Since the dawn of the appearance of political elites, astrology (in Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, Rome, Byzantium, China, etc.) or religion (in the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah, Christian Roman Empire, etc.) had played a major role. Was astrology or religion a subtle form used by the political elites to give them absolute power on their populations?
Later astronomy superseded astrology, with the scientific era and the Newton’s revolution, which was announced by the previous work of Bacon. However astrology remained powerful among many people as Google trends show us for recent years. For religion its power was greatly improved in our more recent political countries, in which to have a religion is quite an absolute rule for being a member of a number of them. Is it always a way used by political elites to maintain their power? Are there some important exceptions, as the Communist countries, for Marx said that religion is the opium of the people? Is the atheist’s view growing through the world, as few studies are nowadays devoted to this theme?
References:
Bacon, F. (1620). Novum Organon. London: J. Bill.
Bloch, M. (2008). Why religion is nothing special but is central. Philosophical Transactions: Biological sciences, 363 (1499), pp. 2055-2061.
Campion, N. (2000). Babylonian astrology: its origin and legacy in Europe. In Astronomy across cultures. The history of non-western astronomy, Selin, H., Xiaochun, S (eds.), Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers, pp. 509-554.
Cumont, F. (1912). Astrology and Religion among the Greeks and the Romans. New York and London: G. P. Putnam’s Sons.
Ducheyne, S. (2005). Bacon’s idea and Newton’s practice of induction. Philosophica, 76, pp. 115–128.
Marx, Karl. (1844). A Contribution to the Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right, Deutsch-Französische Jahrbücher.
Newton, I. (1687). Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica. London: Jussu Societatis Regiae ac Typis Josephi Streater.
Rochberg, F. (1998). Babylonian horoscopes. Philadelphia: Philosophical Society.
This is a very intriguing discussion topic, as it both prompts consideration of long-term historical processes while at the same time inviting us to consider current realities where politics and religion intersect. For the past, a key instance to highlight the role of religion in politics was the development of the rule of law, which put powers on what was previously an essentially unrestrained divine right of kings. Further schisms in both religion and politics indicate an attempt to separate church and state.
In terms of contemporary relevance, are religion and politics intersecting more in the present? Given certain motivations for political factionalization in the United States and around the world, could it be said that there is an increasing fervour for religion-based political discourse in some cases?
Dear Patrick and readers,
Yes, I entirely agree with you that this is an intriguing discussion topic. More, coming from a Frenchman, for whom the Law of separation of the Church and the State was voted in 1905, it seems as intriguing as for an American knowing Thomas Jefferson’s 1802 sentence about the separation between State&Church.
However, if such a Law exists there are important reasons why its existence is not as evident as it seems. For the past I will refer you to the marvellous De divinatione from Cicero, written at the end of a very intense political life (43 B.C.E) in which he discuss with Quintus about astrology and divination. He was himself elected as an Augur in 53 B.C.E. and said in this work: I think that, although in the beginning augural law was established from a belief in divination, yet later it was maintained and preserved from considerations of political expediency.
For the present time, I entirely agree with you that “Given certain motivations for political fractionalization in the United States and around the world, could it be said that there is an increasing fervour for religion-based political discourse in some cases?” The “hyperactive agent-detection devices’ proposed by Barrett to explain religious practice have never been demonstrated and the existence of atheists all over the world goes clearly against this thesis.
With my best regards,
Daniel
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