A Blog for Dallas Area Catholics

Secular conservatives figuring it out: progressivism is a religious cult November 5, 2015

Even more, it’s a suicidal death cult, but not just for individuals – for entire nations and civilizations.  Want to know how civilizations collapse? Watch TV.

Nevertheless, I’ve been interested to see more and more secular conservative commentators figure out the fact that leftism is another form of religion.  And even more, some are even noting that the religious nature of leftism is inevitable.  It is so because God created us as deeply religious, spiritual beings. We have a built-in need for the understanding and practice of things far beyond us.  That need is of course to be filled by God, but since leftism rejects God (and is in fact a system deliberately contrived to oppose God and, most especially, His Church), those needs tend to get filled by all kinds of things.  Primarily, leftism itself becomes the substitute religion, but since leftism is not spiritually fulfilling and is bound by earthly parameters (containing no real elements of transcendence, aside from its false promise of an earthly “paradise”), it leaves a void that those drawn towards progressive beliefs fill with all kinds of nonsense: belief in space aliens, astrology, tarot, false eastern religions, new ageism, power crystals, and even the deliberately diabolical.

One reason the left is so hard to combat from a secular conservative standpoint, is that it is not just a political movement but a religious one, as well. Thus leftists are filled with a consuming fervor that often goes far beyond what mere political conviction can muster. That is one of many reasons why leftism must be opposed from a religious – a Christian, a Catholic – basis.  Cultural power leads to political power, and conservatives have erred greatly for the past century looking for political solutions to retard or stop the advancing leftist revolution, when in reality what is needed is a powerful cultural basis to create the political will necessary to roll leftism back.  That basis can only be filled by religious belief, and in particular, Catholic culture.

A few interesting comments from PJ media:

There is a sort of orthodoxy required among liberals. Do you believe in climate change? What about the gender pay gap? Those who do not toe the line often find themselves exiled — not just from the fold, but from the conversation.

To some extent, these views are merely what we mean when we say the word “liberal” — they describe a political program roughly supported by one major party. But at some point, these views have become prescriptive; they have morphed into a moral structure to provide meaning and guidance in place of religion. When political beliefs start to explain why bad things happen to good people, they may be crystallizing into something closer to faith. [I disagree. Leftism has always, from its inception in post-protestant revolution rationalism (and a direct result of that revolution), been a profoundly religious construct. It inspires the kind of faith and zeal the only religious conviction engenders.  It is not “starting to crystallize as a religious movement, it always has been, but as leftism gains more and more ascendance, and Christianity retreats, the religious overtones become more and more apparent.]

…….These are not some cheap shots aimed at liberalism merely to discredit the ideas, but current trends in the movement which illustrate how a political ideology can answer human needs usually satisfied by religion. The ability to explain why bad things happen to good people, the need to confess your sins and find absolution, and the desire to attack opposing views as heretical — these traditionally religious activities are increasingly being taken up by a political movement. [But it has been doing this for centuries.  Jacobins first cast Girondists out of their clubs, then went to war against them politically, then cut their heads off as heretics against their new demonic faith.  For two centuries leftism has held sacred dogmas, railed against “heretics,” provided definitions of sin and grants of absolution, and, most of all, promised a new, earthly “paradise” of materialism in competition to the real, eternal paradise of Heaven.  All this did not happen by happenstance.]

……The accusations are endless. If you don’t believe in liberal positions about climate change, the minimum wage or social justice programs, you must have been bought off — there simply is no other possible explanation. How could you hate the poor so much? How could you doubt established facts? How could you hate yourself?…….

…….This move to silence the debate does not end with Twitter. Last month, 20 climate scientists petitioned President Obama to use the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) – a law intended to fight organized crime — against people who “denied” climate change.

When Brookings scholar Robert Litan dared to analyze the downsides of a new federal regulation backed by Senator Elizabeth Warren, Warren essentially forced him to resign, despite the scholar’s more than 40 years at the organization.

When retired neurosurgeon and presidential candidate Ben Carson said that the Nazis confiscated the firearms of Jews prior to the Holocaust, prominent liberals didn’t rebut his arguments. They didn’t even call him a liar. Instead, they wrote “f**k off” and accused him of “blaming the victims.” Carson was right, by the way, even though his comments were politically unwise and a bit oversimplified.

This tendency to shut down debate — through name-calling, accusing critics of ulterior motives or diagnosing their social pathologies — is unworthy even of a religion, but most closely resembles the religious practice of declaring certain views “anathema.”……..[The comparison here is strained, especially with reference to the Church, but the general point is quite right – if you reject leftist shibboleths, you are not just incorrect, you are evil.  With leftism gaining increasingly cultural and political ascendance, how long will they continue to tolerate “heretical” beliefs?  I fear, not long.  If you think the Constitution will protect you, you’ve got another think coming.]

There’s a lot more at the link, if you need more examples of illiberal, frankly coercive, and trending strongly towards totalitarian left-wing actions.

For an example of how supposedly areligious, scientifically-minded, and oh-so-rational left-leaning (or outright leftist) folks very frequently buy into all kinds of nutty beliefs, well…….here’s one:

Like many Europeans, Marianne Haaland Bogdanoff, a travel agency manager in this southern Norwegian town, does not go to church, except maybe at Christmas, and is doubtful about the existence of God.

But when “weird things” — inexplicable computer breakdowns, strange smells and noises and complaints from staff members of constant headaches — started happening at the ground-floor travel office, she slowly began to put aside her deep skepticism about life beyond the here and now. After computer experts, electricians and a plumber all failed to find the cause of her office’s troubles, she finally got help from a clairvoyantwho claimed powers to communicate with the dead. The headaches and other problems all vanished.

People who think themselves too rational for religious belief end up believing in “astral forces”, ghosts and other phenomena. Sometimes these superstitions take the deadly form of political ideologies that fanatical believers take up with religious fervor—communist atheists murdered tens of millions of people in the 20th century in the irrational grip of an ugly ideology. They scoffed at the credulity of religious believers even as they worshipped the infallible insights of Stalin. Similarly, the Nazis presented their faith as an alternative to the “outgrown superstitions” of historic Christianity.

It’s something very much worth remembering: a world without faith in God wouldn’t be a more rational or more humane place.

Wasn’t it Chesterton who said of those who refuse to believe in God, that it’s not that they don’t believe in Him, it’s that they’ll believe anything?  Surveys show that those with a progressive outlook are much, much more likely to believe in things like ESP, space aliens, Bigfoot, haunted houses, and other such “paranormal” phenomenon.  The most tragic thing, however, is that “Catholics” believe in this garbage at almost the same rates as progressives!  Which aligns with most other surveys and cultural behavior, in which Catholics generally vary from middle of the road, at best, to having strongly left-leaning beliefs.  Thus my belief that fewer than 5% of those who answer surveys as “Catholic” actually are.

Thanks Vatican II and all your Church leaders infected with its destructive spirit!

We gots a long road to hoe.  Don’t worry about them, so much, get yourself, and your family, to Heaven.