{"id":954,"date":"2003-03-06T23:40:13","date_gmt":"2003-03-07T07:40:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2003\/03\/06\/religion-and-the-maxim-society\/"},"modified":"2003-03-06T23:40:13","modified_gmt":"2003-03-07T07:40:13","slug":"religion-and-the-maxim-society","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2003\/03\/06\/religion-and-the-maxim-society","title":{"rendered":"Religion and the Maxim Society"},"content":{"rendered":"

These are notes from a lec\u00adture I pre\u00adsent\u00aded on \u201cReli\u00adgion In the Max\u00adim Soci\u00adety\u201d in Ron Howard<\/a>\u2019s class on Vol\u00adun\u00adtary Social Sys\u00adtems (no class web\u00adsite that I could find).<\/p>\n

In case you\u2019re won\u00adder\u00ading, a max\u00adim soci\u00adety is one in which every law flows from the max\u00adim that \u201cpeace\u00adful, hon\u00adest peo\u00adple have a right to be left alone.\u201d It is a the\u00ado\u00adret\u00adi\u00adcal soci\u00adety with\u00adout any coer\u00adcion and with max\u00adi\u00admal free\u00addom. If you weren\u2019t in the class, this won\u2019t make much sense to you\u2013my apolo\u00adgies. I put this online to help out the stu\u00addents from the class, not to edu\u00adcate the Inter\u00adnet at large about my hypo\u00adthet\u00adi\u00adcal mus\u00adings on the\u00ado\u00adret\u00adi\u00adcal soci\u00adeties.<\/p>\n

If you were in the class<\/b>, these notes should be close to what I said but not com\u00adplete\u00adly iden\u00adti\u00adcal. Two rea\u00adsons: I did\u00adn\u2019t deliv\u00ader my notes ver\u00adba\u00adtim and I tweaked one or two points in response to some of the ques\u00adtions that let me know where I had been unclear. Also, in these notes I have attempt\u00aded to pro\u00advide all my sources and to hyper\u00adlink any ref\u00ader\u00adences to make it easy to check me out.<\/p>\n

\n

Aca\u00add\u00ade\u00admics Often Ignore Reli\u00adgion (fool\u00adish\u00adly)<\/b>
\nIn the world of aca\u00add\u00ade\u00admics, reli\u00adgion is often over\u00adlooked. This point is illus\u00adtrat\u00aded quite strik\u00ading\u00adly by British econ\u00ado\u00admist Ernst Schu\u00admach\u00ader in the open\u00ading lines of his book A Guide For the Per\u00adplexed: <\/p>\n

On a vis\u00adit to Leningrad some years ago I con\u00adsult\u00aded a map to find out where I was, but I could not make it out. From where I stood, I could see sev\u00ader\u00adal enor\u00admous church\u00ades, yet there was no trace of them on my map. When final\u00adly an inter\u00adpreter came to help me, he said: \u201cWe don\u2019t show church\u00ades on our maps.\u201d Con\u00adtra\u00addict\u00ading him, I point\u00aded to one that was very clear\u00adly marked. \u201cThat is a muse\u00adum,\u201d he said, \u201cnot what we call a \u2018liv\u00ading church.\u2019 It is only the \u2018liv\u00ading church\u00ades\u2019 we don\u2019t show.\u201d <\/i><\/p>\n

It then occurred to me that this was not the first time I had been giv\u00aden a map which failed to show many things I could see right in front of my eyes. All through school and uni\u00adver\u00adsi\u00adty I had been giv\u00aden maps of life and knowl\u00adedge on which there was hard\u00adly a trace of many of the things that I most cared about and that seemed to me to be of the great\u00adest pos\u00adsi\u00adble impor\u00adtance to the con\u00adduct of my life. I remem\u00adbered that for many years my per\u00adplex\u00adi\u00adty had been com\u00adplete; and no inter\u00adpreter had come along to help me. It remained com\u00adplete until I ceased to sus\u00adpect the san\u00adi\u00adty of my per\u00adcep\u00adtions and began, instead, to sus\u00adpect the sound\u00adness of the maps. (E.F. Schu\u00admach\u00ader, A Guide For the Per\u00adplexed<\/a> page 1)<\/p>\n

