Occupy Religion: Don’t Let Religion Occupy You [View all]

[SecularMotion]

Religion, and religious institutions, are not only granted undeserved credit for their role in social movements, but are also not afforded the responsibility they deserve for the damage they inflict to the movements they infect, and the communities represented by those movements. Christians are all too ready to yell about the involvement of Islamic organizations in the Arab Spring, yet, as Occupy Churches spring up in American tent cities, and Occupy Faith groups begin to flourish, they turn a blind eye to the history of hierarchy, misogyny, and homophobia that has plagued revolutionary communities from the early European protestants, to the nationalist Irish under British rule, and the African-American community civil rights movement.

Religions are, by their nature, hierarchical. They worship a godhead and follow the rules ordained purportedly by that godhead. They do not arrive at decisions through consensus. They cannot. They must obey the rules and dictates of the godhead, and, at most, allow that a select group of god experts interpret those rules and dictates. Believers, adherents, and followers, do not have a say in what the teachings of the godhead are. The Occupy Movement is not only leaderless, but, by extension of that, be ‘followerless’ as well.

http://newsjunkiepost.com/2012/01/01/occupy-religion-dont-let-religion-occupy-you/