Leftism Isn’t a Religion, It’s Something Worse

[Chris]

OK, yea, Leftism Isn’t a Religion, It’s Something Worse sounds like a typical mock or taunt against the liberal left, but it's actually a serious analysis of the similarities and differences between religion and ideology, and this is posted on the serious side for serious discussion.

Let's keep in mind how the liberal left mocks if not taunts religion. We have seen this in recent discussions of religion. I had that in mind as I read the essay, given the liberal left's dismissal of religion as superstition, and marveled how easy it is to prediction they will likewise eventually dismiss religious-like ideology.

It has become common among today’s conservatives to call environmentalism, socialism, militant feminism, transgenderism, and other leftist ideologies the modern equivalents of religion. Whereas in the past, people treated the central ideas of these movements as ideas like any other—that is, subject to discussion and evaluation—now, people must treat them with the same reverence and respect as they would with religion.

Considering the apparent zeal of climate-change activists and social-justice warriors, one can easily spot a few other similarities. Like religion, most of these movements have a transcendent idea akin to a deity, most have a community of sorts that will come together for a common purpose (mainly protesting), and most feature a kind of dogmatism distinguishing true from false believers....

However, the similarities end there, and insisting that people treat these movements like religions does a disservice both to religion and the movement itself. In truth, they are really false idols, idealized fixations devoid of much meaning. This makes them something less than religions, in terms of their intellectual and spiritual content. Nevertheless, they are still problematic and capable of corrupting civilization—particularly a civilization that does all it can to dispense with religion altogether.

At its most fundamental level, religion is a system of beliefs, in the form of a creed, while ideology usually consists of one belief, often in the form of a general notion. This leads the former to have a system of logic based on these core beliefs about God (a theology); the latter only has a singular belief that people can interpret however they like....

Instead, most adherents of modern ideologies focus on certain narratives: “Humans, particularly the ones in first-world countries, are destroying the planet,” “The system is rigged and the rich are oppressing the poor,” or “The white patriarchy continues to hold down women and people of color at all levels.” Where they go with this depends less on logic and more on how much they care. Those who care deeply become activists joining and organizing various marches and sit-ins; those who care somewhat become “slacktivists” who periodically post articles about injustice on social media; and those who care a little may just vote Democrat and blithely ignore arguments from the other side.

....

[stjames1_53]

OK, yea, Leftism Isn’t a Religion, It’s Something Worse sounds like a typical mock or taunt against the liberal left, but it's actually a serious analysis of the similarities and differences between religion and ideology, and this is posted on the serious side for serious discussion.

Let's keep in mind how the liberal left mocks if not taunts religion. We have seen this in recent discussions of religion. I had that in mind as I read the essay, given the liberal left's dismissal of religion as superstition, and marveled how easy it is to prediction they will likewise eventually dismiss religious-like ideology.

We get back to that thing about emotion and thought

[jet57]

OK, yea, Leftism Isn’t a Religion, It’s Something Worse sounds like a typical mock or taunt against the liberal left, but it's actually a serious analysis of the similarities and differences between religion and ideology, and this is posted on the serious side for serious discussion.

Let's keep in mind how the liberal left mocks if not taunts religion. We have seen this in recent discussions of religion. I had that in mind as I read the essay, given the liberal left's dismissal of religion as superstition, and marveled how easy it is to prediction they will likewise eventually dismiss religious-like ideology.

I have to say that I wouldn't characterize the left as anti religion by a long shot; your source is "conservative" and such is an ideology as well that has always tended toward the Protestant religion in this country: the "WASP" as they've been historically described. The real problem of religion in this country, for those like myself and those in and outside of the "faith" as it's called, is legislative social engineering. That is to say using the law to "put God into all aspects of our society", as in education, healthcare, our judicial system, business, etc etc. The mocking" as you refer to it is based in the hypocrisies of the religious right and the illogical and unreasonable ways in which the "wasps" continue to mock, attack, attempt to legislate, i.e. force their ideology onto the rest of society while ignoring the first amendment to our constitution.

