I found this great quote via Andrew Sullivan. I think it really gets to the heart of the issue of why some are so desperate to mix conservative politics and religious fundamentalism.
It's from Philip Wentworth's 1932 article on how college destroyed his faith:
To me, this seems exactly right, but I wanted to consult with the SiftMind to see if I (or Wentworth) are off base.
Discuss.
It's from Philip Wentworth's 1932 article on how college destroyed his faith:
It is no accident...that the groups which are demanding ever more stringent laws to regulate our private lives are identical, almost to a man, with the religious groups in the population. It makes no difference whether they are Protestants clamoring for stricter enforcement of prohibition or Catholics agitating for stricter legislation regarding the dissemination of birth-control information. In both instances increasing pressure is being brought to bear upon government to take over the practical functions of religion--and for the obvious reason that religion, in its decay, is no longer able to do its work in the world. (Emphasis mine).
To me, this seems exactly right, but I wanted to consult with the SiftMind to see if I (or Wentworth) are off base.
Discuss.
I don't think the religious (im)posers in the West are trying to get government to back their religion because they fear its decay. (If any religion would collapse without a theocracy carrying a sword to back it up, it's Islam).
The funda-mental-cases in politics do it for the same reason the GREENvangelicals force their BS on the public: they seek power and have no other means to get it.
If you follow the evolution of religions, they are slowly dwindeling away. It's a large version of the "God in the gaps"-argument. As we close the gaps, god slowly dwindles away with no place to hide. And as power goes out to the people, the centralized religious powers vanishes.