Just as, 50 years ago, liberalism was the vital center of our politics, our religious landscape then was dominated by mainline Protestants and a Catholic Church becoming less Roman and more American every year. One of the most symbolic events occurred in 1958 when President Dwight D. Eisenhower laid the cornerstone for the new headquarters of the National Council of Churches here in New York City. Before a crowd of 30,000, Eisenhower quoted George Washington, who described religion as the firm foundation of the country's moral life.
That was the decade America put God on our paper money and in the Pledge of Allegiance. And though the churchly DNA often fostered racism, anti-Semitism, bigotry and Cold War dogmatism, many thought biblical religion, in its various incarnations, was the engine driving the American future.
But then, says Ross Douthat, American Christianity went off the rails -- and now threatens to take American society with it. Furthermore, the snake in the garden is not atheism, nor is secular humanism the worm in the apple. Our fall, he argues, is the work of heresy, as you see in the title of his latest book: Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics.
Below is a clip from my conversation with Douthat that airs this weekend on Moyers & Company. Look for it on public television.
Follow Bill Moyers on Twitter: www.twitter.com/BillMoyers
In reality, there's no such thing as "religion" or "religious belief", it's only ego, and follow other peoples egos.
"But then, says Ross Douthat, American Christianity went off the rails "
Then? No it went off the rails long before that, God on our money and Pledge is the illustration that it already had gone off the rails.
Once the "churches" and it's leaders begin to walk their own talk, there may be a difference but like their desperate needs for income/members when the permitted any music, dance, attire to bring 'em in, compromising standards has not been the answer.
On that note, how dare any bishops, pope, or clergy at all criticize and even dream of controlling women (and nuns) when they have not yet learned how to control themselves. I could have laughed myself silly at that 'news' if I didn't have a sore lip from pondering this great interview. Masterful, indeed!
The lost capitalist Jesus is being rediscovered. See Wilhelm W. Wilhelm, "Die Verlorenen Investitionen von Jesus" ("The Lost Investments of Jesus"); vol. vi-viii; Leiden, 1972.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMPCviZC8J8
Those people still exist today,they're called the tea party....religion has done enough damage to society,let's let science and rational thought have a crack at running this country for once....
Those who claim to be "real Americans" under the guise of the GOP are blowing the darkest smoke I've ever seen, and those drunk with self-riteousness are breathing it in like addicts. While there are still a lot of us who can see into the lies and dissect them, there are far too many who've bought the story, hook, line, and sinker. These are the very people who will allow, unless some great change takes place soon, the very dissolution of our democracy. These folks seem determined to self-destruct, just so they can go out thinking, "I was right.".
There is little left of democratic, logical governing in the US, as it is. Still, implementing sound fiscal responsibility, long term health can be achieved. But it has to be supported by structured nets of logic and determination, held together by arms of justice, clean energy, balanced with good healthcare. The threads of the American nets are fraying and narrowing daily.
The party that wants to tax the rich to feed, house and educate the poor; or, the party that wants to eliminate food, housing and education for the poor in order to give more tax cuts to the rich?