PAPER 99: Section 3.
Religion And The Religionist
P1088:2, 99:3.1
Early Christianity was entirely free from all civil entanglements, social
commitments, and economic alliances. Only did later institutionalized Christianity
become an organic part of the political and social structure of Occidental
civilization.
P1088:3, 99:3.2
The kingdom of heaven is neither a social nor economic order; it is an exclusively
spiritual brotherhood of God-knowing individuals. True, such a brotherhood
is in itself a new and amazing social phenomenon attended by astounding political
and economic repercussions.
P1088:4, 99:3.3
The religionist is not
unsympathetic with social suffering, not unmindful
of civil injustice, not insulated from economic thinking, neither insensible
to political tyranny. Religion influences social reconstruction directly because
it spiritualizes and
idealizes the individual citizen. Indirectly, cultural
civilization is influenced by the attitude of these individual religionists
as they become active and influential members of various social, moral, economic,
and political groups.
P1088:5, 99:3.4
The attainment of a high cultural civilization demands, first, the ideal type
of citizen and, then, ideal and adequate social mechanisms wherewith such
a citizenry may control the economic and political institutions of such an
advanced human society.
P1088:6, 99:3.5
The church, because of overmuch false sentiment, has long ministered to the
underprivileged and the unfortunate, and this has all been well, but this
same sentiment has led to the unwise perpetuation of racially degenerate stocks
which have tremendously retarded the progress of civilization.
P1088:7, 99:3.6
Many individual social
reconstructionists, while vehemently
repudiating institutionalized
religion, are, after all, zealously religious in the propagation of their
social reforms. And so it is that religious motivation, personal and more
or less unrecognized, is playing a great part in the present-day program of
social reconstruction.
P1088:8, 99:3.7
The great weakness of all this unrecognized and unconscious type of religious
activity is that it is unable to profit from open religious criticism and
thereby attain to profitable levels of
self-correction. It is a fact that
religion does not grow unless it is disciplined by constructive criticism,
amplified by philosophy, purified by science, and nourished by loyal fellowship.
P1088:9, 99:3.8
There is always the great danger that religion will become distorted and perverted
into the pursuit of false goals, as when in times of war each contending nation
prostitutes its religion into military propaganda. Loveless zeal is always
harmful to religion, while persecution
diverts the activities of religion
into the achievement of some sociologic or theologic drive.
P1089:1, 99:3.9
Religion can be kept free from unholy secular alliances only by:
- A critically corrective philosophy.
- Freedom from all social, economic, and political alliances.
- Creative, comforting, and love-expanding fellowships.
- Progressive enhancement of spiritual insight and the appreciation of cosmic values.
- Prevention of fanaticism by the compensations of the scientific mental attitude.
P1089:7, 99:3.10 Religionists, as a group, must never concern themselves with anything but religion, albeit any one such religionist, as an individual citizen, may become the outstanding leader of some social, economic, or political reconstruction movement.
P1089:8, 99:3.11 It is the business of religion to create, sustain, and inspire such a cosmic loyalty in the individual citizen as will direct him to the achievement of success in the advancement of all these difficult but desirable social services.