Faith in the State

A new Weekly Standard article discusses the growing number of agnostics in the United States and their general political affiliations:

… data shows the two areas of the country where the percent of “Nones” [those with no religious affiliation] has topped 20%–New England and the West Coast–are also regions where Democrats have made substantial political gains in the past two decades.

This is not surprising to me at all.  When you eliminate God,  naturally, the state becomes the number one candidate to fill the vacancy.  To borrow from a hymn:  the state becomes your help in ages past, your hope for years to come, your shelter in the thorny blast and your eternal home.  What is surprising and even more troubling to me are those “believers” (about 25% nationwide) who, despite claiming faith in God, look to the state first for all of the above.

For the non-religious, faith in the state also acts like a moral compass, allowing them to act like a good person burdened by the plight of the poor, the horrors of war, the tragedy of human injustice and the travesty of wasting our earthly resources, without requiring them to accept a worldview that would “burden” other, less socially en vogue, areas of their life (such as submission to God in all things, sexual purity before and during marriage and tithing).  In some cases, it also shields one from having to put their faith into action by causing a sort of ”I gave at the office” mentality where voting for the Democratic Party (the party for the “oppressed”) becomes one’s good works.  (In fairness, this is true for some conservative Christians with respect to Republicans as well).

But do not be fooled:  agnosticism and atheism are still very much their own versions of faith complete with dotrines, creeds and saints, albeit unofficial in most cases.  Put simply:  choosing not to choose is still choosing.  And that choice directs one’s life.  In short:  It becomes one’s religion.