Post-Christian Americans Are Not Less Religious, Just More Pagan

This trend can be observed on the basis of age cohort: Young adults, being less religious, are more inclined to believe in ghosts, astrology, clairvoyance and spiritual energy. But it also can be observed geographically: The parts of the United States where secular liberals are predominant tend to be the same areas where the market for alternative spiritual experiences and products is most lucrative. Even prominent media outlets such as The New York Times and (in Britain) The Guardian, whose readership consists primarily of secular liberals, frequently publish articles about topics such as witchcraft and astrology—even if they are careful not to legitimize the claims made by proponents of these beliefs. Read more»

Clay Routledge, “From Astrology to Cult Politics—the Many Ways We Try (and Fail) to Replace Religion,” Quillette (Dec 27, 2018)

Resources

Subscribe to the Heidelblog today!


4 comments

  1. Interesting to remember, that Luther and Melanchton both were peculiarly interested in astrology – especially Melanchton. It seems that only Calvin was a consistent anti-astrologer.

    • Melanchthon certainly was, but if the Tischreden is to be believed on this point, Luther had a rather modern view of astrology. The most interesting point I think is that the reason for rejecting it was as an affront to God’s providence.

  2. Back in the Sillier ‘Seventies (when compared to the Silly ‘Sixties, that is), when God graciously led my much younger self to a knowledge of his grace in the Messiah. someone near and dear to me saw me reading the Bible, and praying before doing so. He scoffed at me for accepting a stupid, pre-scientific superstition. Yet the same person, who admired Marx and nodded every time someone said “science says”, still began his day reading the astrology column. I’ve also heard it from Chinese-born neighbors that Mao Zedong slept under the Eight Triagrams and oriented his bed and personal space according to geomantic principles.

  3. In the last years of Soviet Union (1989-1991) soviet citizens were swamped with cheap editions of magic, occultististic, folk medicine books and tracts, horoscopes and etc., and most of them are reprints from pre-1917 era. TV and pressa were full with healers, mesmerizers and other charlatans. Fans of one of them hold jars of water next to their televisions in the hope that this water would be able to cure disease. And this all was happened after 70 year of domination of governmental atheism and “Scientific materialism”!

    Marxism itself just a bad quasi-theology, or better to say antropotheism, rooted in hegelianism, feuerbachianism and etc. Marxism, despite it’s atheistic language, has its own substitute for deity, eschatology, etc. (and Marx once said, that he believe in perpetual incarnation of Logos). This elements are especially noticeable in the works of Engels.

Comments are closed.