Reply #10: What ever happened to religion being a private thing?

[SquireJons]

When I was growing up, the message that I got from the church I was raised in (catholic) and from society in general was that a persons faith was a personal matter. Good deeds were honored but proselytizing and political grandstanding were frowned upon. Fast forward 35 years and religion has been turned on it's head. It seems that the galvanizing force behind religions these days is intolerance, politics and wealth. It's ironic to me that the current 'great awakening' began with counter culture young people in the late 60's and early 70's. Godspell and Jesus Christ Superstar somehow begat the Moral Majority, the 700 Club and the Christian Coalition. How did this happen? Did the people inside the various churches change their views or were the church administrations the victims of a political coup? A bit of both, I think but who could have guessed that in a country with so much education there would be so many people choosing to be ignorant about the world around them?

It's a sad symbol of the times we live in that the most remarkable pope in several centuries (John Paul II) has been succeeded by a former Nazi who wants to turn his back on science and who fosters inter-faith hostility. It's much like the US presidency, where one of the most successful presidents (Clinton) is succeeded by one of the worst... ever. It's almost like god hasn't made a final determination on good vs. evil yet and is giving both a good looking at.