Secular Religions

“Fundamentally, the western Christian church lost its attempt to control civil society. In justice as well as government, secular authority emerged as the arbiter, guardian and enforcer of law… Christendom was dead… political and civil action now rested with secular states.”

Christopher Tyerman, God’s War: A New History of the Crusades

When the federal government is the ultimate authority, its citizens begin to look to it as a higher power.^[1] They look to the government to provide morality, welfare, health, education, financial security, rules, morality, a sense of belonging, and purpose. This mentality has led to what professor Thomas DiLorenzo calls the “deification of the state.”^[2]

Since there is now no higher authority, the government also begins to think of itself as a god or, at the very least, they play God. There is nothing outside its jurisdiction. It begins to think it has the answer to every problem and can provide salvation to its people; it begins to think it knows better than its peasant followers and can create its own morality, laws, punishments, and so on. It creates its own thou shalt nots. The state also begins to take what is rightly God’s. Proverbs 3:9 tells us the first fruits of our earnings are to go to God, whereas income tax ensures it goes to our rulers, who demand far more than God ever did.^[3] But worse, it will regulate our lives to conform to its beneficent image resulting in more power for itself. Thus, the citizenry becomes docile servants of the state rather than the government being the servant of its citizens. It becomes “patriotic” to be hardworking, taxpaying, obedient tools, to be used for the government’s benefit and thus derive its grace and blessings.

Political participation turns us into little comrades. Followers of Lenin’s ideal “Devotion to the revolutionary cause permeates his entire being.”^[4] Politics becomes our most crucial identifier; what we are most willing to go to war for, die for, and dispose of heretics for. For gain, our leaders desire to make politics our most important identifier. We become political beings.^[5]

Ask Americans where they get their “rights,” and they will tell you they are from our government. Our kind masters allow us more “rights” than in other areas of the world; therefore, we are “free.” It is a theocracy of statism; every good gift comes from above, and the giver is the government. This is vital to understand, and it is essential you realize your rights come from the government and not from God. The government is your authority; they declare your rights, your values, and your worth.

Secularized citizens believe the collective can do all things through the “government that strengthens them.” Historian Thomas Woods wrote, “The vast bulk of Americans proceed through twelve years of government funded education that (by an interesting coincidence) teaches them all about the wonders of federal government, how lost they’d be without it, and how foolish it would be to worry that the constitution might not authorize most of what it does.”^[6] The government becomes the miracle worker; it can turn drought and devastation into abundance and heal disease, starvation, crime, discrimination, and any other ill, real or manufactured.

However, a contradiction arises for the secular state when it teaches relativism and atheism while at the same time trying to teach morals. They first convince the voters they are nothing but random evolved matter living in a purposeless and relativistic world. Therefore, they tell them they must not discriminate against sexual or gender preferences because there is no right or wrong; one way is not better. Yet in the next class they are trained to vilify the Crusaders and the Inquisition and taught a patriarchal system is evil. It seems the only time we are allowed to claim absolute moral right is when something goes against collectivist “democratic, equality values” we are told we can all agree with. However, there can be no moral right or wrong in a secular world.^[7] And yet, contradictory to relativism, voting assumes you find something undesirable about the world. You vote to improve your life, or prevent someone from doing something destructive to society. In other words, you’re making a judgment call discerning, one might say discriminating against, one party or person from another. You attempt to segregate them from political participation and representation.

However, knowing people are moral and spiritual beings with an innate perception of right and wrong, secularists must fulfill the need. They will replace God’s law with various secular and political “issues” people are to pretend matter in an otherwise meaningless world. Theologian William Lane Craig explained:

Without God, there is no objective right and wrong… if naturalism is true, it becomes impossible to condemn war, oppression, or crime as morally wrong. Some action, say, incest, may not be biologically or socially advantageous, and so in the course of human evolution it has become taboo. But there is nothing really wrong about raping someone. If… moral rules are, “nothing but the customs… that this or that culture adopts over the course of time,” then the nonconformist who chooses to flout the herd morality is doing nothing more morally wrong than being uncultured. Nor, by the same token, can one praise brotherhood, equality, or love as good. It really doesn’t matter what values you choose, for there is no right and wrong. Moral good and evil do not exist.^[8]

Racism, environmentalism, women’s rights, and so on provide secularists with meaning and purpose. They distract them from searching for the true purpose of life and prevent them from lapsing into traditional beliefs. Democratic societies desire to raise politically active citizens who expect the government to solve their issues. They will then naturally view the government as a kind of savior, a higher power. Over time people will begin to view the government not as a coercive power but as a director, a leader, and a loving mother, a kindly touch. They begin to see anything pulling allegiance away from the government, such as the Church, traditions, monarchy, or family, as sinister. They condemn their followers for praising and adoring these instead of giving what is rightly due to the state.

