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Remind Me Why We Separate Religion & Politics
The 2024 U.S. election: Making meaning when the system is failing
They seem like opposite ends of a long continuum, maybe as far apart as science and religion. And yet, they don’t have to be. They are only separated by the system, the structure of life, how the society and culture of any given community, state or country chooses it to be so.
Maybe it isn’t that they’re far apart at all, rather, we have chosen a structure for life that is untenable, meaning “separation of church and state” seemed wise, but perhaps over time just separates us from each other, and instead of facilitating a well-functioning society, it just put off an ultimate reckoning…
This week I’ve found a new rabbit hole, and it’s making me reconsider what I thought I knew about politics, religion, spirituality, culture, the essence of life, and where I stand in relation to the chaos that engulfs us.
My faith is an odd construct; it combines elements of my birth story, feelings of divinity I had as a child, my search for purpose throughout adulthood, and most recently, a pilgrimage within. Judaism, Buddhism, temple, church, Catholicism, the Unitarian church, spirituality, namaste, uBuntu, Oneness, self-compassion, God & Love.
