CNN's Fareed Zakaria weighs in on former President Donald Trump's faith-based campaign tactics and how he harnesses White evangelical voters. #CNN #News
Mind Begs the Question: - Satan said Devils/Jinns are Superior Race - Hitler said Ariens are Superior Race - Those who hold Superior Race,Exceptionalism complex - Following God or Satan?
But of course they don’t want to join one of liberal Christian denominations either. Liberals are just looking for an excuse to lose their faith. Any little thing is sufficient.
The day I learned to think for myself, was the day I saw through all the lies about Gods existing. I was seven. I thank god every day for making me an atheist.
I guess this just proves Steven Weinberg right: “With or without religion, good people can behave well and bad people can do evil; but for good people to do evil - that takes religion.”
@@petercollingwood522 Purpose is above intelligence. If you tour on earth is just up for intelligence, you don't differ from the animals. Higher purpose is what puts meaning to life. That is why people seek God. Don't reduce yourself to a mere object. In deathbed, most people say they have lived a purposeful life not of intelligence.
@@srebaayao9616 Drivvle. People seek God because theyre scared of dying and it's too much trouble to think for themselves so they're happy being told what to do. Purpose is merely a function of intelligence.
We need to bring back the enlightenment of the founding fathers. Right now the pendulum is swinging towards a dark place. It's astounding how we repeat the mistakes of history on a regular basis.
Very well done. Fareed has become an outstanding political commentator. Unfortunately, what he says is very true. Never let a preacher tell ya how to vote and never let a politician tell ya how to pray. It's really quit simple.
I strongly disagree with Fareed's notion that the decline of religion is related to the decline in happiness. Look at Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and the Netherlands. All in top 7 of least religious countries, and in the top 7 of most happy countries! There are many studies about happiness, but an analysis by Forbes India shows strong support of healthcare, unemployment benefits, education, economic equality, and connection to nature are more important.
@@Gess575I overheard a conversation that my dad had with our priest who was asking my dad for a donation. My dad, who owned a small vegetable farm, told the priest that he could keep whatever he harvested and sold from an overgrown tomato patch. The priest said something to the effect that "that's not how God works The kingdom of God requires financial resources and the Lord's work must be done." My dad remarked that the church was considerably richer than himself and shouldn't ask the poor for donations. And maybe "God should get a job instead of asking me for money." I paraphrase of course as it happened a long time ago. But it's a memory that I will always treasure.
@@litojonny All Abrahamic religions have become religions that worship power, war, and gold. The American heretic protestant offshoot religions do not worship Jesus or God, they worship Satan and Gold.
@@lordvadertheleftie9703I've never heard of christain extremists, I've heard of islamic muslim extremists, they are responsible for october 7th terrorist attacks
"For every action there is a reaction". Maybe don't secretly give people's kids puberty blockers in school and keep it from their parents and people just might not want to bring their religion into politics!
@@redsable50 that's a fair point. Invisible implies that She's there but you can't see her. God doesn't exist so it's not possible for her to be invisible.
Hell doesn't exist. And as a concept, it is completely flawed and indistinguishable from our current reality when you attempt to reason out properties that are not totally outlandish.
The louder the evangelical movement becomes, the more people will distance themselves from religion. The evangelicals made morality and faith a big joke. We are maturing as a country and we don't need silly superstitions to guide us.