The environmental religion provides self-sacrificial good works in the way of lower carbon emissions, or riding a bike instead of driving a car. They define sin as eating red meat and driving gas-guzzling cars. Vermont children are more concerned with committing environmental sins than biblical sins, which they have no idea about. The “green” religion provides fear and punishment for non-compliance, such as environmental disasters. Every secular ideology will echo the basic foundations of the religion it has replaced.

Politics often becomes the religion of the secularist. Professor Caplan referred to it as “Democratic fundamentalism”^[9] where believers have blind faith in their leaders and overlook and dismiss any criticism leveled against the faith, i.e. democracy. He stated plainly, “political/economic ideology is the religion of modernity. Like the adherents of traditional religion, many people find comfort in their political worldview and greet critical questions with pious hostility.”^[10] Voting takes on a religious nature.^[11]

Politics and political parties are where the secularist finds his identity, meaning, and purpose; his party becomes his family, his community. From his family, he learns good and evil; to be fully equipped for every good work and maintain orthodox thinking, he gets his daily devotion and sermons from his favorite podcasts and news anchors. Come election time, this secular religionist will be found out in pairs, knocking on doors seeking converts, in addition to tithing to the party of choice. This giving to the “good cause” might not be collected in a basket on Sundays but nonetheless raises millions each election cycle. Values, morality, guidelines, and marching orders are written down as party platforms and talking points to be adhered to by all the faithful. Famous prophets or news anchors receive the admiration formerly due to medieval saints and clergy.

What used to be the most important thing to know about someone—what religion or church they were joined with – is now what their political party is. Politics is the preferred religion of white western atheists. It fills the void Christianity left. In a 50/50 society of Christians and secularists, the latter will outvote the Christians because they will be more politically active; elections are the holy days of their church. To motivate most Christians, you must teach their kids critical race theory or convince them to change their gender behind the parents’ backs.

Janowski identifies more hints of secular religion in what he called “democratic confessions.”^[12] He described these acts as a “religious ritual” where the guilty party admits their sin against collectivism. For example, we often see famous movie and sports stars, political pundits, and politicians publicly apologize for saying something potentially disrupting the group. They must feel or express guilt and repentance for their sin in front of the community, and only by performing this ritual to “distance yourself from your former views” can you acceptably repent. Janowski further notes these public displays are only popular in former Protestant nations such as America. They are almost non-existent in the former Catholic nations where confession is done in private.

Democracy itself has religious aspects to it. Citizens are told about its inherent goodness and the evil nature of any heretic who opposes “democratic values.” Opposing those who oppose democracy is not just a form of secular puritanism; in their mind, it is a crusade against evil. They are the inquisitors protecting us from demonic forces. It might not be a witch, but it could be a “climate change” denier, the unvaccinated, aristocrats, monarchists, traditionalists, anarchists, libertarians, creationists or any number of heretical groups. De Chosal wrote, “Democracy is not just a political system. It is much more, and its nature approaches that of the gods if we consider with how much respect it is treated and with what devotion it is honored. The idolatrous character of democracy is clearly seen in the absolute refusal to question it in any way.”^[13]

James Stimson wrote, “Democracy is bound up with symbolism, belief, patriotism, and a quasi-religious commitment. It is imbued with our self-identity as Americans. Democracy is the civil religion of America.”^[14] Whenever our sacred American idol of “democracy” is under attack, true believers from both the Right and Left come to its defense through military volunteering, donations, the sacrifice of liberty, etc. Interestingly, the Left will say the Right is threatening democracy and the followers aid its defense; meanwhile, the Right will claim the Left is attacking democracy and initiate the same response. Democracy can mean many things. It can be two contrary deities, but it must always be a deity above the Left or Right, domestic or foreign.

We will engage in ideological wars for our god, utilizing our military for evangelistic efforts across the globe to “spread democracy.” Our government spent $787 million on gender equality programs in an occupied Afghanistan not desiring, accepting, or asking for them.^[15] This militaristic and evangelistic cause produces large numbers of martyrs. It needs large-scale tithing to maintain, often done willingly because we are spreading (or defending) the societal saving message of “democracy” worldwide. We declare its blessing to the infidel Muslims who, for some incomprehensible reason, won’t accept our enlightenment. In our puritanical minds, we are showing them a better way so they can “progress” (that is, become like us) and receive all the divine blessings democracy so self-evidently produces.

A neighbor of mine viewed the “attacks” on the Capitol by Trump supporters as an attack on democracy itself. At least she realized the elite national party members represent democracy, not the claimed ability to attain self-governance for the voters. She further stated, “democracy is the heart of everything.”^[16] We have replaced the savior from Nazareth with the politician from D.C.

In a song by Leonard Cohen titled “Democracy,” he refers to it as the “mechanism of change.” Not just political change but spiritual change of the “heart.” Showing signs of the inherit worship of the state ingrained in democracy, the lyrics read:

sail on, sail on, O mighty ship of state

to the shores of need, past the reves of greed, through the shalls of hate

In other words, democracy can change society and transform the heart past greed and hate; it is a political salvation message.

The old New England puritans were limited to biblical sins (or at least perceived biblical sins such as consuming alcohol) in their pursuit to control others. To the New England puritan (and the hordes of their descendants spread out across the nation), sin comes from the exterior, so, for example, alcohol causes drunkenness. To prevent something you find undesirable in others, you create laws to prevent the outward substance by outlawing it. Puritans’ modern counterparts wage war on drugs or guns, believing their removal would rid the world of “gun violence” and drug abuse.^[17]

This is all bad enough, but the problem today is our puritans are no longer Christians. They are secularists. There is no limit to what they will seek to control. They can be poked and prodded into believing in all kinds of secular sins and will then seek to regulate all the exteriors coming with it. Thus, in a democracy, a country of secular puritan majorities will bring nothing but endless legislation, tyrannically invading private property and using force to ease their largely imaginary fears. There’s no limit to the amount of suffering they are willing to force you to endure in order to “help you.”

We can see why governments train up secular puritans and impose on them endless “issues” justifying further control of others. The modern social justice warriors and cancel culture activists are contemporary puritans utilizing the state to enforce their will on dissidents whose secular sins cannot be tolerated. You won’t find forgiveness in a secular religion; they can cancel you for something you apologized for twenty years ago; it is a ruthless religion because secularism does not know the transformation of the heart.^[18]

Christianity itself can become not just spineless but a promoter of the state as well. Perhaps the closest thing we have today to an established church is between evangelical Christianity and the Republican Party. Seminaries, megachurches, and so on align with the party, and the churches seek converts (more seats filled, more money, and more voters) rather than disciples. They will preach on the evils of abortion to funnel Republican voters both to their pews, and to the booths. The political party issues become the churches’ issues rather than, as they should be, the other way around. Churches have become just another secular avenue for influencing the population. Very few churches remain unadulterated.

I used to attend a conservative Republican church promoting blind obedience to the state. We recited the pledge of allegiance, sang the “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” and proudly displayed the American flag in the church. There was no shortage of patriotic recruits among the congregation who were, or are, in the military, and they were honored for it, especially on secular Holy Days like Veterans Day. The typical Republican dogma came from the pastor: abortion is murder, military good; therefore, vote Republican, God bless America.

Millions of Christians living in democracies are Christians of the heart, not the mind. They might one day be in heaven, but, knowingly or not, they think like secularists. They are “religious” Christians; they play religion on Sunday but keep it within the church, never bringing it into public view. They are ‘heaven Christians;’ they may end up in heaven, but will never bring heaven down to earth.^[19]

Political participation promotes the belief the average citizen’s mission is to save the world through political activism. We are on the mission field to receive the gospel of whatever the current political fad of the day is. Whenever an “issue” and perceived imperfection arises, “we must do something,” and “something” must be government action. We can feel like we are doing something to improve the world only by “taking action.” The Covid pandemic is a classic case; the fear of Covid led to the mentality we must do something; we falsely believe we can control a virus via politics.^[20]

In a debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, both candidates claimed they would prevent Covid from spreading. Biden attacked Trump for allowing so many American deaths; voters should not re-elect Trump, said Biden, because too many Americans died under his administration. Biden spoke as a typical citizen in a democracy would, as if it was up to a president to stop invading viruses. And as many Biden critics pointed out, the deaths increased under the Biden administration. Yet I do not blame “creepy Joe” because the state is not my savior, nor am I a totalitarian thinking a president can control a virus. But to be elected to the highest office, you must have that mentality or promise the people you are the savior who can gather the fearful voters as a mother does her chicks and protect them from the fox. Whatever that fox might be.

