This is something that came to me the other day, a stray thought that happened into my mind as I pondered the almost single minded way in which many people block out things that threaten our hold on Business As Usual.
It’s not just an opposition to those of us who hold the view that a big change is coming, a desire to make us shut up and stop spoiling the party with inconvenient reality. It’s not just denial, the stuffing of an envelope full of bad news down the back of the sofa to be ignored; I’ve seen others do it, I’ve done it myself, and I admit this is what our society’s response seems to amount to in some areas. I also know from bitter experience that it’s not a clever game plan in the long term, not clever at all.
But no, that didn’t seem to quite fit somehow. Then I thought of celebrity, media, politics, the whole thing and a thought stood up in my mind and waved – “What if, in an increasingly secular society, our society is our surrogate religion?”
Well, I fired up my trusty mind mapping software and started a map. A little spare time later this is what I have, let me see if I can run with this thought experiment.
In my experience, Religions are based on a series of faith based assumptions that are not to be questioned. Now it seems to me that in the West there’s an unquestioning assumption, held by many, that Western society is better than any other. Well, in many areas that’s true; but in others our record is, to say the least, a little shabby. Those who question this assumption are often labelled “unpatriotic” or worse. Why not call them “Heretics”? After all they hold ideas that are in some areas in disagreement with the status quo and that’s what a Heretic does. It’s OK to play the home team, but not senselessly, we need to admit when we’re wrong.
Exploring further, the world’s religions have tenets that are to be accepted, again on faith. In the West we have Capitalism, the idea of ‘the bottom line’, the ‘doctrine of unlimited growth’, various economic doctrines and in the UK the idea that ‘house prices only go up’ (that’ll get me lynched if I’m not careful). These are clung to with a religious fervour, some due to the consequences of following a failed doctrine, others because there is no room in the heads of the faithful for any internal dissent. Brainwashing, indoctrination, it has to be like this….. we can keep growing…..
Our holy book has the ‘Gospel according to Keynes’, ‘The book of Capitalism’,'The Corporate Handbook’ (though this one varies from place to place). To question these tenets and books is again to invite charges of heresy, the ‘doctrine of unlimited growth’ especially, as our whole faith is bound up in it.
But what of the priests? Our society has a priesthood, politicians and corporate leaders provide guidance and leadership, and they’re only arguably doing any better or worse than the clergy managed overall. In addition we have celebrities, the ranks of our ‘saints’, those whose word and actions many follow adoringly. We can elevate mere mortals as saints as well, through the medium of Reality TV shows such as ‘Pop Idol’ or ‘Big Brother’, though are they any more seemingly valid than the religious ones?
In summing up, am I trying to say religion came first and is somehow more valid? No, but what I’m observing is that as religion vacates the lives of so many, other things are moving in to take it’s place. They’re not necessarily better or worse, but it is certainly going to be interesting to watch.
Attributions
1. The image of New York City is from Wandering The World. Used under a Creative Commons License.
You make a great point — one that is hard to argue against.
If you disagree, you can be called “Communist” (“heretics”, in other words), which was another one of the great religion of our times.
I like your idea, it seems very apt, you can push the comparison further by likening many of the most popular TV shows as times of worship for the masses.
Nicely done! Count me among the heretics!