That is why the Founding Fathers deemed *ALL* religions unfit for modern, civil governance. The *1st Amendment's Establishment Clause* prohibits the government from making any law, _“respecting an establishment of religion.”_ This clause not only forbids the government from establishing an official religion, but also prohibits government actions that unduly favor one religion over another. It also prohibits the government from unduly preferring religion over non-religion. *Constitution Article VI Supreme Law - Clause 3 Oaths of Office* _"The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; _*_but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States."_* This means nobody is ever required to swear to a god or on the Bible, or any other religious book for an oath of office. They may choose a god or religious book, but none is required. Thomas Jefferson and Calvin Coolidge did not use a Bible in their oath-taking ceremonies. Theodore Roosevelt did not use the Bible when taking the oath in 1901, nor did John Quincy Adams, who swore on a book of law, with the intention that he was swearing on the constitution. _"In this enlightened age and in this land of equal liberty, _*_it is our boast,_*_ that a man's religious tenets will not forfeit the protection of the laws, nor deprive him of the right of attaining and holding the highest offices that are known in the United States."_ *-George Washington* (To the Members of the New Jerusalem Church of Baltimore, 27 January 1793) _“The United States is not a Christian nation any more than it is a Jewish or Mohammedan Nation.”_ *- John Adams* (American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, Founding Father & 2nd president) _“...the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion."_ *-Treaty of Tripoli - June 7, 1797. Signed by President John Adams & Ratified UNANIMOUSLY, by the Senate June 10, 1797* ....only a few times in history the Senate unanimously agreed on anything. A 2018 Supreme Court Ruling re-affirmed this statement, from The Treaty of Tripoli. The Supreme Court released an opinion on May 14, 2018 in Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Assn., 584 U. S. (2018), Justice Thomas in his concurring opinion wrote: _"The Treaty of Tripoli was passed by the Senate and signed into law by President John Adams. As such, it is a "legislated text" which must be read "textually". The lower courts in this case read a hypothetical legislative intention into the text by dismissing Article 11 as "a mere formality". _*_The language itself makes a clear direct statement that our government is not based on the Christian religion and any attempt by a government official to represent our government as Christian contradicts the text and the historical understanding of our founders."_* _"Who does not see that the same authority which can establish Christianity, in exclusion of all other Religions, may establish with the same ease any particular sect of Christians, in exclusion of all other Sects?"_ *- James Madison 4th president* (A Memorial And Remonstrance, On The Religious Rights Of Man: Written In 1784-85)
Whatever one thinks of religion for whatever reasons, it cannot be dismissed as “silly.” It has had-- and continues to have-- a profound effect upon history, for better and for worse.
Many people evolved to like the taste of boot. There's a conservative rhetorical trope about "needing" someone to worship. They cannot imagine a world without some tyrannical hierarchy.
And it really doesn't help that the politics many religious people take part in is often times quite toxic, hateful, bigoted, and exclusive. That is bound to drive many people away.
"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." John Adams "The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were the general principles of Christianity. I will avow that I then believed, and now believe, that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God." John Adams "It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists but by Christians, not on religions but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ." Patrick Henry "Religion and good morals are the only solid foundation of public liberty and happiness. The religion of America (are) the religion of all mankind. In other words, these fundamental beliefs belong to all world faiths, and could therefore be taught without being offensive to any sect or denomination." Samuel Adams "We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it. We have staked the future of all of our political institutions upon the capacity of mankind of self-government; upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God." James Madison “It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor.” George Washington "Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports.... forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail to the exclusion of religious principle." George Washington "You can't have national morality apart from religious principle." George Washington "Suppose a nation in some distant region should take the Bible for their only law Book, and every member should regulate his conduct by the precepts there exhibited! Every member would be obliged in conscience, to temperance, frugality, and industry; to justice, kindness, and charity towards his fellow men; and to piety, love, and reverence toward Almighty God... What a Utopia, what a Paradise would this region be." John Adams "The hope of a Christian is inseparable from his faith. Whoever believes in the divine inspiration of the Holy Scriptures must hope that the religion of Jesus shall prevail throughout the earth. Never since the foundation of the world have the prospects of mankind been more encouraging to that hope than they appear to be at the present time. And may the associated distribution of the Bible proceed and prosper till the Lord shall have made 'bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God' (Isaiah 52:10)." John Quincy Adams "I do declare to the whole world that we believe the Scriptures to contain a declaration of the mind and will of God in and to those ages in which they were written; being given forth by the Holy Ghost moving in the hearts of holy men of God; that they ought also to be read, believed, and fulfilled in our day; being used for reproof and instruction, that the man of God may be perfect. They are a declaration and testimony of heavenly things themselves, and, as such, we carry a high respect for them. We accept them as the words of God Himself." William Penn "The law given from Sinai was a civil and municipal as well as a moral and religious code… laws essential to the existence of men in society and most of which have been enacted by every nation which ever professed any code of laws.” John Quincy Adams "Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty, as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers." John Jay "Intelligence, patriotism, Christianity, and a firm reliance on Him, who has never yet forsaken this favored land, are still competent to adjust, in the best way, all our present difficulty." Abraham Lincoln "Without religion, this world would be something not fit to be mentioned in polite company: I mean hell." John Adams "Here is my Creed. I believe in one God, the Creator of the Universe. That He governs it by His Providence. That He ought to be worshiped. As to Jesus of Nazareth, my opinion of whom you particularly desire, I think the system of morals and his religion, as he left them to us, is the best the world ever saw, or is likely to see.” Benjamin Franklin "I am a real Christian - that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus Christ." Thomas Jefferson "IN GOD WE TRUST" is the official motto of the United States of America, and has appeared on U.S. currency since 1864. Every time you use money, remember this fact of what is inscribed on all US currency. This is America's historic Christian heritage.
