Abstract

The Politics of Devotion

In this article the author presents his views on the neglect of religion by the left party of the U.S. The author states that he is disturbed that those who would rejuvenate the U.S. left continue to ignore or belittle one of its most powerful wellsprings, which is religion. The author points out that antagonism toward pious Christians and other people of faith crops up frequently in articles by secular leftists. Two years ago, a columnist of the journal Katha Pollitt was quoted in the periodical "The New York Times," as saying that religion is "a farrago of authoritarian nonsense, misogyny and humble pie, the eternal enemy of human happiness and freedom." According to the author, such an antipathy toward religion is both myopic and self-defeating.