The lockdowns imposed on citizens by Republicans and Democrats were a severe response to the fear in the population. Governmental action became necessary as the people then pleaded for protection. It doesn’t matter so much the methods are effective, but politicians must do something when the herd is afraid, and they look to you as both your shepherd, and your savior. Neither does it matter if those actions caused numerous detrimental side effects including financial ruin for many and dramatically elevated deaths. Or that more died due to Covid policies than were saved, including millions in the poorest countries.^[21] Run it back, and we would do it again, but differently this time.

It seems our solution to Covid did nearly everything possible to ensure a high death rate. We imposed economic suffering; we muted people’s immune systems and their ability to fight it off by removing citizens from fresh air and exercise. We locked them in their houses, reducing levels of vitamin D, a vitamin known to be helpful to the immune system. In Rutland, Vermont, we removed basketball rims because dissidents were getting exercise, and we shut down gyms to prevent the same. Lack of fresh air and exercise lead to diabetes and weight gain. My age group gained an average of around 20 pounds during the shutdowns. Weight is a significant factor in severe symptoms and death related to Covid. Finally, we became dependent on vaccinations and pharmaceutical companies.

Each winter in Vermont, like cozy hobbits, we retreat from the snow and cold into our warm homes. During our withdrawal, we have what is declared a “flu” season and everyone rushes to get a vaccination. People get it and die from the sickness all year; however, the winter’s symptoms are much more severe because our immune systems are down. We are not getting fresh air, exercise, vitamin D from the sun, fresh local food, etc. Our immune systems generally fight off the flu in the summer, but it is far more hazardous in the winter. In other words, we don’t have a “flu season” but a lack of fresh air, vitamin D, fresh foods, and exercise season. We ensured these same conditions during Covid.

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^[1] (Ferrara 2012)

^[2] (Bishop 2023)

^[3] (Trewhella 2013, 64)

^[4] Victor Cherrnov National Geographic History September/October 2017 Russia 1917 The Year of Revolution Orlando Figes

^[5] The medieval peasant did not see it as his role, nor desired it to be so, to bother himself with the troubles of the wider world; his own locality provided enough to concern himself with. Moreso he would never have considered voting or engaging in political activism to bring about social change as he believed it was not worth his time and effort.

^[6] (Woods 2010)

^[7] (Lisle 2009)(Smith 2023)

^[8] (“Can We Be Good without God?”, n.d.)

^[9] (Caplan 2008, 186)

^[10] (Caplan 2008, 16)

^[11] (Lewis 2008, 10-16)

^[12] (Janowski 2021, 18-20)

^[13] (Buffin de Chosal 2017, 7)

^[14] (Achen and Bartels 2016, 18)

^[15] (Wolfe 2022, 442)

^[16] Tales of Tinmouth Vol 35. Number 2 February 2021

^[17] You can outlaw drugs but not the human heart. Likewise you could flood a nation of devout followers of Jesus with drugs but you will quickly discover the investment was not worth the effort.

^[18] (Brown 2022, 58-61)

^[19] The temple and sacrificial system in the Old Testament intended to make a holy people and priesthood; to bring God down to earth. When God restores the world, it will be here on earth. Evangelical Christianity’s goal is to “get saved” (by a method invented in the 18th century) and get themselves out of here. It is a defeatist attitude; it gives in to secularism.

^[20] (“Lockdowns Do Not Control the Coronavirus: The Evidence” 2020)(Spira 2022)(“Mask mandate and use efficacy in state-level COVID-19 containment Abstract” 2021)

^[21] (Duggan 2022)(“Covid-19 disruptions killed 228000 children in South Asia, says UN report” 2021)(“Drug overdose deaths hit record high | News | Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health” 2021)(Li 2021) (“COVID-19 to Add as Many as 150 Million Extreme Poor by 2021” 2020)(Kompaniyets 2021)(McDonald 2022) (Polumbo 2021) (Duggan 2022) (Balingit 2022) (Cox 2022) (Pearce 2022) (Woods 2020)(“Scientist: 35000 vax deaths, 5000 miscarriages/stillbirths reported on VAERS” 2022)