@@bldlightpainting...so I guess the final solution is for everyone to conform to your beliefs, in order to be a true American, or leave? Once you say "In God We Trust" only refers to your specific God, you missed the whole point of how America came about in the first place. Granted, you aren't alone in your belief, but that doesn't mean it is just or compassionate.
No one is less tolerant of religion than the religious The old mentality of if you don't believe as I do then you are heretic and there for must be brought down at all costs
can't happen fast enough. This coming from someone who used to be a young Earth creationists and diehard true believer. But eventually I realized I was wrong.
Wow, that realization must have felt like a profound wake up call towards life. About how stupid do you feel thinking about your former self? Glad you got out of that mindcage.
Evangelicals have lost the ability to distinguish their god from their devil. They'll believe anything to avoid growing up and accepting responsibility for our fate.
@@silentmajority8365 If I and 44 other people corroborated their statements, would you put down your dukes and walk away with everyone’s mental health intact? Check the likes.
14% of the population shouldn’t have the right to dictate to the rest of us, especially when most of the evangelicals vote for corruption. repression, discrimination and hate. The rich .01% of the population shouldn’t be dictating policy (and who gets tax breaks and special privileges) either, but that’s a somewhat different problem.
@@endlessendless2391 It might be a problem when they try and restrict the voting rights of others. Some go as far as making it illegal to give food and drink to those waiting hours to vote. While others just walk up without a wait and vote.
Spoken like a true leftist fascist that wants to censor and silent people. You're not above other, you're not better than those people. EVERYONE is entitles to their opinion! They are just voting for what they believe in, who are you to tell them otherwise?
@@saravananrajagopal2683 And a registered Muslim bigot. Remember that. Lecturing evangelicals about secularism. Fareed should atone Islam's atrocities.
Or is it managing the internal conversation differently? Is it a "demythologizing" of the conscience, which one still probably walks away with, the conversation continuing, and any real God not particularly concerned that a measure of form and falsehood has been set aside in favor of new search for authenticity? A real God, utterly without vanity, might be rather pleased with the development.
Secularism is categorically not saying that the religious may not speak out publicly or have a say in public life. It is about saying that religion alone should not confer a privileged say in public life, or greater influence on it, Because of it. it really is as simple as that. "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof" James Madison
The fight against God is never a good thing for a person later on the society. But who cares we will all understand the truth or reality after we die. Be
@@Mypresident1986 I doubt that I will " understand the truth or reality after we die". From my position, you should rephrase you comment to "I will understand the truth or reality after I die". Simply and respectfully put, your truth is not my truth.
When religion got into politics, I got out of religion. Religion and politics is a two-edged sword. I use to think religion would ruin politics but find that politics also ruins religion. There is little destructive difference between the Taliban and the Evangelicals. The 1990 US pop was about 250 Mil. Today it is 333 Mil. 9% of 250 is 22.5 mil. 29% of 333 mil. is 96.57 mil. with no religious affiliation. 4.3 times as many. I believe that number will grow.
Yes, from those 333 million, the young population is not accounted for. Children aged 1 to 18 usually follow their parents' religious views because they are raised in them. Children raised in atheistic, non-religious households most likely will be non-religious. Children aged 1 to 18 who were raised in religious household will most likely lose their faith and be non-religious when they are adults, so the non-religious population will increase.
A look a world history would tend to support a conclusion that human society evolved into a mix of religion and politics. The printing press changed things. A great dissemination of knowledge has brought about experimental science and a new paradigm. We have a broader and continuously improving understanding of human history. This isn't just a 21st Century thing. Oddly enough the Soviet Union went all in on atheism, and now we see the Siloviki of Russia returning to it for social manipulation. Their finding seems to be that there will be a religious sector to be managed and it can be used to create a more prosperous state than a policy of atheism could. They are pretty sure they are better than we are.
Religion? It’s a point of view. Much like those who are atheists and beleive in their dogmas: (1) abortion, (2) homosexual marriage, (3) climate change, (4) Big Bang, etc. Saying no one point of view “has no place in government” is like saying liberals or conservatives don’t deserve to have a point of view represented.