Today I want to help you take a look at the like\u00adly nature of reli\u00adgion in a soci\u00adety in which all laws flow from the max\u00adim, \u201cPeace\u00adful, hon\u00adest peo\u00adple have the right to be left alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Or, to flesh out the terms in the max\u00adim: \u201cPeo\u00adple who do not use force on oth\u00aders and who ful\u00adfill their con\u00adtrac\u00adtu\u00adal oblig\u00ada\u00adtions to oth\u00aders have the right to not be coerced.\u201d<\/p>\n

Such a soci\u00adety is a sta\u00adple in the genre of sci\u00adence fic\u00adtion. As a sci\u00adence fic\u00adtion fan, I\u2019m always amazed at the wide\u00adspread assump\u00adtion in such tales that reli\u00adgion will have at most a mar\u00adgin\u00adal role in future soci\u00adeties, and that if reli\u00adgion does sur\u00advive it will be in a vir\u00adtu\u00adal\u00adly unrec\u00adog\u00adniz\u00adable form.<\/p>\n

The rea\u00adsons for such an assump\u00adtion are myr\u00adi\u00adad, and I could spend the rest of this class peri\u00adod rais\u00ading and coun\u00adter\u00ading them.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll give you just two rea\u00adsons why such an assump\u00adtion is na\u00efve.
\n
\nReli\u00adgion Will Exist In Any Soci\u00adety, Regard\u00adless of Struc\u00adture<\/b>
\nFirst, God exists. You may not accept that fact, but it is a fact regard\u00adless of your feel\u00adings on the mat\u00adter. That obvi\u00adous\u00adly has a bear\u00ading on the ratio\u00adnal\u00adi\u00adty and con\u00adtin\u00adu\u00adance of reli\u00adgious behav\u00adior.<\/p>\n

Sec\u00adond, peo\u00adple are fun\u00adda\u00admen\u00adtal\u00adly reli\u00adgious. Even if you choose to deny the exis\u00adtence of God, you must grant this fact. Peo\u00adple are, by nature, inclined towards reli\u00adgious beliefs and prac\u00adtices. That won\u2019t change, and it should be obvi\u00adous to any casu\u00adal stu\u00addent of his\u00adto\u00adry.<\/p>\n

Con\u00adsid\u00ader that despite the sup\u00adposed sec\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adiza\u00adtion of the world that we are now in the midst of a world\u00adwide reli\u00adgious revival. This may come as a sur\u00adprise to you, so I encour\u00adage you to do your own research. Speak\u00ading for Chris\u00adtian\u00adi\u00adty, I tell you that more peo\u00adple are becom\u00ading fol\u00adlow\u00aders of Jesus now on a dai\u00adly basis that at any point in human his\u00adto\u00adry. They are doing so in all sorts of soci\u00adeties and in all sorts of con\u00addi\u00adtions.<\/p>\n

At the same time, athe\u00adism is a world\u00adview in seri\u00adous decline. There are few\u00ader athe\u00adists today than there were a cen\u00adtu\u00adry ago (many sources sup\u00adport this state\u00adment: here are two I find inter\u00adest\u00ading \u201c\u2026it is like\u00adly that there were few\u00ader real athe\u00adists in 1990 than in 1890.\u201d Paul John\u00adson<\/a>, Mod\u00adern Times: The World From the Twen\u00adties to the Nineties, revised edi\u00adtion<\/a>, p. 701. (1991) and \u201cToo many intel\u00adlec\u00adtu\u00adals look down on reli\u00adgion and think that it will go away. God is not going to go away. There are far more reli\u00adgious peo\u00adple in the world today than when I was born.\u201d 100-year-old philoso\u00adpher Charles Hartshorne<\/a> in U.S. News and World Report Feb 23, 1998), and I expect that trend to con\u00adtin\u00adue. David Brooks wrote an arti\u00adcle called \u201cKick\u00ading the Sec\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adist Habit<\/a>\u201d in this month\u2019s Atlantic Month\u00adly: he said, and I quote, \u201cIt\u2019s now clear that the sec\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adiza\u00adtion the\u00ado\u00adry is untrue. The human race does not nec\u00ades\u00adsar\u00adi\u00adly get less reli\u00adgious as it grows rich\u00ader and bet\u00adter edu\u00adcat\u00aded. We are liv\u00ading through one of the great peri\u00adods of sci\u00aden\u00adtif\u00adic progress and the cre\u00adation of wealth. At the same time, we are in the midst of a reli\u00adgious boom.\u201d<\/p>\n

