Saturday, March 31, 2018

Altruism: The Missing Ingredient in American Christianity and Democracy

 By Rudy Barnes, Jr.

Both Christianity and Democracy share an essential ingredient: altruism.  It’s defined as concern for the public welfare, and it’s conspicuously absent in American religion and politics.  Jesus taught altruism as a moral imperative of faith in the greatest commandment to love God and our neighbors as we love ourselves, including our neighbors of other races and religions; and it is recognized as a common word of faith for Jews, Christians and Muslims alike.

Providing for the public welfare, or common good, is as much a priority in democratic politics as it is in religion; but that civic value is missing in America’s increasingly self-centered, materialistic and hedonistic culture.  That became evident in 2016 when America elected a narcissist as its president, and this past year Trump confirmed his utter lack of altruism.

On Easter eve 2018, in a nation where the vast majority of voters consider themselves Christians, there is little sense of common purpose, much less concern for the public welfare.  America is now more polarized by partisan politics along racial lines than since the Civil War, and Trump’s election has exacerbated that polarization. We can only hope that America can be resurrected, reconciled and redeemed as a nation of people who truly care for one another.

Unfortunately, American politics are becoming even more polarized, with little evidence of reconciliation.  Demographic data indicates a decrease in white voters, an increase in voters over 50 years old, an increase in college educated voters, and an increase in those who claim no religious preferences, all of which have widened political and religious differences in America.

The percentage of white voters in the U.S. has dropped by 14%, with a decrease of 16% among Democrats and 9% among Republicans.  Among voters over 50 years old, there has been an overall increase of 10%, with 18% among Republicans and only 5% among Democrats.  Overall there has been an 8% increase of those with a college education, with a 15% increase among Democrats, but no change among Republicans.  As for religion, Americans claiming no religion has increased by 16%, with 24% among Democrats and 8% among Republicans.

Partisan politics are becoming more polarized with competing identity groups, and the church is not promoting the altruism needed for political reconciliation.  Instead, the evangelical wing of the church actively supports divisive radical-right politics, while mainstream Christian denominations avoid political issues, even those essential to providing for the common good.

This can be attributed to the church emphasizing exclusivist beliefs, such as Paul’s atonement doctrine, rather than the universalist and altruistic teachings of Jesus summarized in the greatest commandment.  While that emphasis has allowed Christianity to become the world’s most popular religion, it has ignoring the self-denial and sacrificial love taught by Jesus.

America has always been diverse, but that diversity has become a weakness rather than a strength.  America seems to have lost its sense of common destiny and purpose, with divisive identity groups in both political parties promoting tribalism rather than political reconciliation.  Republicans have become a white radical-right party, while Democrats have become a leftist conglomeration of minority groups. Neither party relates to moderate conservatives.

A nationwide nonpartisan moral revival is needed to restore altruism as a religious and political virtue in America, and that will require religious and political revolutionaries willing to challenge the divisive tribal norms of  religious and political institutions. It will take a 21st century reformation to resurrect the altruistic spirit that gave birth to American democracy.


Notes:  

After 20 years, data shows dramatic changes in party alignment based on fewer white voters, more voters over 50, more with a college education and more disclaiming religion.  See https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/first-read/after-20-years-data-show-dramatic-changes-party-alignment-n859821.

Political reconciliation is needed for our polarized politics, but it must be based on shared altruistic values; and the values of Donald Trump and his supporters are not altruistic, but divisive and hostile to providing the common good.  In response to Henry Olsen urging conservatives “to make peace with a Trump dominated movement” and seek “fusionism” with them, Michael Gerson has advised conservatives to forego any “fusion” with the Trump regime because of the damage they have done “in the realm of values and norms.”  Gerson urged elected leaders to “affirm our common bonds,” and “for principled conservatives to hear the call of moral duty and stand up for their beliefs until this madness passes. As it will.” See https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/this-madness-will-pass-conservatives-cant-give-up/2018/03/29/33367342-3369-11e8-8bdd-cdb33a5eef83_story.html?utm_term=.f5c5bd575e2a&wpisrc=nl_opinions&wpmm=1.