@@jaaklucas1329 are you including the Climate Change/transvestite/evolution/quantum physics? These are zealous movements that claim to have some ethical concerns.
Quite apart from the fact that there is absolutely no evidence that a god exists. Religion at it's base is exclusionary. This is our god, for our tribe, for our people. It promotes other-ism. It seeks to divide, not bring people together. It's not good for the world. Once the world embraces logic, reason, and critical thinking, there is only one logical outcome: Atheism. The human race will never unite until all of humanity puts aside superstitious nonsense born of the ignorant infancy of our species.
In fact, since Gods don't exist, We find all of the goodness and the badness of humanity inside the writings of every religion. Religions are simply the ideas of man to include imaginary utopian views. The bible is one of the greatest Sci-Fi stories ever told and now it's a matter of Life imitating Art and Art reimagining Life. What we decide is Right and Wrong is a construct of our own imagination and that construct changes over time.
Those laws were put in place when the only religion present in America was christianity. The founding fathers did not secularize the country to protect satanists.
I never felt that leaving religion was losing anything. What we fill our lives with- our purpose, our morality, our interests- this all must be rationally thought out over one's lifetime. We have been taught to think: now we do the work for ourselves, within our own families and communities, that which the church once did for us.
‘Anxiety is the dizziness of freedom’. Most people desire easy answers. Thinking and making decisions is hard work. It’s easier to let others tell you what to do. What is right and what is wrong. Critical thinking is a muscle that must be exercised and developed. If you don’t put in the work you will be easy to manipulate.
I don't disagree, but that saying is pretty ignorant. It's not dizziness of freedom to be worried about feeding your family, keeping lights on and a roof over your head. The American people do not have a reassuring existence.
What body of experimental science supports the hypothesis that "Most people desire easy answers"? Would anyone taking the survey to agree or disagree consider themselves to be among "most people". I honestly don't know. I've never read a scientific paper on it. Is this critical thinking?
@@timtrewyn453 Actually, we could go even further than describing general human preferences to highlighting scientific community conformity. Occam's razor (later, the scientific principle of parsimony) encourages the mainstream view that the simplest answer usually is the best one. And there goes the problem: the difference between what USUALLY IS and what IS. Though they may oftentimes be well intentioned, both scientists and laypeople create havoc in the wider society, on account of what they were taught to believe, by not allowing enough space for 'what they don't know' to actually be important. (Many cancer survivors and victims have learned that the hard way.) For the purposes of understanding the gravity of human bias towards easier explanations, you might also want to look up (or be reminded of) black swan theory, which is a metaphor for a particular set of observations that explain why people are overly vulnerable to harmful effects from low-probability events when they occur. "Black swans" are rare occurrences which vastly outweigh regular occurrences, in terms of their collective consequence.
Talking down to people who aren’t religious certainly isn’t going to help make this “Take” any better. I’m not “missing” anything by not being religious.
From an atheistic world view human life is not sacred. Humans are just made up of different gasses, it is all just random and you have no free will. I would like you to try to explain why humans have any particular value from a purely "rational" and atheistic viewpoint, its pretty difficult.
During the pandemic, I notice that quite a few seniors in my neighborhood bought dogs.. I see them at the local park. When you see a senior with a dog, say "Hi".. it doesn't cost anything.
How does this make sense when the evangelist conservative right is the group so concerned with money and deficits? The least charitable are the most religious?
It makes perfect sense. HYpocrisy is a requirement of religion, especially the abrahamic cults. They call themselves religions of peace while promoting violence and conflict right from day one. The abrahamic cults; one religion, three names, all hypocrites, all evil.
They're only against debt a deficits when a democrat is in office. Republicans administrations spend like drunken sailors. Scaremongering over the debt is just another prop for them.
@@Mdebacle I think we non-MAGAs underestimate the intoxicating power and entertainment value of Trump rallies and how important they are to maintaining the cult. It's a lesson Hitler and other autocrats knew well, and Trump understands instinctively.
"Modern society gives us all wealth..." that is hard to argue, especially as so many rural communities have been hollowed out. Factories have gone offshore, mines have closed, farms have gone bankrupt, small businesses have failed, and main streets have gone quiet. The financial strain on some communities has created an eagerness for some viable path forward. They are seekers, of a sort.