Inci\u00adden\u00adtal\u00adly, I should also men\u00adtion that to most peo\u00adple it is intu\u00aditive\u00adly obvi\u00adous that reli\u00adgious belief and moral belief are relat\u00aded. That is rel\u00ade\u00advant to our dis\u00adcus\u00adsion today inso\u00adfar as the max\u00adim soci\u00adety pre\u00adsup\u00adpos\u00ades a cer\u00adtain moral frame\u00adwork held in com\u00admon by its cit\u00adi\u00adzen\u00adry. Faith pro\u00advides that framework\u2014as the framers of the Amer\u00adi\u00adcan con\u00adsti\u00adtu\u00adtion said, \u201cMan is endowed by his Cre\u00adator with cer\u00adtain inalien\u00adable rights\u2026\u201d You may not acknowl\u00adedge the con\u00adnec\u00adtion your\u00adself, but you have to come to grips with the fact that most peo\u00adple see it clear\u00adly. If the max\u00adim soci\u00adety is unable to make itself palat\u00adable to peo\u00adple who hold to that con\u00adnec\u00adtion, it will not last long.<\/p>\n

The rea\u00adson\u00ading for such an intu\u00aditive link is quite com\u00adpelling, by the way. One must mere\u00adly acknowl\u00adedge that the laws of moral\u00adi\u00adty are fun\u00adda\u00admen\u00adtal\u00adly dif\u00adfer\u00adent from the laws of physics, and then fol\u00adlow the log\u00adic trail wher\u00adev\u00ader it goes. In this case, it takes us to anoth\u00ader part of real\u00adi\u00adty than the one the laws of physics oper\u00adates in\u2014the real\u00adi\u00adty of the tran\u00adscen\u00addent. Any pure\u00adly mate\u00adri\u00adal\u00adis\u00adtic view of human\u00adi\u00adty will at best con\u00adstrue an arbi\u00adtrary moral\u00adi\u00adty. Any sense of the laws of moral\u00adi\u00adty as some\u00adhow real and uni\u00adver\u00adsal is firm\u00adly embed\u00added in a super\u00adnat\u00adur\u00adal world\u00adview.<\/p>\n

In short, it would be fool\u00adish of us to assume that reli\u00adgion will dis\u00adap\u00adpear. Reli\u00adgion will con\u00adtin\u00adue to exist\u2014the real\u00adly inter\u00adest\u00ading ques\u00adtion is how reli\u00adgion would adapt to the spe\u00adcif\u00adic demands of a max\u00adim soci\u00adety.<\/p>\n

A Brief Dis\u00adclaimer<\/b><\/p>\n

At this point, I should men\u00adtion that most of my exam\u00adples will be about Chris\u00adtian\u00adi\u00adty. I do this not to be unfair but rather to be as fair as pos\u00adsi\u00adble. I know Chris\u00adtian\u00adi\u00adty best and am most accu\u00adrate when I speak about it. I hate it when Chris\u00adtian\u00adi\u00adty is mis\u00adrep\u00adre\u00adsent\u00aded in pub\u00adlic forum, and I have no wish to inad\u00adver\u00adtent\u00adly dis\u00adtort anoth\u00ader faith.<\/p>\n

