What If Our Democracy Can't Survive Without Christianity?

Paywall and no. Keep Christian Nationalism out of American politics. The concepts behind democracy were first created by Greek pagans, though only landowning men could vote. This was also the case in early America, but we restricted it to “white.”

Religion was used as an excuse for chattel slavery. Religion was used as an excuse to deny women the right to vote. Religion was used to deny LGBTQ+ couples the same rights as my marriage. Religion is still used as an excuse for attacks on their rights, women’s rights, and those of non-Christian faith.

There’s also the question of “what Christian faith?” The one that prays for donations? Wants to deny women the right to vote or gay people to marry? The one that’s liberal and opens its doors to everyone? Baptist? Episcopalian? Catholic? Non-denominational charismatic Christianity?

Secularism protects everyone. I want you to be free to practice your faith, so long as you don’t try to impose it on me. I want you to respect that I’ve left Christianity because I see no evidence of a higher power. Treating [arbitrary branch of Christianity] as part of our democracy will not go well.

Christianity Is Not Necessary For Democracy - Christianity Today

 

I read that article this morning, and it's my point of view as an agnostic as well, and I do my best to live by Christian values. Unfortunately, too many in America who profess to be Christians are surely not in practice. For example, although I know this will anger many, I firmly believe that anyone who voted for Trump is surely not a Christian in practice, for he is the antithesis of everything Christianity teaches us....the Anti Christ, if you will, who has arrived to corrupt us.

PS: To say one is an atheist has always troubled me. To my mind, no one can anymore say with certainty that there is not a god than they can that there is. Christians only have the Bible to go by, and it is hardly without troublesome contradictions. By the same token when one considers nature and the universe, one can hardly deny the existence of some higher power.

 

Agreed. It’s what I say I’m an agnostic atheist. Trying to “disprove” something that’s not bound by empirical naturalism is misuse of the scientific method. You’re talking about a being with basically a “cheat code” to reality.

 

David French is an atheist?

 

Paywalled. Seems the premise is this country would be a lot better if more Christians actually practiced Christianity. Hard to argue with that.

 

The country has never been more controlled by vocal, self-professed Christians than it will be over the next 2-4 years, from the highest court to various state governments.

 

I do think you need some sort of shared set of broad values, or at least a shared reality. But in an information environment like this we could all be Christians, but it wouldnt matter if you can go on Facebook and it tells you immigrant witches are eating children and people believe it.

 

I always thought that David French was an Evangelical Christian who followed the teachings of Jesus unlike the vast majority of Americans who call themselves Evangelicals while at the same time worshiping a con artist with a penchant for orange makeup and a history of violating more than one of the Ten Commandments and to top off had previously stated that he has never had to ask for forgiveness.

 

I am agnostic, yet I attended church service with a friend yesterday. It was nice. I enjoyed it, and I felt like it very well may have enabled everyone in attendance to possibly be a better version of themselves, or at least more thoughtful. I've also visited services or sites for other religions and felt similarly.

That said, (and this is very broadly generalizing, so it certainly doesn't apply to every one of them); America's Christians of today have chosen to be a very disappointing lot. It's beyond my ability to reconcile their faith and beliefs with their rabid support for not just a criminal, but a physical, sexual abuser. Or their support for those who enable such a person.

They support a man who has repeatedly used both his power and physical strength to take sexual advantage of those weaker than him. IMO, this is not much different than physically restraining a child for such vile purposes. And people who would say they oppose that....... actually cast votes for the perpetrator of it. The poster below summed it up perfectly;

 

They conflate morality with Christianity. Those 2 things are not necessarily the same. I agree a country needs to have a certain level of morality to be a successful democracy.

 

Christianity is the religion of the oppressed. Even our Savior was oppressed. Once Christians get power we become as corrupted and oppressive as any other group. It is disappointing.

 

Given how long Christianity has been around, the notion that Christian doctrine promotes democracy and/or is necessary for democracy seem like relatively modern interpretations in the scheme of things.

 

I would say more often than not, even in modernity, explicitly Christian movements have been heavily nationalist and not at all democratic, since democracy involves, you know, pluralism. You can just look at Franco's Spain, Salazar's Portugal, the falangist militias in Lebanon during the civil war, various sects in Africa, etc. If you believe non-Christians are basically not-equals and hell-bound, then how is democracy going to work? Its kind like how the only Jewish state in the world calls its self a "democracy" but is also an apartheid state with explicit Jewish supremacy. That seems like how its going to work out logically if your nationalism involves religious identity.

 

atheism is defined as not believing in god. It has nothing to do with being certain

 

Zealots are bad

 

Well, take out with certainty. We can be certain of nothing when it comes the existence of a god. I should not have worded it that way, but my point remains.