Political orientation always trumps Religous orientation.

[Blackburn]

It is my contention, after almost a decade of talking to religious Conservatives on line that Religion doesn't make someone a reactionary.

The Reactionary is an orientation that exists independent of whatever religious label people use.

Also, politics (that way we treat people) always comes before religion in determining behaviour.

In that ten years, I have also never had a Conservative Christian quote the Gospel Jesus to me, except for one verse taken out of context: "I come not to bring peace, but a sword". And they always always leave out the second part where Jesus explains the metaphor to the confused Apostles.

I have no doubt that Reactionaries mold and pervert Religion (Like they mold and pervert everything else) to fit their Reactionary Ideology.

[Jimmie Higgins]

Yup, the ruling ideas of any age are the ideas of the ruling class and religion has always, to various degrees, been a reflection of what's going on socially in society. Religion has been used in progressive or reactionary ways and it has little to do with the actual features of the religion or the ideas it expresses.

[Blackburn]

Yup, the ruling ideas of any age are the ideas of the ruling class and religion has always, to various degrees, been a reflection of what's going on socially in society. Religion has been used in progressive or reactionary ways and it has little to do with the actual features of the religion or the ideas it expresses.

Yes, this is only something I've now awoken too. However if you speak to the average Religious Nobbie, they'll insist politics and religion can be completely separate. It's like some sort of Libertarian-like idealism that separates church and state but in their minds. :laugh:

I started a thread on a pagan site saying: Should Pagans tolerate 'Conservative Pagans'? It got over 400 replies and most of them were abusing me and disagreeing.

There is some sort of Liberal Stupidity that thinks it's a good thing to tolerate Reactionaries and respect their ideas. Even when those ideas are actively working against your own people.

It's blind stupidity!!

[Jimmie Higgins]

I have some friends who were into paganism and they were really upset with the tolerance of right-wing ideas cloaked in religious-language. People would say anti-immigrant things and say that only people with a family history from the region that the religion developed can really practice that religion and all sorts of racists things, but when people would criticize these opinions (probably coming from Asatru-based hate groups) the supposedly non-racist organizers of the retreats and so on would say "oh, don't bring politics into this". They found it frustrating and crazy because part of what drew them to an "alternative" religion in the first place was their rejection of a Christianity in the US that they saw as dominated by right-wing political stances.

[Blackburn]

I have some friends who were into paganism and they were really upset with the tolerance of right-wing ideas cloaked in religious-language. People would say anti-immigrant things and say that only people with a family history from the region that the religion developed can really practice that religion and all sorts of racists things, but when people would criticize these opinions (probably coming from Asatru-based hate groups) the supposedly non-racist organizers of the retreats and so on would say "oh, don't bring politics into this". They found it frustrating and crazy because part of what drew them to an "alternative" religion in the first place was their rejection of a Christianity in the US that they saw as dominated by right-wing political stances.

Exactly!

My moving from (Abandoning) Christianity and exploring Paganism is where I really awoke to the reality of Politics, and that politics and understanding of the world really is the most important thing.

There is a forum called Pagan Space, and it's pretty much a den of Right Wing Bigotry and Hatred. They are either a Repub or a Libertarian that votes Repub. I think there were like 5 Democrats on a board of 5000 active members.