Politics and Religion - Discussion

Join us on Wednesday, on the first of July at https://na-hradbach.cz/ at 7 pm for a discussion on the relationship between religion and politics.

Location: Nahradbách
Date: Wednesday, July 1st
Time: 7:00 PM

About us: Asamblea Abierta de Praga is a leftist collective established by migrants and locals in Prague. With our work, we seek to build broad and plural alliances with other similar groups and people in the city.

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Politics and religion have enjoyed a mutually beneficial relationship for as long as human history can recall. Whether it's a theocracy that utilises the state to enforce its will and silence dissenting voices, or a state co-opting religion and exploiting ideological fervor in its populace to advance and legitimise its own ambitions.

That's not to say that human civilisation hasn't brought about any progress in providing checks and balances against divinely ordained power; most of the world no longer operates under a feudal system with a monarch appointed directly by the heavens. But having said that, matters seem to be taking a turn for the worse. Heads of state increasingly justify wars and mass murder through scripture, as battles between good and evil, the devout and the sinners. Culture wars are regularly propagated and inflamed through portraying one side as a corrupting influence on a pure, virtuous society.

So why has religion persisted for thousands of years? Surely, societal pressure and the threat of eternal damnation can't alone explain this resilience? Why do billions of people around the world proudly proclaim to be followers of their chosen religion? Many find religion offers community; followers gather at places of worship, religious holidays bring friends and family together who otherwise don't get to meet as often as they'd like. At its best it can unite people with otherwise vastly different backgrounds, knowing that they share a belief in the same dogmatic system, a belief system that dwarfs any material differences between them. This sense of belonging to a greater cause is especially profound today, with more and more people finding themselves disillusioned with their careers, social lives, and an existential lack of meaning.

So perhaps most importantly, religion fills this void and offers us purpose and solace - comfort in the knowledge that there's more to life than the time we spend in this physical reality. That there's a greater meaning and reward to be earned in the afterlife for our virtues and our suffering in the material world.