Essay on A Role for Religion in Public Service - 3653 Words

A Role for Religion in Public Service ABSTRACT: In this paper I discuss recent scholarly work on ideology, mostly by Europeans, that exposes a secularist bias in current political theory, invites a nonderogatory concept of religion, and (I argue) justifies more flexible church/state relations. This work involves (1) redefining ideology as any action-oriented ideas, whether destructive or ameliorative, including both secular theory and religion, then (2) drawing on hermeneutical and critical studies of the power/ideology relationship to rediscover a role for ‘utopia’ as a social catalyst for amelioration. I then call attention to the relevance of ‘mission’ to this work. For in both secular and sacred contexts, missions are defined and†¦show more content†¦This reconsideration involves two phases. First ideology is redefined as any action-oriented ideas whether destructive or ameliorative including both secular theory and religion. Then hermeneutical and critical studies of the power/ideo logy relationship help us rediscover the role of utopia as a social catalyst for amelioration. As exemplified by Newspeak in George Orwells Nineteen-Eighty-Four: destructive ideology is used not to convey information but to provide a truth-indifferent rationale for institutional policies and practices. Such obfuscation has been a government staple, not just in the former Soviet Union but in the West as well, where governments have misrepresented their coercive activities as fending off bandits earlier in the twentieth century and terrorists more recently. What matters for my purposes is that one might similarly appeal to religious beliefs to justify pursuing a goal that is not obviously religious at all.(1) Special terminology is needed, then, to distinguish religious beliefs from mobilized religion. For this purpose some writers(2) use the term worldview (in German, Weltanschauung), and others rely on ideology. Worldview encompasses both religious and secular beliefs, as does visionof the world or mentality, which some historians favor.(3) But none of these implies a call to action. The term ideology, though action-oriented, tends to be associated only with nonreligious ideas. But someShow MoreRelatedTraditional Baccalaureate Service While Celebrating Student Accomplishments Essay931 Words   |  4 PagesBaccalaureate service on the Wednesday evening preceding graduation weekend. The focus of the service was the religious support by the inter-faith community, but the service also encompassed scholarships and additional awards. As the senior class advisor, I have seen a marked decline in the participation on the part of the students over the past five years; I have seen a marked decli ne in the participation on the part of the students. Students that chose not to participate in the Baccalaureate service citedRead MoreDoes Religion Affect The United States? Why? 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