Inclusivism: Pragmatism, Prayer, and Politics

In writing my previous post, I was forced to look at the broad, pragmatic, and privatized sense of religious truth present in our society. Faith in God is something that everyone has, but faith is something that no one should talk about. Formal atheism is no longer a tenable philosophical option, although practical atheism is alive and well. To move from the word "G-O-D" to a definition thereof is a stone of stumbling for the inclusivist. A definition would mean exclusion. We simply cannot have that.

Inclusivism, as I said earlier, is based on the belief that if God exists at all, then he certainly is not knowable. It is bred by deism at best and practical atheism at worst. But most inclusivists would encourage everyone to pursue their idea of God because of the benefits it has for life and well-being. God thus becomes an elixir to make you a better, more well-rounded person. God's dominion is to be found only in the private sphere. He has no voice in public life. When we talk about life and death and the meanings of both, his existence cannot be brought into the discussion. Politics is about flesh and blood, not about God.

And yet, this idea of God will not die. Which of the presidential candidates claims to be a Christian? All of them. Which of them have spoken of their "faith" at various times throughout their respective campaigns. All of them. Which of them would go any further than using inclusivist terminology? Which of them actually use their faith to make decisions about the chief end of humanity? Hmmmm. It makes me wonder.

Religion has become a purely pragmatic enterprise in America, especially among the elite, among those who shape culture. It is too much to disavow it, but it is also too much to define it as that would exclude those who disagree.

And so we find ourselves in the shoes of the Romans, an empire that we have modelled from our official governmental architecture to our legislative system. And if we are not careful, our nation's identity will follows theirs. I'll leave you with a quote from one of the most thorough going treatment of the Roman demise, one that shows how the Romans made theology utilitarian and dissolved one of the most cohesive factors of any stable society:

"The various modes of worship which prevailed in the Roman world were all considered by the people as equally true; by the philosopher as equally false; and by the magistrate as equally useful."

-- Edward Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire