tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9257988.post111012555303737796..comments2023-07-27T06:00:23.360-04:00Comments on Not the Country Club: The transformed role of religionAl S. E.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16053409030033484578noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9257988.post-1114138738924898852005-04-21T22:58:00.000-04:002005-04-21T22:58:00.000-04:00I used to have a roommate who always chimed "Sport...I used to have a roommate who always chimed "Sports is the new opiate of the masses."<BR/><BR/>That's really true. Sports for many people has replaced the mysticism and adherence to ordered play that religion used to have.Schroederhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14592405636501952302noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9257988.post-1114011854847152992005-04-20T11:44:00.000-04:002005-04-20T11:44:00.000-04:00Religion is defined by Webster as:belief in and re...Religion is defined by Webster as:<BR/>belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers regarded as creator and governor of the universe. <BR/>A personal or institutionalized system grounded in such belief and worship. <BR/>The life or condition of a person in a religious order. <BR/>A set of beliefs, values, and practices based on the teachings of a spiritual leader. <BR/>A cause, Arlenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12270897153690221169noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9257988.post-1113771095383520172005-04-17T16:51:00.000-04:002005-04-17T16:51:00.000-04:00I am not much of a blogger and my purpose of creat...I am not much of a blogger and my purpose of creating one was to post my articles and I don't comment on other's blogslol. However I did read your article and I enjoyed what you had to say. I'll be reading you again :)Rose DesRochershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15758803804821592690noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9257988.post-1113709937888256102005-04-16T23:52:00.000-04:002005-04-16T23:52:00.000-04:00To Jen: To me, spirituality means recognizing ones...To Jen: To me, spirituality means recognizing oneself as in every way a part of the world, not just in thoery, but in practice. Individually, we are matter. Collectively, we are spirit. As things stand today, progressive politics is about the only reality that gives the world a chance to become a spiritual world. The other path is that of people like George W. Bush, who see the world as a tool Al S. E.https://www.blogger.com/profile/16053409030033484578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9257988.post-1113654403117563102005-04-16T08:26:00.000-04:002005-04-16T08:26:00.000-04:00To Probligo: I see your basic point that religion’...To Probligo: I see your basic point that religion’s hold on today’s society may be as powerful as on that of the medieval era. Yet, as someone self-schooled in dialectical materialism, I find it difficult to go along with the reversal of the respective positions of base and superstructure that this line of thought involves. I don’t think religion has ever been an independent agent is society. Al S. E.https://www.blogger.com/profile/16053409030033484578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9257988.post-1113612343616810152005-04-15T20:45:00.000-04:002005-04-15T20:45:00.000-04:00One last thing...perhaps you could add the theory ...One last thing...perhaps you could add the theory of commodity fetishism to your analysis as well. Case in point, where I live there is this new craze over the "secret healing energies in water" so much so that people are actually spending anywhere upwards of $50 to wear an ugly and awkward looking little plastic tube of "blessed water" with crystals floating around in it around their necks. jenniferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04280589791981589936noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9257988.post-1113611426269484922005-04-15T20:30:00.000-04:002005-04-15T20:30:00.000-04:00Great questions as always. I think though you need...Great questions as always. I think though you need to distinguish between religion and religiousity, faith, fanatacism and fundamentalism. I see religion as as something people practice, a ritualization of their faith or to fill a need of "faith." Religiousity though is blurry. Anything can have this assigned to it. This is why I think that people would choose to treat the "Pope's legacy" much jenniferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04280589791981589936noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9257988.post-1113541599687585492005-04-15T01:06:00.000-04:002005-04-15T01:06:00.000-04:00"Today, religion is the lollypop of the masses".H..."Today, religion is the lollypop of the masses".<BR/><BR/>Hmm, is it? If you listen to the rhetoric in the examples that you gave and more; the Schiavo debacle in particular, the abortion debate, the teaching of creationism in schools, the "Ten Commandments" arguments, single sex marriage, the whole panoply of pseudo-religious restrictions, "Christian law" debates, and attempts to impose "The probligohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17882103150181414348noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9257988.post-1113506471391710922005-04-14T15:21:00.000-04:002005-04-14T15:21:00.000-04:00I agree with Marina. Soul is a made up word just ...I agree with Marina. Soul is a made up word just like god. Religion is something that must be overcome so that we may develop further as one people.cYrangerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18326520606286975808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9257988.post-1113402322615186712005-04-13T10:25:00.000-04:002005-04-13T10:25:00.000-04:00Religion is a need. People need a means for prayin...Religion is a need. <BR/>People need a means for praying. They cannot pray in a general God idea, they need all the paraphenalia of a dogma.<BR/>Religion has become a form of security. It unites people of a common culture. Its acts as a shield protecting those who need a protector.<BR/>But religion divides people, the dogmas teach them to trust what they know and mistrust other religions and Marinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06463395129162398056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9257988.post-1113310230123269322005-04-12T08:50:00.000-04:002005-04-12T08:50:00.000-04:00I am not much of a student of Pope John Paul's his...I am not much of a student of Pope John Paul's history, and while I know he made certain poor decisions such as repudiating birth control and not taking a strong stand on priest child molestation, what other "reactionary" mistakes did he make that caused misery?atlienhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11404882127661084421noreply@blogger.com