I gave up "god" when I was 11 years old. No loss in faith or community because of that. In fact, my sense of loss is that so many continue to adhere to religious doctrine perpetuating the continued oppression and hatred of those not in their group, and their continued resistance to sanity, principles grounded in logic and facts, and progress in the right direction. It gives me great solace and optimism to see religion dying all around me.
But not everyone is like you. Death of religion is not brought about by European enlightenment everywhere. In China and North Korea, absence of religion has led to complete amorality. There is no sense of right and wrong in many sections of these societies. While there are bad religious people and wonderful people who happen to be atheists, don’t have this great hope that you can create an enlightened citizenry everywhere in the absence of religion. Some people do need the old fashioned “you will go to hell” scare tactics to be good.
@@ownerspride8305 What about Finland, Sweden or Denmark ? Very few Christians in those countries . And are they really horrible as well as the two you mentioned ?
Sadly, I have pastor friends who are struggling to keep the divisiveness and populism out of their places of worship. It is getting hard. Spirituality is very personal and anybody who comes along and tries to dictate how (or if) you connect with the spiritual should be treated with caution.
"Jesus is Lord, not Trump" is not something that should be hard to convey with people who claim to worship Jesus. The problem is people are really after power, and not the cross. That's the only thing that would make it "hard". Trump makes them feel like they can have power over others or win the so-called "culture war", so they follow him instead of the words of Christ. No Christian who truly reads and believes their Bible would have a difficult time seeing why Trump does NOT represent anything Christ-like. Just read the red letters. But then again, there are tons of people claiming to be Christians who are not, and are really just church goers, so here we are.
That gaping hole in your heart can be filled with science. It provides the same spiritual experience as religion. It humbles you, while showing you a glimpse into something great, eternal, and mysterious. It is also a lot less fragile than religion. When new evidence comes out that disproves something you believed, it doesn't shatter your whole world and destroy families.
As an atheist, I'm actually iffy on this. There are three big problems here: One is that science is not a one-stop shop that tells you what you _should do_ in the absence of philosophy or your own moral values, and a lot of people want to be told what they _should do,_ not simply what _is._ (Scientists are often very morally upstanding people at the forefront of trying to make the world a better place, but that's because they have their own values regarding what _should be_ and their knowledge of science tells them what that's going to take.) Two is that science doesn't really provide you with the same kind of local community that organized religion does, and I don't know that it could given point one. Three is that people fear death and often want a promise of eternal life or some other continuation like reincarnation that science cannot offer them. So, yeah. Science can be a transcendent experience--it was for me--but there are still functions religions have that science doesn't and can't. This doesn't mean that religion is true, but it is why if you're going to replace it, it's going to take more than just science.
@@belladonna5012 thing is, we don't need to get rid of religion, just keep it where it belongs - in homes, in churches, and religious schools. If there were more science-related get-togethers, that would provide some of the "community" that people want. Also, religion can't really tell people what to do because that varies widely depending on which religion, which subset of that religion, and even the individual person you're talking to. You can talk to 10 different Christians and get 10 different answers to the same question.
You clearly haven't read any Kant to spout the asinine notion that science can replace religion. Even atheists like Heidegger, or militant atheists like Nietzsche were well aware of the incapacity of science to fulfill almost anything religion offers.
On the one hand, science and reason liberate people from absolute obedience to their religious leaders (and the abuses that are inevitable in organized religion). On the other hand, the loss of certainty about the place of everything in the universe is the price of that freedom. Each person must decide what gives their life meaning. I think this is better than being told exactly who to love, and who to hate.
The problem is that simply just doesn't work for everyone. I know a lot of people who would not have survived tragedies such as the deaths of their children and spouses had it not been for their religious beliefs. After DJT won in 2016, I knew a lot of White secularists who lost their minds after the Trump victory and had nothing to sustain themselves, and they openly asked Black people how we could maintain our sanity. I would often respond that secularism is rare among Black people, in the words of Jesse Jackson, "except among a radical few." That is still true except for large portions of the younger BLM types.
Or someone will decide for us. The problem with the idea that each individual has the right and privilege to decide about our place in the universe, is that it is highly dependent on having the social, political and material preconditions for the said "freedom". It belongs to the liberal tradition and philosophy, that frankly, even liberals don't believe in.
