Religion And Politics

Religion is not derivative. It is not derived from some emotion, for example. I have heard it said that the great feelings of love impel the tender spirit to postulate the existence of a universal and loving God... Posh! Utter drivel. Religion is not an offshoot of the Emotional Structure of mankind. Nor is it derived from anything else. It stands on its own, just like Language stands on its own, Music stands on its own, independent functions of the Mind. Music may cause great emotion and feeling. We do not, therefore, derive Music from Emotional States. Not do we insist on the dependency of Music upon Emotion. Politics is a bit different. It needs more than one conscious being to come into play, not like Language, which needs only the single speaker ( pace Wittgenstein and his goofy private language notions). In The Religions of the Oppressed, we see that religious movements are more often than not accompanied by political activity. Thus, I shall have to modify my idea that religion should not mix in politics, for religion need not be alien from anything human. What is important is the motive of the politics. Arguably, the Christian Church's worst moment came when Constantine led them into the Basilica of the law. However, the Church was a child of it time. And it was a time of Barbarism and Compulsion. Any politics that does not lead to an ennobling of mankind away from the animal basis and to that of the Spirit, that politics is pernicious. The distinction lay in the attractor of Love and the repeller of Hate. I seem to recall Empedocles talking about this, just before he fell into the volcano. Love creates a union, wherein there is growth from multiplicity, or creates a silence, wherein there is growth from singularity. Hate breaks down union, and dismembers the multiple, and creates a cacophony to distract.