Installment 2
It has been pointed out to me that my post (part 1)
is unfair in that it talks about religion in general but
uses Christian fundamentalism for the more specific
and more negative examples.
It is certainly not my intent to “bash” any group.
What I was trying, not very well, to get around to,
is the role that absolutism in religion plays in
political and social decisions and the calculated
use politicians make of the fundamentalist.
IT APPEARS TO ME that the constant insistence
in fundamentalism that members believe and behave
in certain fairly narrowly prescribed ways has created
a large body of people who relate to society and
politics in the same manner. If you have been trained
to believe a certain set of facts which are exclusive,
and one of those facts is in friction with other issues,
you are likely to make a decision that supports your
core belief, even if you cannot otherwise reconcile
that decision.
The easiest example is abortion. We have had
legal abortion in the US since Roe v. Wade. There is
almost no chance that abortion will ever be entirely
made illegal here. Fundamentalism teaches that abortion
is wrong. This belief, in various intensities, is shared by
a large numbers of non-fundamentalist as well. The
difference in the absolute nature of the fundamentalist
belief. Since abortion is wrong, it must, at any cost,
be made illegal. Persons who have abortions must
break the law to obtain one. The absolute belief that
abortion is wrong transcends the individual and creates
the belief that the system, in this case the US, that
allows abortion commits sin on a gross scale bringing
the displeasure and wrath of G-d not only on the
individual, who can be forgiven, but on the entire country,
which perhaps cannot be forgiven.
To the absolutist, no response to abortion short of
making it illegal is acceptable. Politicians tapped into
this absolute belief some years back. They can run on a
platform centered around the pretense of making abortion
illegal. They know there is no real chance that abortion
will be made illegal but they can be sure of obtaining the
votes of those who believe, in an absolutist manner, that
abortion should be illegal. The absolutist must, in order
to maintain his self identity, always vote for the party or
individual that states that he also shares the same absolutist
view of the issue. No other issue, unless it also part of
the absolutist view will trump this one issue. The only
danger the politician faces is if he supports a conflicting
absolutist issue which has equal intensity. The easy way
around this problem for the politician is to give lip service
to supporting an entire set of statements of belief and intent.
For this reason, politicians who use the abortion platform
almost always also use anti gay marriage language as well.
To an absolutist, abortion is far more of an issue then
the minimum wage, the environment or even ethics in
the public arena. In this respect fundamentalism, by
its absolutist belief structure has put its flocks in harness
and blinders.
is unfair in that it talks about religion in general but
uses Christian fundamentalism for the more specific
and more negative examples.
It is certainly not my intent to “bash” any group.
What I was trying, not very well, to get around to,
is the role that absolutism in religion plays in
political and social decisions and the calculated
use politicians make of the fundamentalist.
IT APPEARS TO ME that the constant insistence
in fundamentalism that members believe and behave
in certain fairly narrowly prescribed ways has created
a large body of people who relate to society and
politics in the same manner. If you have been trained
to believe a certain set of facts which are exclusive,
and one of those facts is in friction with other issues,
you are likely to make a decision that supports your
core belief, even if you cannot otherwise reconcile
that decision.
The easiest example is abortion. We have had
legal abortion in the US since Roe v. Wade. There is
almost no chance that abortion will ever be entirely
made illegal here. Fundamentalism teaches that abortion
is wrong. This belief, in various intensities, is shared by
a large numbers of non-fundamentalist as well. The
difference in the absolute nature of the fundamentalist
belief. Since abortion is wrong, it must, at any cost,
be made illegal. Persons who have abortions must
break the law to obtain one. The absolute belief that
abortion is wrong transcends the individual and creates
the belief that the system, in this case the US, that
allows abortion commits sin on a gross scale bringing
the displeasure and wrath of G-d not only on the
individual, who can be forgiven, but on the entire country,
which perhaps cannot be forgiven.
To the absolutist, no response to abortion short of
making it illegal is acceptable. Politicians tapped into
this absolute belief some years back. They can run on a
platform centered around the pretense of making abortion
illegal. They know there is no real chance that abortion
will be made illegal but they can be sure of obtaining the
votes of those who believe, in an absolutist manner, that
abortion should be illegal. The absolutist must, in order
to maintain his self identity, always vote for the party or
individual that states that he also shares the same absolutist
view of the issue. No other issue, unless it also part of
the absolutist view will trump this one issue. The only
danger the politician faces is if he supports a conflicting
absolutist issue which has equal intensity. The easy way
around this problem for the politician is to give lip service
to supporting an entire set of statements of belief and intent.
For this reason, politicians who use the abortion platform
almost always also use anti gay marriage language as well.
To an absolutist, abortion is far more of an issue then
the minimum wage, the environment or even ethics in
the public arena. In this respect fundamentalism, by
its absolutist belief structure has put its flocks in harness
and blinders.
posted by DarkMirror | 8:48 AM
1 Comments:
I could not have said it any better. Of course, it is easier for some people to be TOLD what to believe and how to act, rather than think for themselves. The fundamentalists leaders have said, ..."abortion is wrong, and a sin," etc...so, members take this only at face value without even considering what they are actually saying or beleiving. This argument could hold up for any issue: gun control (or bullet control), poverty, or even sexual discrimination. All things considered, I'm glad I have learned to think for myself.
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