Religion and the left

[Wojtek Sokolowski]

At 05:02 PM 6/2/98 -0400, Dan Lazare wrote:
>But I do care.  False ideas have unpleasant consequences, no matter how nice
>or pleasant or sympathetic the carrier may be.  The strange thing about the
>U.S. is how many people cling to bizarre beliefs about Jesus, Moses, etc.
etc.
>compared to Western Europe.  The state is secularized, yet the political
>culture is saturated with religious piety.  Surely this is not unrelated to
>the overwhelming conservative nature of American politics.

I think it is the other way around - US religiosity is a result of the
faults of the US society - alienation, meaningless consumerism, loneliness.

 I do not think that  a bunch of wacky beliefs in a big spook in the sky
has any real effect whatever - it does not cause anything, good or bad.
Nor does it remedy alienation - it is the social solidarity or rather
"togetherness" created by religious groups that attract so many people.
Individualistically minded elite liberals have a real trouble understanding
that.

Regards,

Wojtek Sokolowski