Hav\u00ading said that, I will ref\u00ader\u00adence oth\u00ader faiths, but my obser\u00adva\u00adtions regard\u00ading them will be of a more ten\u00adta\u00adtive nature.<\/p>\n

Entre\u00adpre\u00adneur\u00adial Reli\u00adgions Would Flour\u00adish In A Max\u00adim Soci\u00adety<\/b><\/p>\n

The prime bene\u00adfac\u00adtors in a soci\u00adety based on free\u00addom will be entre\u00adpre\u00adneur\u00adial reli\u00adgions, by which I mean reli\u00adgions such as Chris\u00adtian\u00adi\u00adty, Islam, and Mor\u00admonism that focus on per\u00adsuad\u00ading oth\u00aders to con\u00advert.<\/p>\n

You com\u00admon\u00adly hear that Islam is the fastest-grow\u00ading reli\u00adgion in the world. That claim is misleading\u2014it\u2019s based upon a com\u00adbi\u00adna\u00adtion of two facts: first, Islam is con\u00adcen\u00adtrat\u00aded in devel\u00adop\u00ading cul\u00adtures with very high birthrates. Sec\u00adond, in many of those cul\u00adtures you inher\u00adit your par\u00adents\u2019 reli\u00adgion by coer\u00adcive law. When you look at rates of adult con\u00adver\u00adsion, Chris\u00adtian\u00adi\u00adty is grow\u00ading around 3 times faster than Islam (note to class\u00admem\u00adbers, I found this sta\u00adtis\u00adtic online and attempt\u00aded to track it down again, but the orig\u00adi\u00adnal link seems to have changed\u2013sorry). In the max\u00adim soci\u00adety any adult would be free to choose their own reli\u00adgious beliefs free of coer\u00adcion and I think it is also like\u00adly that the max\u00adim soci\u00adety would, on the whole, have a rel\u00ada\u00adtive\u00adly low birthrate com\u00adpared to the devel\u00adop\u00ading cul\u00adtures.<\/p>\n

In oth\u00ader words, the max\u00adim soci\u00adety will be very con\u00adducive to the spread of Chris\u00adt\u00adian belief. <\/p>\n

That claim is coun\u00adter\u00adin\u00adtu\u00aditive to many of you, so allow me to expand my rea\u00adson\u00ading. <\/p>\n

Chris\u00adtian\u00adi\u00adty does best in one of two con\u00adtexts.
\n1)\tWhere there is true free\u00addom of reli\u00adgion.
\n2)\tWhere Chris\u00adtian\u00adi\u00adty is per\u00adse\u00adcut\u00aded.<\/p>\n

Con\u00adverse\u00adly, the Church does poor\u00adly when it is wed\u00added to the state, espe\u00adcial\u00adly when it is favored by the state (and hence sub\u00adject to reg\u00adu\u00adla\u00adtion).<\/p>\n

