8.0.2.4.11 Religion and Politics

Version 1.2 December 2016                          (Previous Version)

Some will say that history and politics are not part of religion.  Many politicians say religion should be separate from politics, others proclaim their religious values to boost their popularity.  Some politicians avoid all religious topics to avoid upsetting some of the voters.

We need to explain:

a.      Beliefs in ideas such as freedom and democracy are part of our most fundamental beliefs which guide our behaviour.  So these are also religious beliefs.

b.     This does not mean we are dogmatic about what happened in history or how democratic principles should be implemented.  We must look at the evidence and apply reason. 

c.      Our religious and political beliefs are substantially influenced by our understanding of how humans spread around the globe, how some tribes and nations conquered and colonised others, and how technology advanced at different rates in different societies.

d.     As any truly religious person will say, we cannot totally divorce true religion from politics.  We can support secular government, which doesn’t favour any religious belief or non-belief.  We can conduct many traditional religious duties without imposing our beliefs on others, and allow and expect others to do the same.  But if religion addresses our ultimate concerns, what is most important to us, we cannot leave these aside as soon as we enter public debate.  But our public discourse must recognise our shared beliefs and values as we debate policy matters.

It will be a revelation to many people that history and concepts such as freedom and democracy and associated political ideas are valid topics of religious discussion.