In a recent poll “61% of Republicans considered Trump a good role model for their children.”  The dramatic difference in values and lack of altruism in Trump’s “Christian” supporters and those  conservatives before them is evident in recent interviews of Trump supporters. See https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/as-stormy-daniels-tells-her-story-six-conservative-americans-debate-whether-trump-is-a-role-model/2018/03/28/bb4f258a-2f86-11e8-b0b0-f706877db618_story.html?utm_term=.7b7fede5b811&wpisrc=nl_evening&wpmm=1.

In 1834 Alex DeTocqueville observed that Democracy in America flourished with a diversity of social and religious organizations and was dependent on shared altruistic religious and political values that balanced individual rights with providing for the common good.  That was before the Civil War and the residual racial animosity that has haunted America ever since.


Related commentary:

(12/8/14): Religion and Reason
(1/11/15): The Greatest Commandment: A Common Word of Faith
(1/18/15): Love over Law: A Principle at the Heart of Legitimacy
(2/8/15): Promoting Religion Through Evangelism: Bringing Light or Darkness?
(2/15/15): Is Religion Good or Evil?
(4/5/15): Seeing the Resurrection in a New Light
(4/12/15): Faith as a Source of Morality and Law: The Heart of Legitimacy
(4/19/15): Jesus: A Prophet, God’s Only Son, or the Logos?  http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2015/04/jesus-prophet-god-only-son-or-logos.html
(5/3/15): A Fundamental Problem with Religion
(6/7/15): The Future of Religion: In Decline and Growing
(7/5/15): Reconciliation as a Remedy for Racism and Religious Exclusivism
(8/9/15): Balancing Individual Rights with Collective Responsibilities
(8/30/15): What Is Truth?
(9/20/15) Politics and Religious Polarization
(10/4/15): Faith and Religion: The Same but Different
(10/11/15): Seeking, Being and Doing on Our Journey of Faith
(11/22/15): Dualism: Satan’s Evil Versus God’s Goodness
(1/2/16): God in Three Concepts
(1/16/16): Religion, Politics and Public Expectations
(1/23/16): Who Is My Neighbor?
(1/30/16): The Politics of Loving Our Neighbors as Ourselves
(2/20/16): The Evolution of Faith, Religion and Spirituality
(2/27/16): Conflicting Concepts of Legitimacy in Faith, Freedom and Politics
(3/12/16): Religion, Race and the Deterioration of Democracy in America
(3/26/16): Religion, Democracy, Diversity and Demagoguery
(4/23/16): Standards of Legitimacy in Morality, Manners and Political Correctness
(4/30/16): The Relevance of Religion to Politics
(5/7/16): Religion and a Politics of Reconciliation
(5/21/16): Religious Fundamentalism and a Politics of Reconciliation
(8/5/16): How Religion Can Bridge Our Political and Cultural Divide
(9/17/16): A Moral Revival to Restore Legitimacy to Our Politics
(10/29/16): A Revelation in American Politics and Religion
(11/19/16): Religion and a Politics of Reconciliation Based on Shared Values
(12/17/16): Discipleship in a Democracy: A Test of Faith, Legitimacy and Politics
(1/7/17): Religion and Reason as Sources of Political Legitimacy, and Why They Matter
(1/21/17): Religion and Reason Redux: Religion Is Ridiculous
(1/28/17): Saving America from the Church
(2/4/17): When Confrontation Trumps Reconciliation in Politics and Religion
(2/25/17): The Need for a Revolution in Religion and Politics
(3/11/17): Accountability and the Stewardship of Democracy
(3/18/17): Moral Ambiguity in Religion and Politics
(4/22/17): The Relevance of Jesus and the Irrelevance of the Church in Today’s World
(4/29/17): A Wesleyan Alternative for an Irrelevant Church
(5/27/17): Intrafaith Reconciliation as a Prerequisite for Interfaith Reconciliation
(6/10/17): Religious Exclusivity and Discrimination in Politics http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2017/06/religious-exclusivity-and.html
(7/1/17): Religion, Moral Authority and Conflicting Concepts of Legitimacy
(7/15/17) Religion and Progressive Politics
(7/22/17): Hell No!
(8/5/17): Does Religion Seek to Reconcile and Redeem or to Divide and Conquer?
(8/12/17): The Universalist Teachings of Jesus as a Remedy for Religious Exclusivism  
(9/9/17): The Evolution of the American Civil Religion and Habits of the Heart http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2017/09/the-evolution-of-american-civil.html.
(9/23/17): Tribalism and the American Civil Religion  
(9/30/17): The 500th Anniversary of the Protestant Reformation: What Does It Mean Today?   http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2017/09/the-500th-anniversary-of-protestant.html.
(10/7/17): A 21st Century Reformation to Restore Reason to American Civil Religion http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2017/10/a-21st-century-reformation-to-restore.html.
(10/28/17): The Moral Decline of Religion and the Seven Woes of Jesus
(11/11/17): A Politics of Reconciliation that Should Begin in the Church
(11/18/17): Radical Religion and the Demise of Democracy
(12/2/17): How Religious Standards of Legitimacy Shape Politics, for Good or Bad
(12/16/17): Can Democracy Survive the Trump Era?
(12/23/17): If Democracy Survives the Trump Era, Can the Church Survive Democracy? http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2017/12/if-democracy-survives-trump-era-can.html.
(1/6/18): The Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Diversity in Democracy
(1/20/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Morality and Religion in Politics
(3/3/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on America’s Holy War
(3/10/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Religion, Spirituality and Politics
(3/10/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Religion, Spirituality and Politics
(3/17/18): Jefferson’s Jesus and Moral Standards in Religion and Politics
(3/24/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist 0n Christian Morality as a Standard of Legitimacy http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2018/03/musings-of-maverick-methodist-on_24.html.