Here are some exam\u00adples:
\n\u2022\tFree\u00addom of reli\u00adgion: Amer\u00adi\u00adca. Chris\u00adtian\u00adi\u00adty has flour\u00adished and is flour\u00adish\u00ading here. Amer\u00adi\u00adca is by no means over\u00adrun with evan\u00adgel\u00adi\u00adcal fer\u00advor, but no observ\u00ader of our soci\u00adety can deny that Chris\u00adtian\u00adi\u00adty has done excep\u00adtion\u00adal\u00adly well in Amer\u00adi\u00adca.
\n\u2022\tWhere Chris\u00adtian\u00adi\u00adty is per\u00adse\u00adcut\u00aded: the ulti\u00admate exam\u00adple is, of course, the Roman Empire. We wound up tak\u00ading it over (much to our detri\u00adment). The mod\u00adern exam\u00adple is Chi\u00adna. The Chris\u00adt\u00adian church in Chi\u00adna is explod\u00ading. Esti\u00admates vary wild\u00adly, but the sources I trust tell me that there are at least 75,000,000 Chris\u00adtians in an overt\u00adly athe\u00adis\u00adtic state that seeks to sup\u00adpress the faith (see Adherents.com<\/a> for a wide range of esti\u00admates, some much low\u00ader than I have just pro\u00advid\u00aded and some much high\u00ader).
\n\u2022\tWed\u00added to the state: the his\u00adtor\u00adi\u00adcal exam\u00adple would be the Roman Catholic Church of the Mid\u00addle Ages. Reli\u00adgion was cor\u00adrupt\u00aded by government\u2014which is what invari\u00adably hap\u00adpens. The mod\u00adern day exam\u00adple I\u2019d use Eng\u00adland. Angli\u00adcan\u00adism is the offi\u00adcial faith of Eng\u00adland, and the roy\u00adal\u00adty are the offi\u00adcial heads of the Church. Most of the Euro\u00adpean democ\u00adra\u00adcies, though sec\u00adu\u00adlar, have such squir\u00adrel\u00adly arrange\u00adments and do annoy\u00ading leg\u00adisla\u00adtive things to pre\u00advent evan\u00adgel\u00adi\u00adcal groups from prop\u00ada\u00adgat\u00ading their faith (some\u00adtimes even label\u00ading us as \u2018cults\u2019 because we are so dif\u00adfer\u00adent from what they expect Chris\u00adt\u00adian denom\u00adi\u00adna\u00adtions to be like). Church atten\u00addance in Eng\u00adland is abysmal even though over \u00be of the pop\u00adu\u00adla\u00adtion believe in God. They don\u2019t attend church because they don\u2019t like church, and I\u2019d argue that they don\u2019t like church because there\u2019s not as much free\u00addom of reli\u00adgion in Eng\u00adland as there is in Amer\u00adi\u00adca. Which, lest we for\u00adget, is one of the chief his\u00adtor\u00adi\u00adcal rea\u00adsons Amer\u00adi\u00adca exists.<\/p>\n

Anoth\u00ader cat\u00ade\u00adgo\u00adry of reli\u00adgious prac\u00adtice that will do very well is what I\u2019ll call smor\u00adgas\u00adbord spir\u00adi\u00adtu\u00adal\u00adi\u00adty. You see this all over the place in Amer\u00adi\u00adca: peo\u00adple take what\u00adev\u00ader beliefs and prac\u00adtices they like from the var\u00adi\u00adous reli\u00adgions and merge them in a way that they find per\u00adson\u00adal\u00adly ful\u00adfill\u00ading. Such potluck approach\u00ades to faith will cer\u00adtain\u00adly con\u00adtin\u00adue to do well.<\/p>\n

Faiths that will be adverse\u00adly affect\u00aded include groups that rely on coer\u00adcion. This is for obvi\u00adous rea\u00adsons. For exam\u00adple, Sci\u00aden\u00adtol\u00adogy fre\u00adquent\u00adly uses libel law\u00adsuits to pre\u00advent peo\u00adple from speak\u00ading out against them. Such law\u00adsuits would not be allow\u00adable in the max\u00adim soci\u00adety, and so such groups lose an impor\u00adtant weapon in their arse\u00adnal.<\/p>\n

Obvi\u00adous\u00adly, groups that rely on phys\u00adi\u00adcal coer\u00adcion would be straight out the win\u00addow.<\/p>\n

By way of con\u00adtrast, I sus\u00adpect that a reli\u00adgion such as Bud\u00addhism would be vir\u00adtu\u00adal\u00adly unaf\u00adfect\u00aded. Bud\u00addhism is not par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly evan\u00adge\u00adlis\u00adtic and tends to abide by the max\u00adim as it is. Inter\u00adest\u00aded peo\u00adple will con\u00adtin\u00adue to explore it and dis\u00adin\u00adter\u00adest\u00aded peo\u00adple will con\u00adtin\u00adue to be igno\u00adrant of it.<\/p>\n

