Genealogy of Religion

Exploring the Origins, History and Future of Religion

Entries Tagged as 'Civil Religion'

“Islam Is Not a Religion”

September 1st, 2010 · No Comments · Axial Age Religions, Civil Religion, Definitions of Religion

So says J.R. Dieckmann, an electrician and writer who runs a website that I will neither name nor link.  He did, however, post this startling proclamation over here, one of the many bizarre and paranoid websites that are making so much fearful noise in American politics.
Decoding Dieckmann’s assertion is easy — what he means is [...]

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Ecumenical Engagement: Strippers & Evangelicals

August 28th, 2010 · No Comments · Civil Religion, Daily Devolutions

An evangelical church in Ohio has been picketing a nearby strip club and the strippers have been returning the favors.  At least the groups are talking and being civil with one another — this is a positive sign and could lead to something.   The AP’s Jeannie Nuss reports; be sure to check out the photos, [...]

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Christian America and Religious Intolerance

August 11th, 2010 · 1 Comment · Atheism and Religion, Axial Age Religions, Civil Religion, Emotions and Religion

In an odd article that attempts to situate Anne Rice’s very public proclamation that she is leaving the Catholic Church within the larger context of American Christianity, Los Angeles Times religion reporter William Lobdell makes two apparently contradictory claims:

American Christianity is not well, and there’s evidence to indicate that its condition is more critical [...]

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Power Co-opts Religion: China to Support Buddhism

August 1st, 2010 · No Comments · Atheism and Religion, Axial Age Religions, Civil Religion, Economy and Religion, History of Religions, Power and Religion

The story is a familiar one: a new religion is founded — or, as the sociologist Rodney Stark would say, a new sect is born from an older tradition — and over time it becomes successful.  By success, I mean that it grows, becomes popular, and shows few signs of slowing down.
At some point during [...]

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Ground Zero is “Sacred Ground”

July 21st, 2010 · No Comments · Civil Religion, Definitions of Religion, Emotions and Religion, Power and Religion

In yesterday’s post on the religion of nationalism, I noted that Ground Zero is sacred ground for the believer-patriots of American national religion.  If you questioned this assertion, doubt no more — the GOP has produced an incendiary video which declares that Ground Zero is “sacred ground” and that an Islamic mosque cannot be built [...]

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Nationalism as Religion

July 20th, 2010 · No Comments · Civil Religion, Classifications of Religion, Cultural Evolution of Religion, Definitions of Religion, History of Religions, Power and Religion, Recent and New Religions, Ritual and Religion

In a previous post, Religious Wars and Nationalism, I discussed two factors that play a major role in group cohesion.  The first factor, which played a dominant role for the majority of human evolution, was extended and fictive kinship.  This is what primarily held groups together during the Paleolithic.  After the Neolithic Revolution, another factor [...]

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Tea Party Metaphysics

June 19th, 2010 · 1 Comment · Civil Religion, Economy and Religion, Emotions and Religion, Globalization and Religion, Philosophy of Religion

Today, while examining the key word searches that have led people to this blog, I noticed this interesting query: “Are tea partiers psychotic?”  This Google search must have pulled up my post “Tea Parties and Monkey Gods,” in which I observed that Tea Partiers seem to be animated by a toxic combination of anger and [...]

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The Many Functions of Religions

May 17th, 2010 · 3 Comments · Axial Age Religions, Civil Religion, Cognition and Religion, Cultural Evolution of Religion, History of Religions, Morality and Religion, Religion as Evolutionary Adaptation, Religion as Evolutionary Byproduct, Ritual and Religion, Shamans and Shamanism

There is a long history of assessing — and attempting to explain — religion in a functional manner.  Marx and Engels figured that the function of religion was to disguise the realities of the underlying economic system and palliate the suffering of the laboring masses.  Durkheim thought that the function of religion was to enable [...]

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Courting Faiths and Foxing History

May 13th, 2010 · No Comments · Civil Religion, Daily Devolutions, History of Religions, Power and Religion

With the pending retirement of Justice Stevens and nomination of Elena Kagan, there has been quite a bit of discussion in the news about the religious makeup of the Supreme Court, which (if Kagan is confirmed) will have 6 Roman Catholic members and 3 Jewish members.  James Vicini reports on the issue and comments that [...]

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Pledging Allegiance to Civil Religion

March 12th, 2010 · No Comments · Civil Religion

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is having trouble deciding whether pledging allegiance to a nation “under God” violates the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause.  The first panel to hear the case ruled that this statement was an unconstitutional establishment of religion; on rehearing, a different panel ruled otherwise because students are not forced to recite [...]

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