I love me some John Brown/liberation theology, but they emerged out of periods of radical social progress and change, not present neoliberal stagnation.

I sincerely hope that the potential for spirituality charging the Left with a sense of social purpose is there—but I also acknowledge that in present-day America, the dominant forms of religiosity are entwined with capitalism, individualism, and the existing social hierarchy.

Let’s not leave Hegel on his head: religion follows a society’s material order, not the other way around. I’m not celebrating the decline in church attendance-i think it mostly speaks to American atomization and general lack of purpose and unalienated time post-2000s.

❤️

that’s right

james cone is my namesake after all

Therefore, church membership being down is only good?

Only if (a) American communities absent religious institutions are de-radicalizing and (b) American communities that retain religious institutions are not vulnerable to leftist rhetorical gambits.

I haven’t seen (a). The techbro libertarian is no less reactionary than the midwestern evangelist. And I’m not sold on (b), either, given how many leftists have come out of black churches and immigrant synogogues.

Hell, the abolitionist movement was a religious-powered movement. As was the populist movement of the late 19th century.

But the issue is that white evangelicalism represents the beliefs of like 25% of the US population, and wields and even larger, disproportionate amount of power.

The modern Evangelical community is comically removed from the founding principles of the Christian Gospel. At a certain point, they are simply consumerist vehicles of the capitalist state. The Televangelical is a classic instance of this problem, as it denudes religion of all its positive qualities - shared public space, human interaction, a religious leadership that exists as a member of the community - and leaves only the obligation to tithe and to conform to the dogmatic views of the charismatic preacher.

The problem with this system isn’t that it’s religious. The problem is that it’s parasitic and corrupt.

This is a group that acts in an incredibly unified manner to oppress the poor and marginalized in America. They have numbers and power. And I get that if you’re a leftist Christian it can be annoying to get lumped in with them. But at the same time we need to be able to talk about this very very large group of Americans that has fought and will continue to fight against any progress we want to make.

I was raised a Catholic who kinda veered off into atheism. But as I get older, I begin to recognize how useful churches are as institutions of social organization and activism, and I regret losing touch with the Catholics as a community.