"Conservatives" just never get this right and fail to learn from the past, thus the train shall never meet.

[Cotton1]

OK, yea, Leftism Isn’t a Religion, It’s Something Worse sounds like a typical mock or taunt against the liberal left, but it's actually a serious analysis of the similarities and differences between religion and ideology, and this is posted on the serious side for serious discussion.

Let's keep in mind how the liberal left mocks if not taunts religion. We have seen this in recent discussions of religion. I had that in mind as I read the essay, given the liberal left's dismissal of religion as superstition, and marveled how easy it is to prediction they will likewise eventually dismiss religious-like ideology.

I have noticed many liberals go out of their way not to acknowledge God /heaven as not to offend their fellow libs. I noticed it here at the forum. In the "poems on the fly" thread I will get " thanks" from libs. Im not being critical of them because some are my friends. But...if I write a poem mentioning God, Angels , Heaven it is convienantly skipped over in the " thanks " dept. Its really obvious

[Chris]

I have to say that I wouldn't characterize the left as anti religion by a long shot; your source is "conservative" and such is an ideology as well that has always tended toward the Protestant religion in this country: the "WASP" as they've been historically described. The real problem of religion in this country, for those like myself and those in and outside of the "faith" as it's called, is legislative social engineering. That is to say using the law to "put God into all aspects of our society", as in education, healthcare, our judicial system, business, etc etc. The mocking" as you refer to it is based in the hypocrisies of the religious right and the illogical and unreasonable ways in which the "wasps" continue to mock, attack, attempt to legislate, i.e. force their ideology onto the rest of society while ignoring the first amendment to our constitution.

"Conservatives" just never get this right and fail to learn from the past, thus the train shall never meet.

You wouldn't so characterize what you just did in your anti-religion screed.

See also Survey: Christianity declining rapidly in US and Blaming Religious Right for Christian Decline.


Conservatism is not an ideology. "Conservatism is a philosophy, not an ideology. It is the collective wisdom of conservatives such as Evans, Kirk, Goldwater, Buckley, and Abraham Lincoln, who when asked what conservatism is replied, “Is it not adherence to the old and tried, against the new and untried?” Conservatism stands on the solid rock of the American Founding and Western civilization. Its overriding principle is “ordered liberty...." @ What Is Conservatism?

[Chris]

I have noticed many liberals go out of their way not to acknowledge God /heaven as not to offend their fellow libs. I noticed it here at the forum. In the "poems on the fly" thread I will get " thanks" from libs. Im not being critical of them because some are my friends. But...if I write a poem mentioning God, Angels , Heaven it is convienantly skipped over in the " thanks " dept. Its really obvious

Some of this is tribal.

[William]

OK, yea, Leftism Isn’t a Religion, It’s Something Worse sounds like a typical mock or taunt against the liberal left, but it's actually a serious analysis of the similarities and differences between religion and ideology, and this is posted on the serious side for serious discussion.

Let's keep in mind how the liberal left mocks if not taunts religion. We have seen this in recent discussions of religion. I had that in mind as I read the essay, given the liberal left's dismissal of religion as superstition, and marveled how easy it is to prediction they will likewise eventually dismiss religious-like ideology.

I honestly don't know who and what you mean by the 'liberal left' - can you explain? This whole 'right-left' thing just seems like a form of tribalism to me.

As for religion, it is a form of spiritual belief which should be respected as long as it is not imposed on anyone who does not share those beliefs. I come from a family where my mum is religious and my dad is not - but that doesn't seem to be a problem with them. I find it easy to respect anyone's beliefs, and to defend their right to hold those beliefs. I don't consider religious beliefs to be superstition, and if they work for most people - great!

But they are beliefs - something like how I believed that my mum and dad were the best mum and dad in the world when I was little - and are neither based upon fact nor capable of being proved or disproved. They are a personal thing, and should both be regarded and respected as such - and anyway, why should anyone want to be hurtful enough to criticise someone else's deeply held beliefs? None of us know whether God exists or any of that stuff, but what harm is there in believing it to be true?