Saturday, March 24, 2018

Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Christian Morality as a Standard of Legitimacy

 By Rudy Barnes, Jr.

Religion has two purposes:  A mystical purpose that defines our relationship with God, and a moral purpose that defines our relationships with each other.  Jesus emphasized following his teachings as moral standards of legitimacy, but Paul’s atonement doctrine emphasized a mystical belief in Jesus as a divine being.  In the 4th century, the church gave precedence to mystical belief in Jesus as God in the flesh over following Jesus as the word of God.

Until the 16th century Protestant Reformation Catholic doctrines required both faith and works for salvation, but Martin Luther’s doctrine of sola fide (salvation through faith alone) made moral deeds irrelevant to salvation.  Luther emphasized Paul’s atonement doctrine and justification by faith, and challenged the assertion in the Gospel of James that true faith requires good deeds: As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. (James 2:26)

Among evangelical Christians the doctrine of sola fide has evolved into Christian beliefs that ignore moral standards in politics.  That trend culminated with the election of Donald Trump, who exemplifies the antithesis of the moral teachings of Jesus.  Trump’s election was made possible by supporters of the evangelical prosperity gospel, which more closely resembles the self-centered objectivist philosophy of Ayn Rand than the altruistic gospel of Jesus.           

Contemporary evangelical leaders like Tony Perkins, Ralph Reed, Franklin Graham, Jerry Falwell, Jr., Paula White and Robert Jeffress have promoted the prosperity gospel and “family values” that conflict with the moral teachings of Jesus. They consider abortion as murder, homosexuality as sin and promote racist and nativist policies; and they consider Donald Trump as chosen by God and condemn their opponents as Godless.

The worldly power of a religion depends upon its popularity.  Christianity became a popular and powerful religion when the church subordinated the unpopular moral teachings of Jesus on self-denial and sacrificial love to belief in the divinity of Jesus as the only way to salvation.  In short, the popularity of Christianity is based on cheap grace and a plastic Jesus.

While the majority of Americans claim to be Christians, they have allowed evangelical Christians who support Donald Trump and a radical-right GOP to hijack and corrupt Christianity.  It’s little wonder that Trump can lie with impunity to the Canadian Prime Minister about trade, and that billionaire Elizabeth Holmes, founder and CEO of Theranos, can commit massive fraud and receive only a modest fine for her egregious exploitation of the public.

