I made a claim in a recent video, that our nation currently espouses the god of secularism. While our nation’s roots are undeniably Christian, our nation is kicking and screaming while it tries to rip those roots out of the ground.
I got some pushback about this idea from a handful of secularists trumpeting their catechism, proclaiming that they don’t believe in a god, so they can’t possibly be religious. So let’s think about that.
Every person ever believes in some kind of supremely powerful being. Maybe it’s a divine being that creates the world and shapes people and morality. Something like the traditional view of God. Or maybe someone believes that there is no divine being, but the most powerful thing in the world is the government. The government gives and takes away value, dictates ultimate law, and shapes morality. It is god. Or perhaps a person believes they’re the ultimate authority in the world. The individual decides what’s ultimately meaningful, or right and wrong. They are god.
It sounds kind of silly to call those last two options gods. Because it is silly. But that’s what people believe.
So every person, and nation, has a god. It’s either the true God, or a fake one.
What else do religions have? Priests perhaps?
Priests are how the average person accesses God. They are specially chosen intermediaries who teach and intercede on behalf of the people. For the secular folks, scientists could very easily fill that space. Or government officials. Or self-help gurus. But whoever they are, they definitely have priests.
Anthony Fauci was secular America’s (and a good chunk of “Christian” America’s) great high priest for a time. He passed down the law from on high, proclaiming the true path to righteousness. Thou shalt wear the mask. Thou shalt get the jab. Sinners must be silenced and punished and exiled from their jobs and cities.
Religions, because they are worldviews, have creation stories. Secularism has one of those too.
“In the beginning, nothing created the heavens and the earth. Over billions of years on a tiny meaningless planet, meaningless chemicals, became meaningless blobs, that eventually turned into seahorses and panda bears and stick bugs and businessmen.
Religions also have an eschatology. They have a story of where the world is going. A large number of American secularists believe the world, after a time of great tribulation, will be saved by the messiah of a utopian government. All-knowing and all-powerful. Who will punish the wicked and institute a perfect communist dictatorship where all the faithful will live in peace and tyranny forever.
Secularism has daily rituals where the secularists are catechized (public schools) and they have holy days (Pride Month, Juneteenth, Indigenous people’s day). The list goes on.
There are more obvious connections to religion but you probably get the point. Secularism beat by beat, fits the tune of a religion down to the last measure.
But the religion of secularism is a contradiction, as many secularists are quick to point out all on their own. “You can’t be anti-religion and religious at the same time!” Right. So stop it and embrace something true. Secularism contradicts itself along with every false religion. Separation from religious institutions just leads to different religious institutions. Humans have to be religious because religion is baked into our DNA.
Religion is inescapable.
So we need to make sure we’re following the right one.