The only possible harm can come from insisting others share your beliefs, and to make those beliefs a part of civic law.

[Chris]

I honestly don't know who and what you mean by the 'liberal left' - can you explain? This whole 'right-left' thing just seems like a form of tribalism to me.

As for religion, it is a form of spiritual belief which should be respected as long as it is not imposed on anyone who does not share those beliefs. I come from a family where my mum is religious and my dad is not - but that doesn't seem to be a problem with them. I find it easy to respect anyone's beliefs, and to defend their right to hold those beliefs. I don't consider religious beliefs to be superstition, and if they work for most people - great!

But they are beliefs - something like how I believed that my mum and dad were the best mum and dad in the world when I was little - and are neither based upon fact nor capable of being proved or disproved. They are a personal thing, and should both be regarded and respected as such - and anyway, why should anyone want to be hurtful enough to criticise someone else's deeply held beliefs? None of us know whether God exists or any of that stuff, but what harm is there in believing it to be true?

The only possible harm can come from insisting others share your beliefs, and to make those beliefs a part of civic law.

Hi, William, how are you?

For our purposes the liberal-left are those who are anti-tradition, here anti-religion--see my response to jet for example and follow links. The liberal-left are also those who believe in ideologies.

I would agree, religion should be either natural as it was in ancient polytheistic times or chosen by free will in modern monotheistic times. But then shouldn't liberal-left ideological beliefs also be voluntary and not mandated by law and backed by the full force of the government?

[Green Arrow]

Quick thoughts to subscribe and I can go a little more in-depth tomorrow:

I think the relationship between the political spectrum and the religious spectrum is a lot different than it appears. It certainly does seem like the Republicans/conservatives are the inherently religious party, and Democrats/liberals are anti-religion, but I’ve personally (and this is anecdote territory here) noticed what is, to me at least, an interesting shift. Over the last ten years, I’ve started encountering more liberals/leftists who adhered to some religion or another, and more conservatives/rightists embracing atheism.

As I said, this is anecdotal for me, I only cite it because I consume news from a variety of different POVs and deliberately place myself in positions to interact with people of all different backgrounds. Overall, I think it may just be a combination of factors: that religion on the whole is declining in the U.S. and the world at large, and that Christians tend to make up the larger religious demographic of the GOP while other various religions take up some of that space on the Democratic side (thus making atheists in the GOP more noticeable, while the decline of religion wouldn’t be felt as much on the Democratic side because there are overall just more religious backgrounds to encounter).

I don’t know, I guess I’m mostly just thinking out loud here. It’s an interesting discussion for sure.

[Chris]

Quick thoughts to subscribe and I can go a little more in-depth tomorrow:

I think the relationship between the political spectrum and the religious spectrum is a lot different than it appears. It certainly does seem like the Republicans/conservatives are the inherently religious party, and Democrats/liberals are anti-religion, but I’ve personally (and this is anecdote territory here) noticed what is, to me at least, an interesting shift. Over the last ten years, I’ve started encountering more liberals/leftists who adhered to some religion or another, and more conservatives/rightists embracing atheism.

As I said, this is anecdotal for me, I only cite it because I consume news from a variety of different POVs and deliberately place myself in positions to interact with people of all different backgrounds. Overall, I think it may just be a combination of factors: that religion on the whole is declining in the U.S. and the world at large, and that Christians tend to make up the larger religious demographic of the GOP while other various religions take up some of that space on the Democratic side (thus making atheists in the GOP more noticeable, while the decline of religion wouldn’t be felt as much on the Democratic side because there are overall just more religious backgrounds to encounter).

I don’t know, I guess I’m mostly just thinking out loud here. It’s an interesting discussion for sure.

See Blaming Religious Right for Christian Decline where it's found that Christianity is in decline but mainly for liberals.

The point here, however, is less a political contrast than a religious one, that is between religious beliefs and religious-like ideological beliefs.