We live in a time of polarized politics and pervasive immorality despite the fact that over 70% of Americans claim to be Christians.  The future of Christianity and democracy in America depends on a politics of reconciliation based on shared values--the values of altruistic love taught by Jesus.  They are summarized in the greatest commandment to love God and to love our neighbors--including our neighbors of other races and religions--as we love ourselves.

Christianity is at a crossroads.  It must make following Jesus as important as worshiping him, and make the stewardship of democracy a matter of faith as well as politics.  That requires applying altruistic values in politics to balance individual rights with providing for the common good, and determining when and how lethal force can be used to protect people from those who would do them harm, as well as when and how military force is used to protect national security.

Christian values such as self-denial and sacrificial love as taught by Jesus are not popular in America’s materialistic and hedonistic culture, but such altruistic values must be the standard of political legitimacy for the American civil religion to preserve American democracy from self-destruction.  If Christians continue to elect narcissistic and immoral leaders like Donald Trump, both American democracy and Christianity are doomed to fail.


Notes:

Michael Warren Davis has compared the seemingly fanatic public adoration of totalitarian leaders like Kim Jong-un and Hitler with Trumpsim “which bears a close resemblance to the Roman imperial cultus.” It “is a kind of Protestantism” that considers the Constitution as a sacred document.   Davis concludes that “...our Anglo-American political tradition is native to orthodox Christianity. ...It evolves slowly, adapting to changes in the environment. Uproot it and it begins to wither, or else mutate beyond recognition. So we may confidently repeat Maistre’s warning. All true philosophies must opt between these two hypotheses: either we find our politics in authentic religion, or some weird new sect will arise from its choked and twisted roots.”  See http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/all-politics-is-religion/.

In his book, The Triumph of Christianity, Bart Ehrman traces Christianity’s path from ‘forbidden religion’ to a ‘triumph,’ and attributes the triumph of Christianity over pagan religions to the alleged superiority of the Christian God over other gods, not to the moral teachings of Jesus:
“Why would somebody give up religious practices that had been going on in their family for generations, millennia, in order to follow a new religion? The answer seems to be that the Christians were meeting the pagans on their own grounds. The reason pagans were worshipping their gods is because the gods could provide them with things that they could not provide for themselves. It was all about divine power. We can't control if it rains. We can't control if the livestock reproduce. We can't control what happens when we get sick. We can't make ourselves well, but the gods can.
What the Christians argued was that the Christian God was more powerful than any other god, that this God was active in the world. He not only brought salvation through the death and resurrection of Jesus, he continues to act in the lives of his followers. He heals the sick. He casts out demons. He raises the dead. This God is very active and he is more powerful than any of the others, and so it came to be a competition between the gods, where the Christians were trying to convince people that their God was the superior one.”  See

Ironically it was Thomas Jefferson, a deist, who considered the teachings of Jesus to be “the most sublime moral code ever designed by man.”  At the same time Jefferson condemned church doctrines as “detestable and execrable.” See Introduction to The Teachings of Jesus and Muhammad on Morality and Law: The Heart of Legitimacy, p. 10 and note 2 at p 425, posted in Resources at http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/.


On Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes charged with “massive fraud,” see  https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2018/03/14/theranos-founder-elizabeth-holmes-charged-massive-fraud/424670002/.

On the difficulty of finding the shared values needed for political reconciliation in American politics, see  https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2018/03/18/americans-generally-dont-think-their-political-opponents-share-their-values/?
      

Related Commentary:

