Episode 64
American Evangelicals and the Politics of Suffering
Summary:
The link between religion and the role of government in helping citizens shows a clear pattern. If you're more religious, you're less likely to support government aid programs. Dr. Jim chats about the historical perspectives, examining how religion has been used to justify suffering and uphold societal hierarchies. Dr. Jim also analyzes Pew Research findings that showcase the correlation between religiosity and opposition to government aid. Discussing the intertwining of faith and politics, he questions the alignment between evangelical beliefs and contemporary issues, including support for controversial political figures. This episode offers a critical examination of empathy, religion, and the politics of compassion in today's world.
Chapters:
0:00
American Evangelicals Label Empathy as a Sin
1:27
European Expansionism and the Invention of Whiteness
1:41
American Evangelicals, Empathy, and Government Aid
2:36
Religious Beliefs Influence Views on Government Assistance
3:37
Christianity's Role in Justifying Suffering and Salvation
4:27
Historical Justifications for Oppression and Injustice
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Music Credit: Good_B_Music
Mentioned in this episode:
Left in Exile Intro
Left in Exile Intro
Transcript
Should we be really surprised in learning that empathy is being marketed as the new and deadliest sin by American Evangelicals? It really tracks in line with historical precedent as well, because when you think about it, the whole concept of race was created by white Europeans who made the claim that the darker you are.
The further away from God you are.
iteness. And that concept of [:We've never really fully taken into account or understood because history has been whitewashed to prevent us from seeing the true nature of European expansionism.
So when you consider the historical underpinnings and you draw a line to today's evangelical Christian community, it's a logical progression.
It makes perfect sense that American Evangelicals would be making the case that empathy is something that should be avoided. And in fact,
ated that the more Christian [:and the TLDR version of all of the survey results is that American Christians love money more than they love God. I don't think that should be surprising since this is the group of people that have advanced the whole Prosperity Gospel Bs.
When you dig into the data that Pew provided, there's some pretty interesting results
overall. When you look at the entire population that was surveyed, 46% believed that government should do more when it comes to helping those in need, and 27% believe that government should do less.
Here's where it gets interesting. The more religious you are, the more likely it is that you would vote that government should do less.
% of the [:What we can take away from all of this is that at some level, those who identify as Republicans. Vote for Republicans and describe themselves as evangelicals and describe themselves as Evangelical Christians are perfectly fine with more suffering in the world.
It's God's will. If you are [:So you just need to, pull yourself up by the bootstraps and deal with it because salvation is going to be in your next life. That's the whole premise of being Christian, is that it doesn't matter what's happening now. If you believe the right way, you're gonna get salvation later. And it makes sense that Christians would now also be of the position that you are where you are because that's how God deemed it and designed it, and that's where you deserve to be.
That was the reasoning they used to. Exterminate indigenous populations around the world. That was the reasoning that they used to enslave people all around the world and particularly justified the Atlantic slave trade and channel slavery. And that's the reasoning that they used to.
fight it. That's your lot in [:When you put all of that in context, doesn't it make perfect sense that they would be fully on board with reelecting, a felon, a fraud, and an adjudicated rapist? Perfect symmetry.
