How selfish religion harmed the West

Read Hanne’s The Herland Report.

The trend of diminishing solidarity in society has long been studied by social scientists, as it seems that the West is rampantly disintegrating into a culture of selfishness. In this context, professor of sociology at the University of California, Berkley, Robert Bellah often spoke about the “privatization” of faith.

Religion has for many become the quest for “me” to be blessed and succeed. Bellah argued that the swift growth of charismatic Christianity, New Age and other movements were often based on an individualistic approach to faith that takes place outside the framework of traditional church institutions. The focus tends to be how spiritual faith can enhance “me” individually, rather than what “I can do for others.”

In that sense, movements such as New Age go hand in hand with the current mainstream focus on self-realization and the acquisition of wealth as the only proof of success. Spiritual forces – or God – are used as tools to help the individual to further enhance selfish goals in the attempt to reach his nirvana.

Selfishness is extremely problematic for a democracy that is dependent on its citizens supporting one another. As discussed in other WND columns, world-leading philosophers such as Jürgen Habermas has called it a massive mistake to outroot and belittle the historic Christian ethics in the Western public discourse.

Genuine Christianity demands a focus on humility, solidarity with others, a selfless life imitating Christ’s love for humankind and belief in equality for all, regardless of race, creed, gender or class. These normative ideals were able to motivate individuals to do good and empathize with others in a way that the atheist worldview has not been able to. Today, empathy is simply vanishing from society and the legalization of selfishness spells the end of genuine fellowship. Each man becomes an island, nihilistically alone.

Unsurprisingly, the mainstream culture has embraced the New Age thinking. This new Western religion has its origin in theosophy, greatly influencing the hedonist left-wing culture of the 1960s student revolutions. The idea was to expect a new age without classical Christian principles, reaching a higher spiritual level that would bring about a socialist global-scale change, in balance with the cosmic forces of nature. Progressives were quick to rally around New Age, eager to prove that Western liberal democracy does not need traditional religion to create a utopian futuristic society.

Yet, the problem with New Age and its influence on Christian movements is that its focus on self-development drives the attention solely toward the self. The movement has become synonymous with “solidarity with me,” rather than compassion with others. It seems to create individuals who are preoccupied with “themselves,” remaining in the comfort zone, enhancing “me and my spiritual well-being” to further one’s own personal development. This is in direct opposition to the focus of genuine Christianity – where the center of attention is to love God and to do everything to one’s ability to do good to those who are vulnerably in need, mentally or physically.

New Age spirituality thereby embraces the very same egocentric focus that Christianity teaches to avoid, as traditional faith says man’s happiness is closely linked to his ability to function as a compassionate deliverer of love in society. He will not reach the state of mental, inner peace when solely focusing on himself.

The New Age spiritual trends that revolt against the value systems of traditional faith has been an ally in the attempt to quench genuine Christian influence. It is remarkable to observe how the Hollywood industry and mainstream media uncritically idealize these philosophies, enhancing witchcraft and sorcery, reintroducing the role of “witches,” occult mediums and “spiritualist readings,” while at the same time continually demonizing Christian values. Freedom of religion has become freedom to follow any spiritual trend that opposes Christian morality. All other faiths stand in much higher regard than Christianity in the atheist West.

Yet, it was Christian philosophy that demanded for men to love one another and show compassion for the weak and destitute. Christianity brought into our culture the revolutionary definition of human rights. The ideal of respecting differences, tolerance, critical thinking, honesty, trustworthiness became the pillars of the highly successful history of Western civilization. It preached taking care of the old, not abandoning them. Christian preachers pushed for the abolition of slavery and promoted the fellowship within the traditional family, and Jesus demonstrated a revolutionary new respect for the woman.

The focus on wealth, money and how the spiritual realm should enhance “my blessings” only, is the antithesis to genuine Christianity, which was always about what I can do for others in solidarity with the suffering.