By using "modernity,"
I used that work because something I read just the other day framed it that way. I don't know why I can't find it now. I try to adopt existing words when I can and I've been seeing that frame for a while now and it has resonated with me.
I don't think by modernity it means just technology and the like. It also means modernity in the sense of cultural pluralism, freedom, new ideas and practices, etc, although there are technological advances that are taking a back seat to religion. Stem cells are the obvious example of that. And these 54% flat earthers, the creationists, are enough to make you wonder if we will be able to compete intellectually in the future with China and India. Talk about anti-modern! Backwards, is more like it. Modernity has always caused a stir. I saw an old movie recently about a young woman bobbing her hair. I personally remember the fuss about women wearing pants. That's still an issue for some.
I guess they could go about their worship without any public comment on its processes or implications.
It would be a shame to lose that input on the direction of progress. However, "we've always done it that way" or "the Bible says so" are not good reasons for losing opportunities for improvements, IMO. Risk/reward, cost/benefit and the like are the way to evaluate change. Tradition is a good touchstone and default but it's not the be all and end all.
otherwise neither political nor activists, they just want to be left alone to take the kids to school, worship, and go on vacation.
And framing everything as a religious battle is off target and impedes genuine dialogue, which we really need to make good decisions. And it consumes energy fighting on the wrong front. They should take their vacations, etc., IMO and not waste their energy fearing a loss of religious freedom. Their religious freedom isn't at risk. Claiming it is is either hysterical or duplicitous. The only think at risk is their power to monopolize the landscape, and IMO monopoly power would be given up willingly by decent people if they had their heads together. It's been given up before in the civil rights movement although that took a lot of kicking and screaming, too. But we're all better off for it. |