A Max\u00adim Soci\u00adety Would Have A Unique Reli\u00adgious Dynam\u00adic<\/b>
\nThis is a sec\u00adtion of more or less inter\u00adest\u00ading thoughts about the like\u00adly results either of the max\u00adim soci\u00adety on reli\u00adgion and reli\u00adgion on the max\u00adim soci\u00adety.<\/p>\n

1.\tReli\u00adgious com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adties would become absolute\u00adly cen\u00adtral to all meet\u00ading of human needs.<\/p>\n

Reli\u00adgious\u00adly moti\u00advat\u00aded com\u00adpas\u00adsion is instru\u00admen\u00adtal in all Amer\u00adi\u00adcan char\u00adi\u00adty, not just faith-based char\u00adi\u00adties. 75% of all the mon\u00adey giv\u00aden to so-called \u201csec\u00adu\u00adlar\u201d non\u00adprof\u00adits is giv\u00aden by peo\u00adple who also give to a local church, mosque, or syn\u00ada\u00adgogue (in oth\u00ader words, they are members\u2014see www.independentsector.org<\/a> for some illu\u00admi\u00adnat\u00ading reports on this).<\/p>\n

On top of that, if the aver\u00adage North Amer\u00adi\u00adcan con\u00adgre\u00adga\u00adtion were to bill its com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adty for the social ser\u00advices it pro\u00advides, the tab would be about $184,000 per year (this fig\u00adure comes from Ram A. Cnaan, The Invis\u00adi\u00adble Car\u00ading Hand: Amer\u00adi\u00adcan Con\u00adgre\u00adga\u00adtions and the Pro\u00advi\u00adsion of Wel\u00adfare<\/a>, New York Uni\u00adver\u00adsi\u00adty Press, 2002). Mul\u00adti\u00adply that by the over 300,000 con\u00adgre\u00adga\u00adtions in Amer\u00adi\u00adca (accord\u00ading to the U.S. State Depart\u00adment) and you\u2019ll see that local con\u00adgre\u00adga\u00adtions pro\u00advide direct social ser\u00advices that would be val\u00adued at rough\u00adly $55 bil\u00adlion dol\u00adlars on top of the indi\u00advid\u00adual char\u00adi\u00adta\u00adble dona\u00adtions of their mem\u00adbers. That num\u00adber will cer\u00adtain\u00adly increase if there are no more social ser\u00advices pro\u00advid\u00aded by a gov\u00adern\u00adment. While prepar\u00ading these notes for the web, I ran across an inter\u00adest\u00ading press release at Nation\u00adal Cen\u00adter for Pol\u00adi\u00adcy Analy\u00adsis<\/a> pre\u00adsent\u00ading these and relat\u00aded facts.<\/p>\n

I dare\u00adsay that the vast major\u00adi\u00adty of char\u00adi\u00adties would become faith-based. If you doubt it, look to history\u2014hospitals, schools, and reha\u00adbil\u00adi\u00adta\u00adtion pro\u00adgrams are start\u00aded by faith groups when the gov\u00adern\u00adment doesn\u2019t do it. Amer\u00adi\u00adca is a prime exam\u00adple.<\/p>\n

2.\tEdu\u00adca\u00adtion would become pre\u00addom\u00adi\u00adnant\u00adly reli\u00adgious. I sup\u00adpose this is real\u00adly a sub\u00adcat\u00ade\u00adgo\u00adry of my last point, but it was prob\u00ada\u00adbly not appar\u00adent to you as I was talk\u00ading.<\/p>\n

Most elite Amer\u00adi\u00adcan uni\u00adver\u00adsi\u00adties were found\u00aded for reli\u00adgious rea\u00adsons. The found\u00ading of reli\u00adgious col\u00adleges has slowed (but by no means died) as a result of state-spon\u00adsored schools. With\u00adout such gov\u00adern\u00admen\u00adtal insti\u00adtu\u00adtions, reli\u00adgious col\u00adleges would thrive.<\/p>\n

