The New Paganism

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David Brooks, one of my favorite writers - who was considered a conservative until the Trump era - believes the president is the archetype of contemporary paganism. I know this may offend some religious people, but I think what Brooks has to say is close to the values of the gospel.

“The pagan values of ancient Rome celebrated power, manliness, conquest, ego, fame, competitiveness and prowess,” Brooks wrote in a recent New York Times column, “and it is those values that have always been at the core of Trump’s being — from his real estate grandiosity to his love of pro wrestling to his king-of-the-jungle version of American greatness.”

But Brooks acknowledges it’s not just Trump.

“It’s the whole phalanx of authoritarians, all those greatness-obsessed macho men like Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping. It’s the tech bros (the macho tech workers in places like Silicon Valley). It’s Christian nationalism, which is paganism with worship music.”

Christian Nationalism

(Christian Nationalism, as defined by two sociologists quoted in a recent issue of America magazine is “a cultural framework – a collection of myths, traditions, symbols, narratives and value systems – that idealizes and advocates a fusion of Christianity with American civil life.”)

Paganism, in Brooks’ estimation, is characterized by “images of heroism, might and glory” and manifests itself in cruelty and tolerance for cruelty. “The callous tolerance of cruelty is a river that runs through human history,” he writes. “It was dammed up, somewhat, only by millenniums of hard civilizational work. The pagan ethos — ancient or modern — always threatens to unleash brutality once again.

“The pagan ethos,” he continues, “does not believe that every human was made in the image of God, does not believe in human equality, is not concerned about preserving the dignity of the poor. It does not care much about the universal feelings of benevolence, empathy and faithfulness toward one another, which, it turns out, are absolutely required for a democracy to function.”

David Brooks
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He contrasts the paganism of this era with the teachings of Judaism and Christianity, which “confront paganism with rival visions of the good. “The contrast could not be starker. Paganism says: Make yourself the center of the universe. Serve yourself and force others to serve you. The biblical metaphysic says: Serve others, and you will find joy. Serve God, and you will delight in his love.”

But Brooks also sees a hopeful movement in contemporary life.

“Something’s going on in our culture,” he writes. “The decline of religious participation, which was so rapid between 2010 and 2020, seems to have stopped. There has been a relative surge in religious interest among young men (especially).

“… In France the Catholic Church saw a 45 percent increase in new catechumens this Easter compared with last year, and it has baptized more than 17,000 people, the highest yearly number of entrants in over 20 years. According to an April report by the Bible Institute, the percentage of British adults aged 18 to 24 who attend church at least monthly increased from 4 percent in 2018 to 16 percent today, including a 21 percent gain among young men.”

Skepticism and Hope

People searching for God should approach these numbers with skepticism, but also with hope. As I’ve mentioned before in these blogs, when you look at the degree to which contemporary people have rejected faith, you have to ask the question - for individuals and society - “How is that working out?”

Regarding the rejection of religious faith, you also have to ask the question that is often asked of political office-seekers: “Are we better off now than before?” And by “better off,” I’m not talking about our economic condition (which seemed to be THE most important issue in the last presidential campaign), I’m talking about what really matters. Are we happier, more just, more compassionate, kinder, less selfish, less self-centered?

I believe the vast majority of people are kind and compassionate most of the time, but in the areas of public policy, relations with other countries and our willingness to accept other cultures and populations, the trend is not encouraging.