Yep, I think you make a great argument for letting the blind lead the blind. And actually the bit about letting everyone decide to seek out what gives their life meaning actually just opens the door to all sorts of illiberal, power hungry, demi-gods. You see when people get to decide what gives their life meaning those that decide they like to and want to control OTHERS USUALLY end up on top. Christianity is the foundation upon which you now live and people can choose to decide what gives their lives meaning. If you lived in Rome today you would be told who is your God. Period. Look up Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World to consider this from a different perspective
“The biggest threat to America today is not communism, it’s moving America toward a fascist theocracy, and everything that’s happened during the Reagan administration is steering us right down that pipe." - Frank Zappa , 1986
Fascism is what you are seeing today with the DOJ using social media and DOJ trying to put your chief political opponent in prison .. (LIKE PUTIN DID TO NARVARLNY)... Camelshit is batshit crazy
"The only difference between [Communism, Nazism and Fascism] was the difference between murder, killing and taking a life. But in our moment of blindness we said only two of these are evil, one is good. And we call it democracy." - Fulton Sheen, 1954
2,000 years of religious interference in civic governance leaves no doubt about the outcome. Fareed misses the key point. Many Americans have been subjected to or witnessed religious fervor, and we have rejected organized religion's focus on money and censorship. We have turned to the Golden Rule for guidance. Heaven...hell...maybe? We gladly take our chances that treating others well, while we're on this earth, is certain.
"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." John Adams "The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were the general principles of Christianity. I will avow that I then believed, and now believe, that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God." John Adams "It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists but by Christians, not on religions but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ." Patrick Henry "Religion and good morals are the only solid foundation of public liberty and happiness. The religion of America (are) the religion of all mankind. In other words, these fundamental beliefs belong to all world faiths, and could therefore be taught without being offensive to any sect or denomination." Samuel Adams "We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it. We have staked the future of all of our political institutions upon the capacity of mankind of self-government; upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God." James Madison “It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor.” George Washington "Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports.... forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail to the exclusion of religious principle." George Washington "You can't have national morality apart from religious principle." George Washington "Suppose a nation in some distant region should take the Bible for their only law Book, and every member should regulate his conduct by the precepts there exhibited! Every member would be obliged in conscience, to temperance, frugality, and industry; to justice, kindness, and charity towards his fellow men; and to piety, love, and reverence toward Almighty God... What a Utopia, what a Paradise would this region be." John Adams "The hope of a Christian is inseparable from his faith. Whoever believes in the divine inspiration of the Holy Scriptures must hope that the religion of Jesus shall prevail throughout the earth. Never since the foundation of the world have the prospects of mankind been more encouraging to that hope than they appear to be at the present time. And may the associated distribution of the Bible proceed and prosper till the Lord shall have made 'bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God' (Isaiah 52:10)." John Quincy Adams "I do declare to the whole world that we believe the Scriptures to contain a declaration of the mind and will of God in and to those ages in which they were written; being given forth by the Holy Ghost moving in the hearts of holy men of God; that they ought also to be read, believed, and fulfilled in our day; being used for reproof and instruction, that the man of God may be perfect. They are a declaration and testimony of heavenly things themselves, and, as such, we carry a high respect for them. We accept them as the words of God Himself." William Penn "The law given from Sinai was a civil and municipal as well as a moral and religious code… laws essential to the existence of men in society and most of which have been enacted by every nation which ever professed any code of laws.” John Quincy Adams "Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty, as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers." John Jay "Intelligence, patriotism, Christianity, and a firm reliance on Him, who has never yet forsaken this favored land, are still competent to adjust, in the best way, all our present difficulty." Abraham Lincoln "Without religion, this world would be something not fit to be mentioned in polite company: I mean hell." John Adams "Here is my Creed. I believe in one God, the Creator of the Universe. That He governs it by His Providence. That He ought to be worshiped. As to Jesus of Nazareth, my opinion of whom you particularly desire, I think the system of morals and his religion, as he left them to us, is the best the world ever saw, or is likely to see.” Benjamin Franklin "I am a real Christian - that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus Christ." Thomas Jefferson "IN GOD WE TRUST" is the official motto of the United States of America, and has appeared on U.S. currency since 1864. Every time you use money, remember this fact of what is inscribed on all US currency. This is America's historic Christian heritage.
Compared to the atheists who believe in the right to castrate children and can't tell the difference between a man and a woman? I'll take Trump any day of the week.
This is what happens when you judge everyone who is different as being the equivalent of Satan or sin. People these days don't like being judged in unnecessary ways. So it's not surprising that secularism is taking over. I'm all for it. Do you want to believe in it? It makes you feel happy? Cool... keep it to yourself.
