Religion, Take 2

Last time we continued our discussion about religion, moving from the personal to broader social and political perspectives. It was observed early on in our discussion that religion is one of many things that can give people an identity - an "in group" to be a part of. This can be an attractive thing, in and of itself, because, as one person put it, "most people want to follow, not lead." While there was some disagreement as to whether this was human nature or learned behavior taught by a patriarchal society, most seemed to agree the observation was basically true.

Some members felt that the American political right wing takes advantage of this tendency of people to be followers, and that right wing leaders use religion as a tool to manipulate people in order to maintain their power. Others saw little difference between the left and the right in today's politics, at least in terms of their desire to control people. Indeed, more than one member had read that many of the currently influential group of people known as "neoconservatives" had at one time hailed from the far left wing of the political spectrum.

One member wondered aloud whether there was anything fundamentally wrong with deeply religious groups and individuals attempting to propagate their values through the democratic process. This lead to a discussion of the difficulty of balancing individual rights with the concept of majority rule. One person felt that democracy amounted to "two wolves and a sheep deciding what's for supper." Another person expressed the opinion that the US Constitution did not prohibit individual states from establishing a state religion, suggesting that greater autonomy for the states in this and other matters would allow for experimentation that might lead to a better understanding of what works and what doesn't.

Our discussion moved beyond religion, too, touching on other institutions viewed as either contributing to or arising from Americans' susceptibility to manipulation. Our educational system, for instance, was felt to be failing, and to either passively or actively limit people's ability to question. Some felt that the state of our criminal justice system and the war on drugs were indicators that we are becoming an authoritarian society....

All these issues and more touch on the basic conflict between the interests of the majority and the rights of the minority (or the individual). Join us this Sunday as we examine this basic conflict, perhaps as it applies to the war on drugs, the overcrowding of our prisons, the failures of our educational system, and more....

On July 16^th we'll change our routine with a potluck cook-out at Clint's house in the woods. It's only about 30 minutes away, a little north of Corydon, Indiana. Clint will provide hotdogs and burgers plus all the go-a-longs. Please bring snacks or a dish and whatever special drink you might like. You can meet with others at the City Café at 2:30 to carpool out or come on your own with the directions below. We'll start around three and maybe make an evening of it. And we'll fit a discussion in as well.