--- Jim Straub <rustbeltjacobin at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> I wonder what Wojtek thinks of the massive upsurge
> of charismatic, or
> pentacostal (grouped in the term "renewalist")
> christianity in all the
> places mentioned. From Guatamala to Poland to Kenya
> to
> Brazil to China, renewalist christianity is the
> fastest growing mass
> religion in much of the world, to the extent that a
> recent global audit
> found it to be the faith of upwards of a billion
> people.
[WS:] Quite frankly, I do not think much of it. I am not a populist, and the fact that a billion people do or do not something, be it religious worship or a hamburger eating contest, does not impress me one way or the other. I do not find it entertaining, but I do not like country music or hip hop either.
My only concern is the material outcome of these activities, and only inasmuch as it interferes with my life style. Thus far, this interference is limited minor concerns such as trash left behind, noise, or parking space shortage created by attendees of three churches located within one block distance from where I live. This is a real problem because unlike other popular entertainment services, such as bars, amusement parks, or strip joints, churches are exempt from taxation, yet they use municipal services and resources, and thus strain city budgets and contribute to a decline of the quality of urban life.
There is also a slight possibility that this kind of religiosity creates a fertile ground for right wing mobilization. Indeed, recent Republican electoral victories were accomplished in a significant part by mobilizing evangelical x-tian networks. Again, this is of some concern because churches are exempt from taxation and are not supposed to engage in political activities - but I do not lose much sleep over it.
I would also like to reiterate the point I already made - namely that there are many different forms and faces of religiosity - even within relatively small groups. Therefore, one can always find very strange bedfellows in most churches - fascist bigot standing next to human rights activist, a sage sitting next to a philistine, and a bleeding heart worshiping the same deity as a hate monger. Therefore, the fact that you met good god fearing x-tian folk in your travels in hyper-reality (to borrow a phrase from Umberto Eco) does not necessarily mean that Hofstadter was wrong and that there is no deeply seated anti-intellectualism to which religion serves as a vehicle. I have certainly seen both.
One final comment - if a revolutionary change must be accomplished by succumbing to the popular superstition and desires to worship the supernatural - you can keep your revolution.
Wojtek
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