Religion and Right Wing Politics
Posted on: August 18, 2010 - 1:55pm
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Religion and Right Wing Politics
You may have addressed this already... though I couldn't find it.
There is something bothering me that doesn't make much sense to me... why right wing politics endorses religion, and even makes use of it in their propaganda? And why the left wing politics is more secular?!
Why this connection exists? Are there historical or cultural reasons?
This makes no sense to me because I can argue that Christian philosophy is more social in nature and not so much individualistic.
Is there such a thing as a secular right wing party?! Even in my European country, our right wing parties make religious promote religious ideals. Is this just a strategy to win votes?! If so, why doesn't the left-wing uses this too?
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There are several atheist right wing groups and blogs. No matter how contradictory it may seem, there is a political group who believes in pretty much everything. The Log Cabin Republicans are the largest group of gay/lesbian Republicans in America.
As to the why they are associated with religion so much? My opinion on it is that there are several reasons. A majority of the self proclaimed right wing are religious. However, another interesting part to think of is this...The heart and soul of the right wing is the south. We are, by majority, a group of gun carrying, God loving, beer drinking, patriots...and we are damn proud of it. The Bible Belt has produced nearly every major conservative figure over the last two decades. Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, George Bush, Dick Cheney, Former Senate Majority Leader (a great man and family friend) Bill Frist, Fred Thompson, rising star of Republicans Haley Barbour, disgraced former house majority leader Tom DeLay, (I hate this one) Rush Limbaugh and the list goes on.
Point being, Your conservative states every year tend to be the Bible Belt states. So the right wing caters to that, whereas liberals tend to reside in less religous states.
My Master has no desire to be merely victor in a debate: he did not come into the world to fight a battle of logic just
for the sake of winning it. --Charles Spurgeon
In a nutshell I would say the most legitimate connection is in that the right wing is, definitionally, traditionalist, and religion is a human tradition, while the pillar of the left wing is liberal/progressive values, a concept which pretty much directly translates to the belief in the freedom to question and even, OMGollyGosh!, adopt a counter-position to old religious adages.
That all said, the reality of contemporary christian affiliation with the right-wing probably only has true roots in the latter 20th century demonisation of socialist economics, and thus, by association, the very idea of a revolutionary left altogether. Christianity, of course, could not align itself with the political equivalent of 'satan' and hence entrenched itself with public affiliation to his very vocal opposer, American capitalist conservativism. So ultimately, IMHO, it's pretty much just a case of xtianity doing a Zoolander Blue Steel on the media catwalk.
I'd agree that specifically the Gospels are distinctly inclined in favour of socialist-progressive values rather than those of conservatives. Not so much with old testament books, however.
I believe Libertarianism is intended to represent this interest.
I'm quite sure it is more often than it is not.
It does occasionally, but doing so can appear to ring hollow in the ears of those given to believing that anything and everything vaguely modernist is the rampantly breeding bedfellow of a deadly communist dictatorship.
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to personality type. Traditionalists favour religion and conservative politics. I'd agree with crossover it's not universal. There may be a socioeconomic factor involved, too. My whole christian family will vote for bible bashing catholic tony abbott and decry the evil atheist temptress julia gillard at the next election in Australia - not withstanding tony runs around on public beaches wearing nothing but a banana hammock. I don't know any really progressive christians. Anyone out there know any?
"Experiments are the only means of knowledge at our disposal. The rest is poetry, imagination." Max Planck
An observation that applies to the US is that the alignments of differing ideologies tends to shift on the scale of decades. I don't really know how this plays out around the rest of the world though.
For example, what we call the Republican party was formed largely in response to abolition, which for it's time was the progressive option opposed to the more conservative slave based economy embraced by Southern Democrats. Heck but Abraham Lincoln did not claim a religious affiliation until a few weeks before he was killed and then only in response to seeing all the dead bodies on one of the battle fields.
However, the whole religion matter was still largely a southern democrat thing. The republican party did not really get a large influx of overtly religious thinkers until the late 60's. Largely due to defections from the southern democrats during the time of the civil rights movement.
In fact, the voting bloc in the American south was at the time, of sufficient strength that it could have trivially resisted civil rights legislation. However, the progressive republicans in the north and west were able to force the matter to swing the other way.
Now that, of course was about 40 years ago. Today, there is another huge shift in progress in the US, mainly concerned with the idea that business as usual politics pretty much sucks. I don't know if it will keep it's momentum up after the elections that are coming up but time will tell.
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Yeah, I know some. But then I'm living in a liberal hotbed - compared to the rest of the US. We even have registered Socialists and Communists who run presidential nominees. Nah, I don't vote for them as I don't think either system is effective.