This would not just be true at the col\u00adle\u00adgiate lev\u00adel. The edu\u00adca\u00adtion\u00adal sys\u00adtem in Amer\u00adi\u00adcan has a strong\u00adly reli\u00adgious heritage?people who val\u00adue holy books have a vest\u00aded inter\u00adest\u00aded in a lit\u00ader\u00adate soci\u00adety, and reli\u00adgious peo\u00adple who real\u00adize that chil\u00addren are form\u00ading their core val\u00adues have a vest\u00aded inter\u00adest in pre\u00adsent\u00ading as many of them with a robust faith-based per\u00adspec\u00adtive on life.<\/p>\n

There would, of course, be sec\u00adu\u00adlar rivals. For exam\u00adple, there would be indus\u00adtry-spon\u00adsored trade schools. Nonethe\u00adless, I strong\u00adly sus\u00adpect that the largest and best schools would be reli\u00adgious, and that many non\u00adre\u00adli\u00adgious peo\u00adple would send their chil\u00addren to the reli\u00adgious schools for the qual\u00adi\u00adty of their edu\u00adca\u00adtion.<\/p>\n

And you should nev\u00ader under\u00ades\u00adti\u00admate how much strong\u00adly reli\u00adgious peo\u00adple val\u00adue hav\u00ading their chil\u00addren instruct\u00aded with\u00adin their own reli\u00adgious tra\u00addi\u00adtion. The con\u00adstant bat\u00adtles we fight in Amer\u00adi\u00adca over school prayer and the rights of reli\u00adgious clubs to exist at pub\u00adlic schools should serve as a reminder.<\/p>\n

3.\tIn the max\u00adim soci\u00adety, mar\u00adriage would be just anoth\u00ader type of con\u00adtract between two par\u00adties. Most peo\u00adple would still seek to have their mar\u00adriages rat\u00adi\u00adfied by reli\u00adgious bod\u00adies, and so I expect that the nature of mar\u00adriage would splin\u00adter in many direc\u00adtions. For exam\u00adple, in a Chris\u00adt\u00adian mar\u00adriage I would stip\u00adu\u00adlate claus\u00ades such as the fol\u00adlow\u00ading: promis\u00ading to refrain from all sex\u00adu\u00adal behav\u00adior with any\u00adone oth\u00ader than the spouse, refrain\u00ading from pornog\u00adra\u00adphy, a clause demand\u00ading that all future con\u00adtracts bro\u00adkered by either part\u00adner include a clause which includes their mar\u00adi\u00adtal part\u00adner, a promise to attend a Chris\u00adt\u00adian church as a cou\u00adple, and a severe penal\u00adty clause for divorce.<\/p>\n

Gay mar\u00adriages would be legal, as would polyg\u00ada\u00admous rela\u00adtion\u00adships. I per\u00adson\u00adal\u00adly would not par\u00adtic\u00adi\u00adpate in legit\u00adi\u00admat\u00ading such mar\u00adriages, but there are cler\u00adgy who would if the peo\u00adple desired the bless\u00ading of a reli\u00adgious body and if they don\u2019t desire such a bless\u00ading they can craft what\u00adev\u00ader con\u00adtract they wish.<\/p>\n

4.\tIndi\u00advid\u00adu\u00adals in the max\u00adim soci\u00adety would become key play\u00aders in financ\u00ading world evan\u00adge\u00adliza\u00adtion for entre\u00adpre\u00adneur\u00adial reli\u00adgions, owing chiefly to the afflu\u00adence in such a soci\u00adety and the lack of tax\u00ada\u00adtion which would make more income dis\u00adpos\u00adable.<\/p>\n

5.\tThere would no longer be any legal dis\u00adtinc\u00adtion between non-prof\u00adit and for-prof\u00adit orga\u00adni\u00adza\u00adtions. That means that you would begin to see some pret\u00adty remark\u00adable orga\u00adni\u00adza\u00adtion\u00adal devel\u00adop\u00adments which I can\u00adnot even begin to pre\u00addict. I will say that if you think tel\u00ade\u00advan\u00adge\u00adlists are some\u00adthing, just wait until all the rules are waived!<\/p>\n

