Pagan Religion

Secularism: THE REBIRTH OF PAGAN RELIGION

Aidan Moorehouse '24

For the first time in history, an entire culture has seemingly denied the religious nature of man and has instead established a society based on a secular outlook, an outlook where man’s religious beliefs and practices are confined solely to his private life. The rise of Secularism can be attributed to a variety of factors, most notably the Wars of Religion, and the rise of Enlightenment Rationalism. Though broadly speaking, Secularism is a result of practical accommodations made to ensure the stability of religiously pluralistic societies. However, even a cursory look at the society that Secularism has produced shows that this supposedly neutral stance is not a neutral one at all.

Human nature itself denies the possibility of a wholly irreligious society. While it is true that man is a rational animal, a Homo Sapiens, there is also another essential aspect of man’s nature that cannot be overlooked. This crucial characteristic is revealed in Genesis, when “the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it” (Gen 2:15). The Hebrew words translated as “till” and “keep,” abad and shamar, are also the words used to describe the ministry of the Levitical priesthood (Num 3:7-8), showing that religious worship is an integral part of man’s vocation. Wherever he is, whatever clime, whatever political structure, whatever historical epoch, man is, to quote Dr. Vyner, not only a Homo Sapiens, but also a Homo Liturgicus.

If human nature has an inbuilt liturgical dimension, then it follows that human society will manifest a liturgy in some way. So, although modernity may not practice its liturgy in the traditional sense, it does indeed have one. In fact, its ethics—and even its theology—strongly resemble the paganism of the ancient world, and even appropriates the trappings of Christian practices to serve its own ends.

First, purely materialist theories of the universe and mankind’s beginnings similarly posit that both are the product of random forces. In pagan mythology, the earth is either eternal or born out of cosmic conflict, such as the Norse god Odin and his brothers fashioning Midgard out of the corpse of the giant Ymir. Cutting-edge Hegelian dialectic and Marxist interpretations view history as an inevitable series of progress, synthesis, and the dominance of the newest (and thus more powerful) idea. Zeus kills his father Cronos to claim divine overlordship, just as Cronos killed his father Ouranos. For Marx, the feudal world was replaced by the world of the bourgeoise, which must inevitably be violently overthrown, and the classless Communist society established. In both pagan myth and materialist theory, there is no place for purpose in creation.

Both pagan and modern households have household shrines. The Romans had their individual household gods, their Lares and Penates. How many different objects are enshrined in the secular household? Hecatombs and libations might not be offered before the latest TV and shiny new car, but a hecatomb’s worth of money is spent on ensuring that those plasma-screen TVs and Cadillacs are as new and well-maintained as the household shrines of days gone by.

Every religion has its own holidays and feast days, and Secularism is no different. The cultic prostitution and May Days of the ancients pale in comparison to

“Although modernity may not practice its liturgy in the traditional sense, it does indeed have one.”

“Pride parades have taken the place of liturgical processions.”

today’s ubiquity and celebration of pornography and “sex work.” National Coming Out Day is like the holy days of old. Pride month has become a season of religious celebration. Pride parades have taken the place of liturgical processions. To quote J.R.R.Tolkien, “Evil cannot create anything new, they can only corrupt and ruin good forces have invented or made.”

Are scientists valued as brave explorers further advancing human understanding of the material world, or do they also fulfill the role of prophets, condemning those who disagree with the established science with more ferocity than a medieval pope anathematizing an errant lord? What of the aura of mystique surrounding climate change activists such as Greta Thunberg? When she appeared before the UN Climate Summit in 2019, her message was received as if spoken by an Old Testament prophet, a latter-day Jeremiah prophesying a terrible judgment upon all for our sins against the ozone layer. The melting of the polar caps is the new Ragnarök, a final struggle that must consume all of our recourses to combat. Did you know you can buy votive candles of Dr. Anthony Fauci?1 Given the number of Etsy providers selling these blasphemous candles, I can say with certainty that these are not intended as jokes or parodies.