It all started with Ronald Reagan and his "Moral Majority". It was all based on gaining more votes and the idea that the Democrats had gone to hell in a hand basket by going for younger voters. There was a lot of concern with the "drug culture" and the push to legalize drugs. And equal rights for everybody - blacks, homosexuals, women, all those fringe people. And religious freedom - my gosh young white people were becoming Buddhist or Wiccan. And then there was the abortion issue.
Prior to this, strongly religious people were of either party, as they didn't have a strong message from either party about morals in politics. About the same time, there was a movement in christian churches that religion should be more active in politics. If we only had laws based on the bible, all would be wonderful, there would be peace on earth and plenty of money for everyone. That was before the recent "god loves me that is why I am rich" religious sect got off the ground.
And since the liberals had gone for the younger voters, the conservatives went for the religious voters.
My personal opinion is that this started the extreme partisanship we are seeing today with each side demonizing the other. At one point, people were saying there was nothing to choose between the two parties, and so the two parties came up with strategies to be sure no one would make that "mistake" again.
I would vote republican more often if they would drop the religion. I want no laws based on religion, no decisions based on a holy book, and no tax dollars going to religious groups. So I vote almost exclusively democrat anymore even if I don't always agree with their policies. But I wouldn't care which party Sarah Palin was in, I wouldn't vote for her if you paid me.
-- I feel so much better since I stopped trying to believe.
"We are entitled to our own opinions. We're not entitled to our own facts"- Al Franken
"If death isn't sweet oblivion, I will be severely disappointed" - Ruth M.
The left isn't always "more secular". I hate labels because they do not address individual issues.
There are plenty on the left who while supporting social equality, are quick to support crosses and 10 commandment displays on public property funded by tax payers and want to keep "God" on the money and in the pledge.
Conversely one can find, all be it rare, libertarian "right wingers" who are economically conservative but defended Muslim Keith Ellison swearing in on the Koran instead of a bible.
And www.au.org is an organization full of people of all political, religious and economic positions who do value the secular attitude that the founders had.
I am a social liberal although nowhere near politically correct. I am for business ownership, but not corporate anarchy and a slash and burn market with no rules. I am for gun ownership, although I hate guns myself and will never own one.
Just because one is "this" or "that" doesn't make the label cover all the individual positions that person might hold. Humans are much more complex than the words we use to label them.
"We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and nonbelievers."Obama
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I'm a conservative and I'm not exactly sure of the exact numbers of right wingers and left wingers who are religious or not, but I do think I've seen a poll a while back that showed that right wingers were only slightly more likely to believe in God.
I wouldn't be at all surprised. I think it is a marketing ploy of some people in the political parties, therefore influencing the media, and finally getting the voters to pay a little attention. Unless a political race/decision is trumpeted through the media, most people don't pay any attention.
I have an atheist, liberal, single mother friend who pays no attention whatsoever to politics and only votes in the major elections. She just doesn't care to wade through the rhetoric.
-- I feel so much better since I stopped trying to believe.
"We are entitled to our own opinions. We're not entitled to our own facts"- Al Franken
"If death isn't sweet oblivion, I will be severely disappointed" - Ruth M.
Now I did not read every post on this thread, however it was clear to me that premise of right winged "politics endorses religion, and even makes use of it in their propaganda? And why the left wing politics is more secular?!" is observed.
We all know that the right are the religious nutty butty. They do endorse religion day after day forgetting the age old statement. "there must be a separation of the church and state"
Now I am not so naive that I don't see religion in the left winged politics, however in is much more prevalent in the right.
Religion has no business in politics. It makes there judgment calls to often to "right".
You see I think religion should be banded from the united states of America. Then lets see how much of it is removed from our politics.
Throughout human history as our species has faced the frighten terrorizing fact that we do not know who we are and where we are going; it has been the authority (the political, the religious, and the educational authorities) who have attempted to comfort us. By giving us order, rules, and regulation. Informing or forming in our minds their view of reality. To think for yourself you must question these authorities. THINK FOR YOURSELF…
My hypothosesis is that it's all about large voting blocks... The Republicans cater to Fundamentalist Christians for the same reason that the democrats were against the Arizona immigration law... They wanted the Hispanic vote...
Hopefully, someone will eventually realize that Atheists, Agnostics, and religios apathists are the fastest growing group in America where it concerns theology... and if we were any other voting block, they would have already started kissing our collective asses
www.RichWoodsBlog.com
I would guess the right houses more fundies than the left.
Faith is the word but next to that snugged up closely "lie's" the want.
"By simple common sense I don't believe in god, in none."-Charlie Chaplin
Were I to take a few guesses. One big reason is that the more politically active Christians might tend to also be conservative. This might explain things like the John Birch Society and other such groups, not to mention the large number of Republicans I've met who say that they're part of the 'rapture ready' crowd. One other thing is that the Republican party is designed more for cohesion, in their primaries they give states votes based on how the state voted, IE states that vote republican get more votes so dissenting views are unlikely to be covered. And with religious leaders calling on people to be politically active the two things dovetail and end up creating at least a perception of Christianity being a strongly conservative force.
