Monday 4 February 2008

Religion and politics: an American take

On the subject of religion and politics, I'd like to call Friends' attention to a brilliant essay by Joe Bageant, entitled "Redneck Liberation Theology." Some of the concerns of the article are particularly American (to wit, the cooptation of evangelical Christianity by neoconservatives), but it addresses broader issues as well. I particularly like the final section, headed "Cheer up dammit! It's only the end of the world." He means this quite literally. Here's the link.

http://www.joebageant.com/joe/2007/04/redneck_liberat.html.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I just went to the link and read the article. While I appreciated what the author had to say about liberation (reminded me a bit of the message in a book, "Spirit Matters" byt Michael Lerner) and the need for a spiritual revamping of our world, I found it a bit hard to get past the initial language.

It seems that when he is talking about fundamentalist, his language disintigrates a bit. Perhaps that is a residue from his childhood. However, as they say in the world of fine cuisine: presentation is key.

cath