SECULAR RELIGION

As I mentioned in my previous post, the term religion, for me, is a very broad term indeed.  I realize that to many I am stretching its meaning beyond what most think of as religion.  As Karen Armstrong points out in her book, "Fields of Blood," the term religion was coined somewhere around the first century BCE and attributed by some to Cicero.  Since that time, it has been largely used to mean theistic religions.  I deliberately want to broaden it to include what I see as the religious attributes rampant in secularism so as not to turn a blind eye to its ramifications in the functions of our current world. 

Before the word religion was coined there was no differentiation between what we have come to understand as religious and secular or "church and state" as used in the West.  They were one in the same.  We have somehow deluded ourselves to think that secularism is devoid of anything religious, that it is the opposite of religion.  I'm here to say that it isn't.  Secularism, in my opinion, is just another broad religious perspective that differentiates itself from theism, but I would maintain is, in itself, a religious construct.

RELIGION

In the broadest terms, religion is about power:  the appeal to power, the generation of power, and the use of power.  This may seem a little counter-intuitive, especially to those who largely see religion in theistic terms.  Look at the rituals and rites of any theistic religion and what you will hear is a great deal of talk about power, the power of God or the gods.  Gods are almighty, omniscient, omnipresent, a force to contend with, or a force to call upon when in need.

In secular religion, the pursuit of power is more prevalent than in theism, where divinity does not need to pursue power since power resides in the divine and we mere mortals are consigned, in theism, to appeal to it and to utilize it when bestowed.  In secular religion, power is something that is acquired.  In secular religion, power is derived from or bestowed by people.  In all religion, power is exercised through the ritual.  Ritual provides structure to the ideological beliefs held by both secular and theistic religions as a means of shaping human behavior.  This may seem like quite a stretch in the definition of religion, so let me explain:

RITUAL

In secular life, we tend not to think in terms of ritual as we do routine or process, but there is an intuition found in the off-hand observations by some individuals about their daily routines.  It might be considered rather glib to say, "I'm religious about exercise" or "He/She is religious with her/his diet," or in U.S. politics, Democrats are religious in their pursuit of income equality and republicans are religious in their pursuit of limiting the federal government.  I would contend that this is actually an accurate understanding of process and routine; in that, functions which shape human behavior can be understood as rituals and ritual is the hallmark of any religion. 

We can divide ritual into various broad categories. For the purpose of this post, I will talk about the two broad categories; low level rituals and high level rituals.  All religions have some sense of this; to prescribe certain activities with a reason why we do them.  Businesses and theistic institutions run in similar fashions - when to be at work, when to be at prayer, etc.  On a personal level, people have times when they wake up, go to bed, when they say their morning prayers, when they say their evening prayers, when they read their newspapers, when they read their holy scriptures.  When to diet for physical health, when to fast for spiritual health.  I could go on and on.  You can easily catch my drift. 

At more organizational levels, such as  business, corporations, and larger theistic institutions we can talk about mission and creedal statement that identify what ideological beliefs are supposedly guiding and fostering behavior in the workplace or the place of worship.  Go to a health club, a country club, any fraternal organization and ritual becomes increasingly apparent.  Membership in such organizations requires a subscription not only to certain beliefs but to certain practices, certain expectations that the membership is required to perform in order to be identified as a member. 

Perhaps the highest level of secular religious ritual is found in the military systems of any nation.  The military, as is true in monasticism or any environment that enforces a rigid system of behavior control to shape or reshape the identity of its participants, is at the highest level of ritual.

THE MILITARY

I have never been in military service, so my observations are based on what I have heard or read, but the military of any nation seems to have always had a religious effect on its people.  It is highly ritualistic, ordered, hierarchal, and aimed at shaping the behavior of its soldiers.  It is so successful at this, that there are those soldiers who, after leaving the military, have a difficult time adjusting to a civilian life that is less ritualistic, ordered, and hierarchal.

Militarism also has an impact on secular civilian life, as well.  Patriotism, as a whole, stems from belief systems that are highly ideological. There is reverence when it comes a nation's military that proceeds from deep seated ideologies that have shaped a nation's identity.  Symbols, flags, and emblems offer a sense of transcendence, of sacrifice to a higher cause that, in the case of secularism, is not directed to a deity but rather to the state the military serves. 

THE STATE

On the highest rung of religious secularism is the state.  Government is the  locus of power, the temple of secular religion. It is not without reason, the government buildings worldwide take on the look or feel of temple, cathedral, or a basilica. Washington D.C. is a prime example of secular religious architecture.  It's mall is a populated with temples dedicated to secular ideologies and the people who promoted them.  Politics is the priestcraft of secularism.  Whether political process is defined as monarchy, a democracy, an oligarchy, a theocracy, or as a dictatorship, every state has a political process of some form.  Politics mirrors the purpose of religion in its an appeal to power, the generation of power, and the use of power.

Some may question that I included theocracy in my list of secular governmental types.  Let me explain that theocracies are by their functions as secular as any other form of government.  They may rightfully claim to base their laws and other ideologies on a specific theistic religion but, for the most part, they function in a very secular fashion, and in doing so they, perhaps unwittingly, diminish the theistic religion they claim to be based on by attempting to utilize concepts derived to address issues of another time in human history and erroneously apply them in world were such perspectives and situations have no bearing.

