP still give him any respect. Now he is preaching that privatizing
education is the future. Just as Hitler tailored his
speeches to a people devastated by defeat and the straight jacket of the
Versailles Treaty, a politician or party that convinces a large block of
disenchanted, zealous true believers that it is within their power to convert
their world for (insert cause here) - well, you see my point. In a monthly publication
that comes to my retired parents, I noticed an increase in the use of the word
Kingdom to describe Christian families, work, and cultural identification. Raising Kingdom Families. Finding work
to do for the Kingdom. Setting up
estate funds for the Kingdom. Then
look at the Megachurches, new fangled fortresses being built with moats of
segregation as they worship, train, exercise and go to the movies
together. There is a real branding
being applied. There is a different nuance
about tolerance and intolerance than in decades past. I also suspect that fundamentalist backlash has a suppressed
rage to it in some quarters, much as the California recall has an underlying,
simmering resentment for Davis’s signing into law that illegal immigrants could
get legal driver’s licenses. It’s cross-denominational.
Don’t forget what Philip Jenkins wrote in The
Next Christianity, that the world would be segregated by the more
tolerant religious faiths of most of the industrialized nations (Global North)
and the less tolerant Early Church conservatism of the Third World (Global
South). Note how the conservative Bishop from Africa angrily denounced the
recent confirmation of a gay bishop made world headlines. Note the pope’s health is worsening.
Remember the pope has promoted many conservatives from South America and Africa.
And they vote in secret, no hanging chads, no paper trail. - KWC Ed wrote: I guess I watch the wrong channels. I've heard the odd
soldier in Iraq or the odd fire fighter in British Columbia use
"shit", but that's about all. I rarely if ever watch sitcoms
because I find them contrived and phoney. Movies perhaps? I only
watch those that I really want to see. But I do know that porn has moved
from something that, a few decades ago, you might get to see in Copenhagen
or Stockholm to something that is now universally available and becoming
totally available with the internet. What may be happening is a split in western society between
those who favour an openess, even if this means the acceptance of
profanity, on the one hand and those who favour a tightening down on the
other. The acceptance of abortion and common law and same sex
marriages, and the increased tolerance of porn may be examples of the
former. The growth of the religious right and evangelical churches, which
attract young as well as older followers, may be examples of the latter. Is this split dangerous for those who believe in
constitutionally guaranteed freedoms?
It would seem to depend greatly on the ability of the religious (or even
secular) right to get organized into a movement capable of seriously
attacking the foundations of such freedoms and influencing legislative and
judicial decisions. Personally, I think we have a long way to
go before we are in that position.
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- Re: [Futurework] social trends: Tolerance (was Profanit... Karen Watters Cole
- Re: [Futurework] social trends: Tolerance (was Pro... Ed Weick
- Re: [Futurework] social trends: Tolerance (was... Ray Evans Harrell
- Re: [Futurework] social trends: Tolerance (was Pro... Ray Evans Harrell