How Do Religion, Culture, And Politics Intermingle?

Religion is defined by the Merriam-Webster, “(1) The service and worship of God or the supernatural (2) commitment or devotion to religious faith or observance” (Merriam-Webster iPad App, 2019). Culture can be defined by many things such as where one lives in the world to whom or what they chose to believe in. Politics can be a religion in and of itself to some people. To define politics, one could perceive it as government influences or the total complex of relations between people living in society.

Both culture and religion have “politics” within them. All three are important to our society as well as us as an individual.

The Oxford Research Encyclopedia, Anthea Mitchell, Carolyn Lindsey, Johnathan Merritt, and John Lindell are the ones who wrote, said, or preached regarding religion, culture, and politics. These sources all stated similar things yet all different. The audience of Mrs. Lindsey was me since it was a conversation between her and I. Hearing the view of someone from an older generation should be just as important as hearing from those of a younger generation.

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John Lindell’s audience was thousands of people at the churches he pastors and millions of online viewers. The other articles held audiences of online viewers. I found all information obtained from these sources to be adequate and supportive of my topic. Logos, pathos, and ethos were all used through out the researched sources. The best example of this can be found in John Lindell’s sermon God's Heart for the Unborn.

The Oxford Research Encyclopedia said, “religious beliefs mold an individual’s sociology and psychology” (Oxford, 2017).

This is true in some ways, if child is brought up in a Christian home that attends church regularly. The child will learn to love God and know that he is there to help them through trails. If a child is brought up in a home that has atheist parents, the child will learn that there is no God and that we Christians are out of touch with reality. Both children were molded by the beliefs of their parents’ religious beliefs. The one thing not thought of when raising children is that that child has free will. Free will can lead either one of the children in different direction when they are old enough to understand free will. Or free will, will keep the child in the same molded form that they grew up in.

Anthea Mitchell wrote an article titled “What Role Does Religion Play in Modern American Politics.” Religion is profoundly ingrained in the history of America. The Nation’s laws are attentively arranged to protect religious freedom. Mrs. Mitchell said, “Our government is sprinkled with reminders – ancient and modern alike – that religion plays a large role in the lives of many Americans and many politicians” (Mitchell, 2018). There are members of congress that affiliate themselves as Christians, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, and Muslim. There are a few members who set aside their religious beliefs when it comes to making choices about policies, also political parties tend to correspond with religion. There are many other places that have reminders that religion plays a role in our government.

Johnathan Merritt wrote an article about the difficulty of talking about God in our culture today. Christians use to talk about God to anyone who would give them an ear. Today some Christians do not feel free enough to even utter His name in public. It seems that politics have made it almost impossible to freely speak about God. Other religions appear to have laws backing them, while Christians and Christianity show signs of losing all rights. I am sure that America’s First Amendment states that no law should be made to respect just one religion, however, Christianity and Christians continue to be attacked.

I had the privilege of speaking with an older lady I go to church with, Carolyn Lindsey. We spoke about her thoughts on religion, culture and politics. Taking what she had to say and comparing it to today’s world put a perspective on all the articles I had read up to that point, which then set me on a different path. She started off with telling me some stories about the “good old days.” She spoke of how people cared about what and where they spent their time and how life meant something, as well as self-worth being something everyone took pride in. In the world today, sex is free, and love is expensive. People fear terrorist and thieves more than they fear God. Worshipping God is difficult in today’s world, and people use church as a dating pool. Politicians have strayed from their Christian foundational roots, to the point that they back abortion and same sex marriage. Mrs. Lindsey said, “Self-worth today means nothing” (Lindsey, 2019). As Carolyn and I talked it became apparent that culture today has a new generation of humanity and that hope seems to be lost. There is still hope in Jesus Christ! It is not too late.

I listened to a sermon by John Lindell that touched on religion, culture, and politics. This sermon was formulated in a way that brought awareness to abortion. Culture today has tried to rationalize, numb, and silence anyone who has or does oppose the bloodthirsty and inhumane truth of abortion. It is vital that Christians are aware that we can not associate ourselves with what culture says is politically correct. We must be committed to the principals of God’s word, so we can speak truth to this generation. Taking a risk, I would say that anyone who can hear details about infants being senselessly killed daily, have no emotions and have no real sense of life’s value. The cold hard truth in today’s civilization is that one can do things to babies that they can not do to animals. According to Mr. Lindell’s sermon, “there is a law in the state Massachusetts that states one cannot ship a pregnant lobster because it can hurt the infant/baby lobster. In Florida one cannot hurt a sea turtle’s eggs, or they can face prison time” (Lindell, 2019). It blows my mind to know that our culture has exchanged light for dark and good for evil.

Religion, culture, and politics intermingle and appears to be a growing concern for some, while others are tired of it all. Many have left the church and for that matter they have left God; many do not vote because they think their vote does not matter in such a big world. As Christians we are called to follow God’s word and to be in the world not of the world. Refrain from worldly things, meaning that Christians should stand up for their beliefs. Run for office, allow God to work through them to better our culture and the world around us. We can do something, and our opinions do matter. Christians should not allow politics and politically formed culture to be their guide to approaching the world, nor should they allow those things to be the deciding factor for their thought process.

Culture and politics will never change with everyone acting the same, it is time to react with God’s word backing our moves. Fighting as the world fights will not score a win and hate cannot beat hate. Lastly, as Christians we should not allow the world to affect our decisions, instead our decisions should be affecting the world.

References

Croucher, M.S., Zeng, C., Rahmani, D., & Sommier, M., (2017), Religion, Culture, and Communication, Oxford Research Encyclopedias, Retrieved February 16, 2019, from http://oxfordre.com/communication/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228613.001.0001/acrefore-9780190228613-e-166
Lindell, J. (2019), God’s Heart for The Unborn, Retrieved February 13, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KODuT8RPa9k
Lindsey, C. (2019), Personal Interview
Merritt, J., October 3, 2018, It’s Getting Harder to Talk About God, The New York Times, Retrieved February 7, 2018 from, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/13/opinion/sunday/talk-god-sprituality-christian.html
Mitchell, A., September 14, 2018, What Role Does Religion Play in Modern American Politics?, Retrieved February 16, 2018 from, https://www.cheatsheet.com/politics/religions-role-in-politics-allah-atheism-and-congress.html/