Are Democrats hostile to religion?
March 17th, 2008 at 02:25pm Pat Cunningham
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Kevin Drum of the Washington Monthly RAISES the question.
My own view is that it’s stupid to think of Democrats as hostile to religion when millions of them clearly are not. By the same token, millions of Republicans are not particularly religious, no matter their party’s holier-than-thou rhetoric.
I think some people too often think of evangelical Protestantism as the be-all and end-all of religion, which, of course, it’s not.
It’s not uncommon for a person of devout religious faith to express hostility toward the kind of money-grubbing evangelical preachers we see on TV. Such criticism doesn’t make one anti-religion.
6 Comments Add your own
1. Mr. Baseball | March 17th, 2008 at 3:26 pm
For some reason, any criticism of religion in this country gets an immediate backlash. I differentiate religion from spiritualism. One can be very spiritualistic without belonging to any organized religion. And this is where the difference comes in. Most organized religions are mainly about their own power and influence. That\\\’s why any questioning or criticism is not tolerated, even when the tenets of that religion make no sense. For centuries the Christian Church preached that the earth was flat and the sun revolved around it. People were thrown into prison for disagreeing. Today the Catholic church preaches against the use of condons, when they could go a long way to preventing aids, and the Fundamentalist Muslims preach that killing in the name of Allah will get you about 70 virgins in heaven. It\\\’s all based on superstition and ignorance.
2. Mike Carroll | March 17th, 2008 at 3:43 pm
Speaking as a Catholic, you make the mistake of equating the Catholic faith with the Catholic Church. They are not the same.
3. Kaus | March 17th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
Actually the Catholic Church preaches abstinance and family values….something that would prevent aids. And most voters aren’t money grubbing preachers but good bible readers that understand that a hedonistic life style is what caused the fall of Rome.
4. Mr. Baseball | March 18th, 2008 at 12:28 am
Mike, that\’s just my point. Organized religious institutions are the problem, and in most cases, the bigger the institution, the bigger the problem. Just asking the question, why be a Catholic if you don\’t believe in the teachings and practices of the Catholic Church? Why not be a \"Christian\" , whatever that means to you, and practice your religion as you see it? Certainly just attending a place of worship does not necessarily make someone moral or spiritual.
5. Mike Carroll | March 18th, 2008 at 7:10 am
Mr. Baseball-Organized religious institutions are run by people and thus subject to all the faults and frailties of the species. In time absolute power etc. Never the less, I consider it a cop out to simply say you are a Christian without allegiance to a particular institution. A cop out of which I am myself somewhat guilty as I proudly refer to myself as a Cafeteria Catholic, a term used derisively by our local Bishop who needs to acquaint himself with humility.
6. Pat Cunningham | March 18th, 2008 at 8:34 am
We militant agnostics have a saying: We don’t know, and you don’t either.
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