The state has pushed aside any concrete notion of God, and in doing so has tried to fill the God-sized hole in people’s lives with … itself. Political discourse has taken on the fervor of a religious war in a way that cannot be solely explained by the growing ideological divide. “Elephantus et Asinus Vult!”—“The Elephant and the Donkey will it!” This cry has taken the place of the old crusader motto “Deus Vult!” This isn’t even to mention the rising popularity of genuine neopaganism, witchcraft, and Satanism. The one common foundation, the common doctrine of Secularism that binds the whole mélange together, is a denial of the fully transcendent, eternal, and omnipotent.

Although Secularism presents itself as a neutral middle ground set apart from all religion, it is in truth the ultimate synthesis of every primitive creed ever expressed by man. Secularism is a paganism as varied as all the different cults of the ancient world, and the methods to confront these different cults must suitably vary. St. Paul’s intellectual appeal to the “unknown god” of Athens (Acts 17: 16-34) and St. Boniface’s physical felling of the sacred tree of Thor are both legitimate strategies: Secularism must be opposed both by a sound orthodoxy and a rigorous orthopraxy. Today’s Catholics must fulfill their part of the Great Commission in a world every bit as dark and foreboding as the pagan societies that the early Christians faced, and it is only by imitating their zeal and courage that we can truly begin to Restore All Things in Christ.

Endnotes

CATHOLIC TRADITIONALISM

1. Author’s note: I have gained nearly all my inspiration and information for this article in multiple sustained conversations and debates that I have had on this broad topic around campus over the last year. 2. Author’s note: This is a term I have heard while having various conversations about charismatic renewal. 3. Author’s note: I have drawn these criticisms on a somewhat anecdotal basis. Strictly speaking, these are criticisms of the portrayal of charismatic faith as it has been related to me personally.

THE CATHOLIC CHARISMATIC RENEWAL

1. Romans 12:6 (RSVCE) 2. National Service Committee 3. Theological and Pastoral Orientations on the Catholic Charismatic Renewal. https://www.nsc-chariscenter.org/ malines-documents/ 4. Pope Benedict XVI, ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI TO PARTCIPANTS IN A MEETING ORGANIZED BY THE CATHOLIC FRATERNITY OF CHARISMATIC COVENANT COMMUNITIES AND FELLOWSHIPS. 31 October 2008. Hall of Blessings. 5. Address of Pope John Paul II to the ICCRO Council. https://web.archive.org/web/20070928131946/http://ccc. garg.com/ccc/articles/John_Paul/John_Paul_001.html 6. 1 Corinthians 12:7 (RSVCE)

A HOLY WAR

1. “Statement by the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church Concerning the Encroachment of the Patriarchate of Constantinople on the Canonical Territory of the Russian Church,” The Russian Orthodox Church. Department for External Church Relations., n.d., https://mospat.ru/en/ news/47059/. 2. John P. Burgess, “Is Russia's War on Ukraine about Religion?,” The Christian Century, March 4, 2022, https://www. christiancentury.org/article/critical-essay/russia-s-warukraine-about-religion. 3. Burgess 4. Tomasz Janowski, Jon Boyle, and Grant McCool, eds., “Extracts from Putin's Speech on Ukraine,” Reuters (Thomson Reuters, February 21, 2022), https:// www.reuters.com/world/europe/extracts-putins-speechukraine-2022-02-21/. 5. “Extracts from Putin’s Speech” 6. Olga Kiyan, “Russia & Democratic Backsliding: The Future of Putinism,” Harvard International Review (Harvard International Review, April 9, 2020), https://hir.harvard. edu/russia-democratic-backsliding-the-future-of-putinism/.

THE METAVERSE

1. https://dailyvoice.com/new-york/orangetown/lifestyle/ research-reveals-how-many-times-americans-check-theirsmart-phones-each-day/817270/ 2. “Everything Facebook Revealed About the Metaverse in 11 Minutes”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gElfIo6uw4g.

SECULARISM: THE REBIRTH OF PAGAN RELIGION

1.https://www.etsy.com/listing/796918383/anthony-fauci-devotional-prayer-saint

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