Religion is funny like that. They are supposedly the word of an all-knowing, omnipotent God, yet they evolve and change alongside the logic of mere humankind. You would think it impossible, but indeed new religions materialize all the time. (Of course, every new religion seems to come with the caveat that all religions and Gods before it were the wrong ones, and this one is the real deal. Just like one would script it.)
One does not even have to absorb eras of the history of all humanity to see the dichotomization of religion and reason- it is happening at present, as different nations are concurrently at different points of their own evolutions. As third-world nations move from pure, all-encompassing poverty into a culture, religion is adopted as the primary source of judgment and wisdom at a rather accelerated pace. In longer-standing cultures- old-world Europe for example- religion, while never eradicated entirely, often takes a back-seat to science, economics, and philosophies of logic as the primary foundation of rationale.
This transition from pure need, to faith, to science plays out in nearly every cultural evolution. That is, except one culture: Modern America.
American culture differs from practically every other Western, first-world society- and practically every past "superpower" state- in one key manner: it continues to embrace religion as a central tenet to all intent and purpose. We're not just talking amongst its lower classes, which are populated mostly with new immigrants, presumably from less developed cultures where religion as a tenet would historically be expected. Rather, religion- while certainly not the driving force for every individual- permeates government, ethics, and the fundamental ethos of the land to a much greater degree than one would expect, given historical logic as a predictor of such things.
There are certainly intellectually-sound justifications: advanced cultures are morally strong cultures, as well religion is a conduit for some undeniably correct structures of right and wrong. However, the first question becomes: is religion necessary for such structure? I would argue that with the irrational baggage always accompanying religion, this is a precarious pillar on which we rest our culture.
In America, we like to draw divisions between people in an effort to pinpoint problems and imbalances, as well assign responsibilities and faults differently. We search through divisions of the rich and the poor, whites and minorities, women and men. Most often the results only come somewhat close to describing the cultural condition- it is rare that we find a true and absolute divisions that make sense in terms of pinpointing dilemmas and injustices. Maybe these divisions are not the ones that actually matter.
Article comments
1 - RJ
I'm an agnostic as well. I enjoyed your article.
However, you seem to suggest that the US will not remain a major world power as long as it also remains a highly-religious nation. I would disagree with that hypothesis.
The countries of Europe, despite having various state-recognized religions, are largely atheistic. Yet they have seen their global power wane over the years. The US, despite being a very religious society, has seen its global influence rise during the same period.
Now, if we were to become a theocracy (as some wild-eyed kooks on the Left already claim we are), there is no question that we would eventually lose our role as the preeminent world power. But, this ain't gonna happen. Most of the religious folks in America still have a lot of faith in reason, and science, and are basically rational beings. They simply "believe" despite all this.