| Submit your comments on this article |
| Europe |
| Europe, America, and Politics Without God |
| 2005-10-25 |
| Long interview with George Weigel, author of "The Cube and the Cathedral: Europe, America and Politics Without God", on the issue of european secularism and what it means to the USA. |
| Posted by:anonymous5089 |
| #1 I think this is a false axiom. In fact, the problem is just the opposite from what he states. That is, Europe's underlying philosophy is based not on atheism, but in royalism, or more properly, the Divine Right of Kings. The belief that God ordains the leaders of men. It was in those times when Europe evolved its criminal and civil legal customs, its cultural traditions, and its bureaucracies. While since Voltaire, they have denied "God", per se, they have kept His "hierarchy of heaven" as the foundation of their government. EU bureaucrats think of themselves as something akin to nobility, based in something like "righteousness", that makes them superior to the common man. Their pervasive Roman and Napoleonic Law works from the assumption that the king, or "the state", is always in the right, being ordained by God, and that the people must have the kings, or the states, permission to do much of anything. "Religious America" is equally false. Its founding documents are popular, not heavenly. "We the people..." is its statement, ignoring God utterly. And like the fortunate British, the US also embraces Common Law, which is law ordained by the people, not God or God's chosen few. So while many Americans believe in God, very few consider legislation from the government to be holy. It is only "of men, by men, and for men." As far as demographics go, to give credit or blame to God is also a false axiom. First of all, in any society, there is an economic plateau, which varies from country to country. When couples reach this economic plateau of financial well-being, the number of children they produce rapidly drops to just slightly more than two per couple. While government cannot really stimulate them to make more children, it can make them want even fewer children. It does this by making parenthood more difficult than it already is. For example, emphasizing material needs that children have, personal responsibility in parenthood, financial support that *must* be provided, no reproduction until after marriage, etc., etc. All of these are seen as "good" social goals--but at the same time, they lower the number of children being born. High taxes prevent pregnancy. Government also provides birth control and abortion. It is clearly obvious how this affects society. It causes fewer children to be born. Again, God has nothing to do with it. Certainly, a few religions pressure their members to have as many children as they can, but society and government exert far more pressure. An Arabic couple might have eight children in their homeland, and maybe have that number in their first generation living in the West; but their children and grandchildren will only have a fraction of that number, even if they live in segregation and keep to their old culture and religion. Society and money are that strong, and they will choose to conform, as a rule. And it doesn't matter what God thinks. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2005-10-25 10:34 |