(12/8/14): Religion and Reason
(1/11/15): The Greatest Commandment: A Common Word of Faith
(1/18/15): Love over Law: A Principle at the Heart of Legitimacy
(2/8/15): Promoting Religion Through Evangelism: Bringing Light or Darkness?
(2/15/15): Is Religion Good or Evil?
(4/5/15): Seeing the Resurrection in a New Light
(4/12/15): Faith as a Source of Morality and Law: The Heart of Legitimacy
(4/19/15): Jesus: A Prophet, God’s Only Son, or the Logos?  http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2015/04/jesus-prophet-god-only-son-or-logos.html
(5/3/15): A Fundamental Problem with Religion
(6/7/15): The Future of Religion: In Decline and Growing
(7/5/15): Reconciliation as a Remedy for Racism and Religious Exclusivism
(8/9/15): Balancing Individual Rights with Collective Responsibilities
(8/30/15): What Is Truth?
(9/20/15) Politics and Religious Polarization
(10/4/15): Faith and Religion: The Same but Different
(10/11/15): Seeking, Being and Doing on Our Journey of Faith
(11/22/15): Dualism: Satan’s Evil Versus God’s Goodness
(1/2/16): God in Three Concepts
(1/16/16): Religion, Politics and Public Expectations
(1/23/16): Who Is My Neighbor?
(1/30/16): The Politics of Loving Our Neighbors as Ourselves
(2/20/16): The Evolution of Faith, Religion and Spirituality
(2/27/16): Conflicting Concepts of Legitimacy in Faith, Freedom and Politics
(3/12/16): Religion, Race and the Deterioration of Democracy in America
(3/26/16): Religion, Democracy, Diversity and Demagoguery
(4/23/16): Standards of Legitimacy in Morality, Manners and Political Correctness
(4/30/16): The Relevance of Religion to Politics
(5/7/16): Religion and a Politics of Reconciliation
(5/21/16): Religious Fundamentalism and a Politics of Reconciliation
(8/5/16): How Religion Can Bridge Our Political and Cultural Divide
(9/17/16): A Moral Revival to Restore Legitimacy to Our Politics
(10/29/16): A Revelation in American Politics and Religion
(11/19/16): Religion and a Politics of Reconciliation Based on Shared Values
(12/17/16): Discipleship in a Democracy: A Test of Faith, Legitimacy and Politics
(1/7/17): Religion and Reason as Sources of Political Legitimacy, and Why They Matter
(1/21/17): Religion and Reason Redux: Religion Is Ridiculous
(1/28/17): Saving America from the Church
(2/4/17): When Confrontation Trumps Reconciliation in Politics and Religion
(2/25/17): The Need for a Revolution in Religion and Politics
(3/11/17): Accountability and the Stewardship of Democracy
(3/18/17): Moral Ambiguity in Religion and Politics
(4/22/17): The Relevance of Jesus and the Irrelevance of the Church in Today’s World
(4/29/17): A Wesleyan Alternative for an Irrelevant Church
(5/27/17): Intrafaith Reconciliation as a Prerequisite for Interfaith Reconciliation
(6/10/17): Religious Exclusivity and Discrimination in Politics http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2017/06/religious-exclusivity-and.html
(7/1/17): Religion, Moral Authority and Conflicting Concepts of Legitimacy
(7/15/17) Religion and Progressive Politics
(7/22/17): Hell No!
(8/5/17): Does Religion Seek to Reconcile and Redeem or to Divide and Conquer?
(8/12/17): The Universalist Teachings of Jesus as a Remedy for Religious Exclusivism  
(9/9/17): The Evolution of the American Civil Religion and Habits of the Heart http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2017/09/the-evolution-of-american-civil.html.
(9/23/17): Tribalism and the American Civil Religion  
(9/30/17): The 500th Anniversary of the Protestant Reformation: What Does It Mean Today?   http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2017/09/the-500th-anniversary-of-protestant.html.
(10/7/17): A 21st Century Reformation to Restore Reason to American Civil Religion http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2017/10/a-21st-century-reformation-to-restore.html.
(10/28/17): The Moral Decline of Religion and the Seven Woes of Jesus
(11/11/17): A Politics of Reconciliation that Should Begin in the Church
(11/18/17): Radical Religion and the Demise of Democracy
(12/2/17): How Religious Standards of Legitimacy Shape Politics, for Good or Bad
(12/16/17): Can Democracy Survive the Trump Era?
(12/23/17): If Democracy Survives the Trump Era, Can the Church Survive Democracy? http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2017/12/if-democracy-survives-trump-era-can.html.
(1/6/18): The Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Diversity in Democracy
(1/20/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Morality and Religion in Politics
(3/3/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on America’s Holy War
(3/10/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Religion, Spirituality and Politics
(3/10/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Religion, Spirituality and Politics
(3/17/18): Jefferson’s Jesus and Moral Standards in Religion and Politics