Except you just broke your own rule just now, didn't you? In fact, you can never express your own opinion if you follow this rule. So I suggest either being quiet forever or changing your rule. (Hint: when you make a rule make sure you follow it.)
@@joeking433 The only rule I set is I just want people to be left alone. I don’t care what your beliefs are. I expect the same back. I don’t impose my will on you and you shouldn’t either. Don’t want an abortion? Don’t get one. It is literally that simple.
I’m curiously asking and not trolling at all. In a capitalist society, how can we NOT inevitably have oligarchs? How can we complain while simultaneously reaping the benefits of the very system (as Americans) we are beholden to?
@@yDrewy we need capitalism but there needs to be moderation. Having a tiny percentage of the population with most of the wealth is suboptimal. For one thing, billionaires don't just have money. They have power because of that money. And they use it to further their own interests at the expense of others - especially after Citizens United.
@@georgesimon1760 100% true, however capitalism will always lead to these things. It’s just how this system is. We can’t have one without the other is my main point.
Great piece, Fareed. I’m surprised you didn’t mention the role off social media, though. I think this is a huge piece of why we’ve seen the cultural shifts we have.
"The clergy, by getting themselves established by law and in-grafted into the machine of government, have been a very formidable engine against the civil and religious rights of man." Thomas Jefferson
The point is not to return to religion. The point is that there is a religion-sized hole in many hearts, and that hole has not been filled with something productive for a democracy. Politics has become as bad as religion. If we disagree on religious issues, that's fine. People can have separate worldviews, and ultimately what you think about God isn't going to affect day to day life. But having such opposition on political views, on even basic facts, that has massive ramifications on issues of policy that do affect everybody.
People fought over religions too. The truce among religions in the US and some other countries like Singapore was exceptional. In most places religion has always been politics.
Maybe if religion in this country didn't deny some fellow human beings basic rights, people would be more inclined to remain in the faith as it wouldn't clash with the increasingly popular notion that the right to marriage and a family and body autonomy are things everyone deserves. Communities can be found everywhere, churches ain't special
If you were in religion to know and understand God then you got out of religion for the wrong reason. If you were in religion to have your opinions rubber stamped by a distant God then you made the right decision. God doesn't care about what's popular.
And yet the most secular nations are rated having the most happiness on international studies and the best welfare. People who have not grown up with public organised religion don't miss it.
Its not a loss of faith, its realizing that you can not create laws to govern a country based on any religious. Especially since the religion is about power and control, who has the power and whom they want to control.
6 Sept 2023 - In 2021, research found that 30,177 American active duty personnel and veterans who served in the military after 9/11 have died by suicide
All my life I lived without the need for religion. I don't feel an empty space in my being. My being it's filled with what I see around me, the beauty of the nature as a whole. No need for god especially one that the people aroud me preach to.
"As a historian, I confess to a certain amusement when I hear the Judeo-Christian tradition praised as the source of our concern for human rights. In fact, the great religious ages were notable for their indifference to human rights in the contemporary sense. They were notorious not only for acquiescence in poverty, inequality, exploitation and oppression but for enthusiastic justifications of slavery, persecution, abandonment of small children, torture, genocide." ~Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., "The Opening of the American Mind," The New York Times, 1989
If secularization is leaving a void for other things "greater than oneself" to step into (populism, nationalism, authoritarianism) - why is it that it's the Democrats who are mostly secularizing while the Republicans are the ones turning towards populism, nationalism, and authoritarianism? I've seen people try to make the same argument for why BLM and LGBT issues have taken on such... let's call it fervor... on the Left, but not from this angle. Seems like we're seeing a world in which the modern Right increasingly loses its ability to win and reacts by knocking over the chess board.
Yeah, Zakaria's premise here is utterly counterfactual and ahistorical. Religion tends to be intertwined with those -isms, more than it is opposed to them.
@@yohei72 Yea I think if you're disposed to believe in an invisible man in the sky, you're ripe for believing other things like Trump's lies. Trump is not really a Republican or a Democrat, he just found Republicans to be more susceptible to his BS. I should add that the lack of empathy and callous disregard for the welfare of their fellow Americans that was displayed by Republican politicians before Trump, probably made them a prime target for Trump since he's the same way.
It cannot be rapid enough. The Bronze Age “wisdom” of middle eastern holy books outlived their usefulness ages ago. We need to be grounded in knowledge and understanding now more than ever. Believing in fictional gods is a millstone around our necks.