Fundy evangelicals maybe. The left has plenty of new agers and extremist greens, animal rights activists, etc.
I don't think either party has a monopoly on extremism.
Everything makes more sense now that I've stopped believing.
I personally found this to be kind of lucid and refreshing....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2Kh-xzerjE
www.RichWoodsBlog.com
Everything makes more sense now that I've stopped believing.
I swear that fucker is an atheist. He stumbled over every Bible verse but never missed a beat on the comments criticizing and/or warning about religion.
Everything makes more sense now that I've stopped believing.
I never hesitate to point out how often I've said the same about Obama on this site. I sincerly believe, since he can never remember one word of what Rev.Wright said over 20 years of sermons, that Obama became a christian on the same day he decided he was going to run for elective office; knowing an atheist would never be elected anything. Remember the fuss made about the D.C. church he chose to attend; well at last report he still hadn't attended yet.
"Very funny Scotty; now beam down our clothes."
VEGETARIAN: Ancient Hindu word for "lousy hunter"
If man was formed from dirt, why is there still dirt?
Agreed... or at the very least... his "faith" is somewhere between agnostisism and deism... and I did notice he stumbled over Leviticus... Funny.... If you really want to get sick though... look at all the christian youtube videos cut rom this same piece of video...
www.RichWoodsBlog.com
I thank you your answers, sorry if I haven't had the time to follow you. Eloise was very enlightning and I generally agree with you all.
I am european, and the idea I have about political media propaganda is that the american right wing is REALLY catholic conservative, (just watch Fox news). Liberals seem much more liberal when it comes to religion... but this is just the idea we europeans have of american politics.
It's not absolutely necessary that a politically conservative person also have a conservative religious outlook and vice-versa, but the two do typically go together. Aside from some obvious reasons, there is one common factor the draws extreme right-wing politics and extreme right-wing religion closer together: both advance a conception of society which is ruthlessly hierarchical and authoritarian.
At one time, yes, but there are a whole lotta bible thumpers in the Libertarian party these days.
"Keep ya Fedgoon paws off'n mah guns an' Bible! Guvment ain't got no bidness tellin mah kids what they kin learn!"
Seriously, some Christians see the Libertarian party as a way of keeping the government from indoctrinating their children with secular ideas such as equality, the theory of gravity, and the sad genetic legacy of inbreeding. While most Libertarians see separation of church and state as a way of keeping the religious right from invading government, Libertarian Christians see it as a way of keeping the 'state', the state being any ideas they disagree with, out of the 'church', defined by them as any place that anyone worships, say in their home, Nascar races, and Wal Mart. They tend to home school, then act puzzled that their children have no social skills and can't make it through college. Obviously a Fedgoon conspiracy to hold down the God fearing, freedom loving Christian that just wants to own anti aircraft rifles, beat his wife, and kill homosexuals. Those universal rights granted to us by the Bible.
It takes a village to raise an idiot.
Save a tree, eat a vegetarian.
Sometimes " The Majority " only means that all the fools are on the same side.
I think as a function of human insecurity, we often feel the need for a higher power to believe that will provide for our security and survival. Christians have Mr. Invisible as the all powerful provider. So as long as they have land and a gun they don't have need for assistance from government(except for a military to protect them from the godless). Many leftist want government to fill the void and be the all powerful provider to believe will take care of them.
Both left wing and right wing politics are products of a highly competitive, non-cooperative global society.
Taxation is the price we pay for failing to build a civilized society. The higher the tax level, the greater the failure. A centrally planned totalitarian state represents a complete defeat for the civilized world, while a totally voluntary society represents its ultimate success. --Mark Skousen
Sadly enough, I have seen alot more of that in the Libertarian Party these days than I would like to. It seems that the party has radically changed shape over the past couple of years and am not all of that pleased with some of those directions either.
I don't really like labels, but have pretty much always considered myself a Libertarian.
“It is proof of a base and low mind for one to wish to think with the masses or majority, merely because the majority is the majority. Truth does not change because it is, or is not, believed by a majority of the people.”
― Giordano Bruno
I think this missing some symbol representing the scientific thought ...
ups! I forget that scientific thinking is objective and non-ideological
I'm not against scientific thinking, but it's just another tool of interpretation of reality. Equal in quality to other tools, such as religious thought or philosophical thought.
On the contrary.
Science brought us farming, energy, technology from wagons to cars to planes to space shuttles to space stations to partical accelerators to microwaves in every home to the internet and everything else, medicine, and knowledge of our surroundings.
Religion brought superstition, fear, and willful ignorance of reality.
Philosophy has accomplished effectively nothing.
Only science has a real value to interpretation of reality.
Enlightened Atheist, Gaming God.