O esquerdismo e a aversão à religião

Keith Burgess-Jackson, ele próprio ateu desde sempre, procura explicar a característica aversão dos esquerdistas à religião: Why Are Leftists Hostile to Religion?

Why are leftists hostile to religion? The hostility takes different forms, from denying that theism can be justified (epistemic hostility) to trying to drive religion out of public life (legal or social hostility) to discriminating against theists in one’s personal or professional life (personal hostility). The debate over Design Theory is just one manifestation of hostility. I cannot for the life of me see the harm in teaching high-school students that some scientists and philosophers of science believe that the best explanation of natural phenomena makes reference to a designer. The opposition to such a harmless proposal is so vociferous that it requires an extraordinary hypothesis to explain it. Something more than truth is at stake. Leftist dogma is at stake.###

Let me take a stab at explaining the hostility. The following remarks, like much else in this blog, are meant to be tentative. Leftists are hostile to religion because leftism competes with religion for the same cognitive and affective space. The leftist project of engineering society is thwarted by strong opposing norms such as those embedded in Christianity. At every turn, religion stands in the way of “progress.” Want to normalize homosexuality? Christians believe homosexual conduct is sinful. Want to destroy the sanctity-of-life doctrine so as to promote abortion, infanticide, and euthanasia? Christians believe that every human life, qua human life, is precious. Want to teach sex education in public schools? Christians believe sex education is for parents, not for teachers. Want to end war? Christians believe that there are worse things than death, such as being subjugated. Want to “rationalize” criminal punishment? Christians believe in individual responsibility, desert, and retribution. Want to make abortion freely available as a means of birth control? Christians believe it’s murder.

It’s no surprise that Karl Marx, the father of modern leftism, called religion “the opium of the people.” When you’re competing for a scarce resource, such as the hearts and minds of the populace (proletariat), you tend to view your competitors as enemies, and the appropriate attitude toward enemies is hostility (or ridicule).