Religion, obviously, was and remains, a huge player in these hero systems. Religion has functioned as a repository of our deepest values and as an engine of meaning-making. To return to Part 1, this is what makes religion vulnerable to idolatry. I inherit religious beliefs from my culture, stepping into a meaning-making hero system. But that hero system has been used over time to justify human projects. God, for example, prizes my race or country over others. Consequently, it takes a great deal of effort to extract oneself from this inherited idolatry. And as Jesus said, only a few find their way out.
And yet, politics has slowly taken over the role of hero system among American Christians. Politics has become the primary arena of heroic moral performance, how I make my life "matter." Christianity has suffered political capture. Politics has become the repository of our values and the focus of our concerns.
Simply put, politics has become existentially freighted. Instead of a pragmatic pursuit of the common good, politics is where I discover, pursue, and perform my identity.
Unfortunately, there’s a dark side to our hero systems. In Ernest Becker’s book Escape from Evil, his sequel to The Denial of Death, he describes how our hero systems become a source of social conflict. People who espouse values different from our own threaten the validity of our hero project, calling into question the metrics of our meaning. This unsettles us and makes us anxious. And in the face of that anxiety we lash out at those people who hold different values and beliefs. Psychologists call this hostility worldview defense.
With politics now becoming our dominant hero system, the place where we strive for ultimate purpose and meaning, it is increasingly vulnerable to worldview defense, growing more tribal and hateful. This is the dark feedback loop we're witnessing all around us. The more politics matters the more violent it becomes.
So, what's our response supposed to be? If we reject politics as our hero system and re-embrace our faith, wouldn't Christianity become vulnerable to worldview defense? Aren't we just jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire? Replacing one hero system for another, each just as susceptible to worldview defense?
The answer, to echo Part 1 again, is yes, religion is no sure protection from worldview defense. Idolatry is the default condition. But there is a sliver of hope. Jesus described it as a narrow road. And a few do find it.
What's the hope of pulling our hero system out of politics to find it again in Christianity? The answer is: Jesus. If you're pursuing meaning from within Christianity there is a chance you'll bump into Jesus. Not the fake, idolatrous Jesus. The Jesus who legitimizes your politics. The real Jesus. The Jesus who loved his enemies. That Jesus has a chance to interrupt your idolatry.
Plus, as I mentioned in the last post, there are the virtues of the Christian tradition. It's true that religions are vulnerable to worldview defense, but religions have virtue traditions that political parties do not. The only thing partisan politics valorizes is aggression. Political partisans do not call their people to peace-making, kindness, generosity, mercy, humility, and love. But if your hero system is pursued within Christianity you will be be called to such virtues. Even fake Christians bump into the Sermon on the Mount from time to time. And that encounter can tamp down some of worst excesses of worldview defense. At least a little bit.
My point here is that Christianity has moral resources that partisan politics lack. Consequently, while worldview defense is a chronic temptation you have a better chance of dealing with it from within Christianity than from without.