America really is not embracing your atheism as you like to think! If Trump gets elected it will be partially because of people like you. (And I will be voting for anyone running against your candidate!) ;)
It may not be the shape of things to come. People will build communities with and without religion that are more wholesome for the future. It is an emotional spiritual evolution that humanity is going through. Filling it with politics is a temporary phase.
Yes, perhaps just a difficult chapter in the history of a young civilization. There's an infinite amount of space to experience, share, explore for spirit, community, culture, life. When mathematics is inexhaustible and imagination cannot have imaginable bound - then why would the stunning vastness of the galaxy be a mere coincidence, rather than an open and logical invitation?
Hello gorgeous, 🥰 Your comments are always worth reading.. I pray God gives you many beautiful days and you know God loves us all so much!.....So where are you from? I'm Glenn A. Goddard, originally from Canada but currently living in California.
what fareed (and others) miss in the so-called secularized demographic is the large number of people who have switched from the empty rituals & dogma of organized religion to practices that bring a meaningful difference to their lives - such as yoga, meditation, spending time in nature, and psychedelics experienced within the proper set & setting.
@@toni6379 "Hear, O People of Gazania, the Lord your Allah is calling you back to your homeland!" I am pleading with Egypt to knock down the wall they built to keep out their ethnic brothers (same DNA) and allow them to return to their homeland. Judea is not for the Gazanians. Amen
I agree that there needs to be a community of fellowship for people to feel a part of. But, it doesn’t have to be a religious fellowship. Invest your time and energy with others who share your passions and create a community of caring. Neighborhood gardens, libraries, community cleanups or tree planting, service to seniors or those who are ill. Many of us who are secular are doing just that in our communities. But it will take a national conversation to bring up this issue of how do we create community and fellowship not clustered around a personal belief system in one religion or another, but in a common understanding that we are all connected to one another and to this earth.
I agree with you up until "... it will take a national conversation..." We can all make choices as individuals. And we see that individuals are turning away from religion. We also see a national effort to force Christianity upon our society. That will be defeated by individuals making their best choices - hopefully in my lifetime.
People need to find a purpose. These days, with jobs often being temporary (because companies have no loyalty to workers, the feeling is often mutual), families being far apart, we need to find something to be passionate about and dedicated to. Could be friendship, could be a hobby that becomes a passion (creative projects, for example) or it could be doing good and spreading some kindness, doing our small part to create a better world for more people (INCLUDING ourselves). There can be communities (NOT CULTS) OUTSIDE Of churches and people need to create them, but do so without spreading hate and creating misery for many, especially the most vulnerable people. I know - it's easier said then done, and will take time. (I'm pretty introverted, so just having a few good friends and some contact with family is enough for me, but I know others need to be a PART of something big).
“Human beings are poor examiners, subject to superstition, bias, prejudice, and a PROFOUND tendency to see what they want to see rather than what is really there.” ― M. Scott Peck
Hello Fahreed. Thank you for drawing attention to the emotional deficits we all suffer when religion grows obsolete in our lives. When churches and temples close, and congregants become disillusioned, we are left with only ourselves in a vast, indifferent universe. Reality truly hurts sometimes. Astronomys greatest gift to humanity is this Great Demotion. We really are nothing more than a speck of dust. Maybe a nice collective project for those of us who are NOT going to end up in heaven, hell, purgatory or nirvana would be a replanting and resoring of the planet upon which we survive. I believe that this collective revolution could occur through the net. We need to revive the Earth for ourselves and future generations. It's really the ONLY thing that matters , since the universe clearly does not give a f*** about us. Sounds like a far better quest than chasing after gods who are ineffectual in preventing suffering war or murder What say you?
This was a huge report by Fareed. Great reporting, unbiased, just cutting to the historical meets the present, and the present is scary on some levels and there are many systems that have failed the last 40-50 years to bring us this divide in America
Ha! That's good! Well, they can call themselves whatever I suppose, they are Self Identifying, but go thru the roof when a man Self Identifies as a woman.
' How many US mass shootings have there been in 2023? ' - BBC News December 2023 2016-383cases 2017-348cases 2018-336cases 2019-417cases 2020-610cases 2021-690cases 2022-647cases 2023-632cases
Not really. It was economic reasons. The religious fundamentalists that came to US were heretics in Europe because they were also worshipers of gold, land, materialism, and other Christian fundamentalist belief system.
