Thread by @shadihamid

I have a new essay in @DeseretNews on how rapid secularization creates a dangerous imbalance in societies and what we can do about it

[Thread]

deseret.com/2021/9/13/2267…

This piece is a sort of a sequel to my @TheAtlantic essay from April on 'America without God': theatlantic.com/magazine/archi…

I try to take the argument several steps further, including outlining how each of us can resist the urge to find ultimate meaning in politics

Secularization in the U.S. leads to very different outcomes than secularization in the Middle East. Secularists in the U.S. need politics. "Secularists" in Arab countries, because they're still relatively religious, don't need politics quite as much

deseret.com/2021/9/13/2267…

I discuss @RichardHanania fascinating essay on how and why mainstream institutions almost exclusively lean left: richardhanania.substack.com/p/why-is-every…

There is nothing wrong with winning a culture war. What's odd about this state of affairs, though, is that an ascendant left, despite increasingly finding itself in power, acts as if it's still in the opposition

As @RichardHanania points out, liberals win because they care about politics more, which creates a lopsided imbalance that raises the existential tenor of politics. The war over culture was won in a rout. It's not even close

deseret.com/2021/9/13/2267…

The result is an intensification of what Carl Schmitt called the "friend-enemy distinction." The friend-enemy distinction is a dangerous idea when taken to its natural conclusion. So one must find a way to stop it from reaching that conclusion

Because we are broken by sin, and because we are living in history, it is difficult to subdue an otherwise enduring human impulse. The impulse to have and define an enemy will remain with us as a testament to human deficiency

deseret.com/2021/9/13/2267…