The Future of America's Civil Religion Lies in New Directions

October 29, 2013 by Gus diZerega

Continued from Page 1

Today the dominant spiritual quality of our society is a kind of secular nihilism that worships American power or loses itself in consumerism. The former often combines with a spiritual nihilism that emphasizes God's power over qualities such as love. These currents are incapable of preserving the best of American society because they celebrate power as their ultimate value, or retreat into a purely private existence.

Hope for us lies in those Christian and other long-established religions opening themselves up to immanentist and feminine insights, as well as new religious movements, NeoPaganism in particular, which explicitly emphasize those values as central. It is for these reasons that I think Pagan insights carry far more weight than our rather modest numbers might suggest.

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10/29/2013 4:00:00 AM

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About Gus diZerega

Gus diZerega is a Gardnerian Elder with over 25 years practice, including six years close study with a Brazilian shaman. He has been active in interfaith work off and on for most of those 25 years as well. He has conducted workshops and given presentations on healing, shamanism, ecology and politics at Pagan gatherings in the United States and Canada. Follow Gus on Facebook. Gus blogs at Pointedly Pagan

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