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.
Arthur
wrote: Swearing
and profanity at home or the schoolyard is one thing. It is quite
another when TV and radio ups the ante with simulated sex and lavish use
of profanity. This is a trend that is not self-limiting, it will
only be changed (I think) by some form of censorship, probably coming from a religious
angle.