Theocracies will become increasingly difficult to maintain, even though there seems to be an current surge of theocratic thought in the Muslim world.  A similar surge in theocratic thought is also evident in the United States during this election season in an odd but not unfamiliar mixture of priest and statecraft. Theocracies are faced with difficult choice of being true to their theistic roots which are frequently seen as unchangeable and having ,out of necessity, to function in a flexible way that meets the needs of the nation in a much more diverse world.  

ECONOMY

In conjunction with political processes are economic processes.  Economy is the second rung of religious secularism's ladder.  Secular economy has no equivalent structure in theism and this is an important understanding that often pits secularism and theism against each other.  This is not to say that theism does not address economy.  It does, but rather that theism is largely devoid of defining economic systems or developing an economy of its own.

Theistic religions largely utilize the economic systems that are available to them in the secular world.  The role of economy in secular religion is interesting.  Economy is how secular religion generates most of its power; not that wealth, in and of itself, is power but that wealth is used to influence the utilization of power. Those who do not possess wealth either as individuals or as a community have little influence over those who have power.  Power and wealth go hand in hand in secular religion.

Capitalism, communism, fascism, and socialism are all  methods intended to define the purpose of wealth and control its use.  All of these economic principles were designed to permit the distribution of wealth in a manner intended to level the playing field either by natural consequence, in the the case of capitalism, or by governmental mandate in the others, so that any individual can either in a personal way or in a collective way can garner enough wealth to influence the use of power.

All economic ideologies have demonstrated both strengths and weaknesses.  As such, the force of economy has a transcendent quality about it.  Adam Smith, for instance, referred to the unseen hand that guides economic trends in capitalism.  All economic systems are obsessed with prophecy that is based on various assessments of trends and performances.  In spite of all the scrutiny and research, there is very little that is certain in the realm of economics.

As such, economies largely run on faith.  Where there is weak faith in the economy, the economic picture is bleak.  Where faith is strong in the economy, the economic outlook is bright.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

One might not think of science and technology as having anything to do with religion or that there is a religious aspect to them.  If religion is about power and knowledge is power, then science and technology can be considered religious activities.  Secular religion is less concerned with the ambiguity that surrounds "why" questions and more concerned about "what," "how," and "who" questions.

Secular religion is on the surface very pragmatic and rational.  In and of themselves, science and technology are morally neutral.  This is not to say that they are amoral, but rather that the moral implications of what they are doing is not in the forefront of thinking by those doing it. The most important example of this was the development of the atomic bomb. While there were those who, like Oppenheimer, expressed concern and regret at its development, it did not prevent the pursuit of its development.

The development of this technology also provides an example of science and technology's connection to power.  In other words, it was not a question of whether to develop it as it was who would develop it and utilize it first. The rationale that prompted its development from the very beginning was, more than any other the enticement, the probability that it could be done.  This is the simple credo of all scientific and technological advances, "Do it because, you can. Don't and someone else will."

There appears to be a passion about being dispassionate in these fields regarding what is wrought.  In other words, the devotion to being creative in discovering or developing something ultimately sheds light on our abilities and gives definition to who we are, even if those discoveries and developments exposes our limitations or can place our existence at risk.

JUSTICE

All religions are involved with justice.  In secular religion, justice is matter of reason and rationality. Laws are promulgated for the purpose of keeping order by ensuring that the exercise of power is defined and controlled; that the common good is preserved so that exercise of power is not disrupted.

As such, justice, in secular religion, is symbolized as a blindfolded lady holding the scales of justice. This image serves two purposes.  The first is to say that no one is above or beyond the law.  The second is that justice is an exercise of reason. The evidence weighed is not a matter of sight, but rather of reason.  As such, in secular religion, ignorance is not an excuse for breaking the law.

In secular religion, only reason and rationality are seen as safeguarding the common good. Consequently, punishment is based on what is understood as serving the common good and the state, or, in more autocratic settings, punishment is meted out in the understanding that what protects the state is considered as what's best for the common good.

A prime example of the exercise of secular justice is, ironically,  found in the story of Jesus's trial by Caiaphas in New Testament.  When faced with a possible if not probable riot, Caiaphas reasons that it would be better for one man to die rather than risk a massacre in the temple precinct.  Caiaphas had reason to think this way.  It had happened before and he knew that the powers that be, the Romans, wouldn't think twice about doing it again.

No matter what Christianity has made of that event, Caiaphas was acting in the best interest of what he considered the common good and in the best interest of what he saw the tenuous grip he or any other Jewish leader had on what little autonomous power bestowed upon him and the Sanhedrin by Rome.  A similar rationale was employed when dropping an atomic bomb on Nagasaki and Hiroshima to hasten the end of World War II.

I think it is important, however, not to equate secular justice as being a matter of cold calculation.  It can be, but where the common good is truly the consideration, secular reasoning is capable of demonstrating that justice is not served by punishment alone; that the common good can be served by rehabilitation.

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The reality is that there does not exist a purely secular religion as there does not exist a purely theistic religion. The point I am trying to make is that human behavior, both individual, culturally, and socially can be spoken of in terms of religion.  My purpose in writing about secular and theistic religion is to illustrate the abundance of religious practice found in all human activity.  To be clear, there are strengths and weaknesses found in any religion whether it is secular or theistic, and I do not wish to put any of these perspectives as being better or worse than the other.

In my next post, I will take a closer look at theistic religion.

Until next time, stay faithful.