Sunday, February 15, 2004
A very sad day because of gay marriages - reflections on separation of church and state
This is a very sad day, because of the news of homosexuals marrying in San Francisco.
Washington Post article on subject
It pinpoints to me a very profound conceptual problem with the ideological structure of the United States and its purported division between Church and State. The minute that religion is deemed only a matter of the private sphere (which it has never been, or it couldn´t be properly categorized as a "religion"), something else will take over to dictate how life should or shouldn´t be, in this case the religion of the State (or "secularism"). This something else (secularism) is nothing but another religion with another name, and without a base formed around some divine entity.
What I find particularly fascinating is that secular religion is spreading not through fire and sword, but through social conditioning and by indocrination by the mass media and the entertainment industry. It does not surprise me, therefore, to see how upset and outraged that people with various religions around the country have become to see their religions being cornered into something unacceptable, evil even, as the secular religion comes to dominate the ideological mantle of society.
Secular religion is not catholic, it does not admit any other thought aside from its dogmas (pro-homosexuality, for example). Every type of dissent must be maligned and discredited. It´s the same mechanism that other orthodox religions have used in the past.
The interesting thing is that people who follow this new religion don´t like to recognize it is a religion. It is obvious that this is partly because it would undermine the legitimacy of their dogmas, since they posit what they believe as the absolute truth, and anyone who disagrees as a (cooky) believer in some superstition or outdated and obsolete religion or understanding of society.
I find the topic of how false this separation of church and state is in the United States extremely fascinating, and it comes with an even more fascinating twist to it, most Americans hate to face that the separation doesn´t really exist on so many levels, it is an empty claim in very interesting ways. Yours truly would like to write a book on the subject, but, ahem, several issues with resources are at play.
I never thought I would miss grad school, and yet, how I wish I was living close to the library, oh geez... :-)
Washington Post article on subject
It pinpoints to me a very profound conceptual problem with the ideological structure of the United States and its purported division between Church and State. The minute that religion is deemed only a matter of the private sphere (which it has never been, or it couldn´t be properly categorized as a "religion"), something else will take over to dictate how life should or shouldn´t be, in this case the religion of the State (or "secularism"). This something else (secularism) is nothing but another religion with another name, and without a base formed around some divine entity.
What I find particularly fascinating is that secular religion is spreading not through fire and sword, but through social conditioning and by indocrination by the mass media and the entertainment industry. It does not surprise me, therefore, to see how upset and outraged that people with various religions around the country have become to see their religions being cornered into something unacceptable, evil even, as the secular religion comes to dominate the ideological mantle of society.
Secular religion is not catholic, it does not admit any other thought aside from its dogmas (pro-homosexuality, for example). Every type of dissent must be maligned and discredited. It´s the same mechanism that other orthodox religions have used in the past.
The interesting thing is that people who follow this new religion don´t like to recognize it is a religion. It is obvious that this is partly because it would undermine the legitimacy of their dogmas, since they posit what they believe as the absolute truth, and anyone who disagrees as a (cooky) believer in some superstition or outdated and obsolete religion or understanding of society.
I find the topic of how false this separation of church and state is in the United States extremely fascinating, and it comes with an even more fascinating twist to it, most Americans hate to face that the separation doesn´t really exist on so many levels, it is an empty claim in very interesting ways. Yours truly would like to write a book on the subject, but, ahem, several issues with resources are at play.
I never thought I would miss grad school, and yet, how I wish I was living close to the library, oh geez... :-)