6.\tBalka\u00adniza\u00adtion of stretch\u00ades of property\u2013>various reli\u00adgious groups would attempt to co-opt the soci\u00adety by pur\u00adchas\u00ading swaths of land and requir\u00ading peo\u00adple to agree to cer\u00adtain con\u00adtrac\u00adtu\u00adal oblig\u00ada\u00adtions upon enter\u00ading the zone. For exam\u00adple, a Hin\u00addu swath might make veg\u00ade\u00adtar\u00adi\u00adan\u00adism oblig\u00ada\u00adtory while in the zone. Rad\u00adi\u00adcal Amish might for\u00adbid any machin\u00adery in their zone. Cer\u00adtain\u00adly fun\u00adda\u00admen\u00adtal\u00adist Shi\u00adite mus\u00adlims would cre\u00adate Islam\u00adic zones.<\/p>\n

Con\u00adverse\u00adly, some peo\u00adple offend\u00aded by reli\u00adgion might cre\u00adate \u201creli\u00adgion-free\u201d zones. You may only enter said zone if you promise to refrain from any reli\u00adgious con\u00adver\u00adsa\u00adtions or activ\u00adi\u00adties.<\/p>\n

Note, none of this is coer\u00adcive. If you don\u2019t like the rules, don\u2019t enter the zone.<\/p>\n

I should say that I don\u2019t think this would be wide\u00adspread. Most reli\u00adgious groups will dis\u00adcov\u00ader that it is in their best inter\u00adest to gen\u00adtly woo non\u00adbe\u00adliev\u00aders by inter\u00admin\u00adgling with them and demon\u00adstrat\u00ading a hope\u00adful\u00adly supe\u00adri\u00ador lifestyle. Iso\u00adla\u00adtion\u00adist groups will not fare well.<\/p>\n

Also, I should men\u00adtion that con\u00adtrary to wide\u00adspread opin\u00adion, reli\u00adgious peo\u00adple are more tol\u00ader\u00adant than sec\u00adu\u00adlar peo\u00adple. I believe you can find some research about this in The Saints Among Us<\/a> by George Gallup (yes, that George Gallup). Reli\u00adgious peo\u00adple tend to hold tol\u00ader\u00adance as a val\u00adue, and so in addi\u00adtion to prag\u00admat\u00adic rea\u00adsons for not iso\u00adlat\u00ading them\u00adselves from the world they will also have moral ones.<\/p>\n

7.\tSome reli\u00adgious bod\u00adies would like\u00adly cre\u00adate mem\u00adber\u00adship con\u00adtracts that stip\u00adu\u00adlate con\u00adfor\u00admi\u00adty to group norms not cov\u00adered by the max\u00adim. For exam\u00adple, I could envi\u00adsion an Ortho\u00addox Jew\u00adish syn\u00ada\u00adgogue requir\u00ading a con\u00adtrac\u00adtu\u00adal clause man\u00addat\u00ading the con\u00adsump\u00adtion of kosher foods as part of its mem\u00adber\u00adship con\u00adtract.<\/p>\n

You might expect that vol\u00adun\u00adtary groups that require a lot of their mem\u00adbers would tend to evap\u00ado\u00adrate in the max\u00adim soci\u00adety. I don\u2019t think so. Soci\u00adol\u00ado\u00adgists of reli\u00adgion have long observed that those reli\u00adgious groups which require the most from their mem\u00adbers grow fastest and have the great\u00adest loy\u00adal\u00adty. Speak\u00ading specif\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly as a Chris\u00adt\u00adian min\u00adis\u00adter, I assert with con\u00adfi\u00addence that those church\u00ades which expect the most from their mem\u00adbers in terms of time, ener\u00adgy, and resources tend to grow the fastest. I see no rea\u00adson this would change.<\/p>\n

In fact, I think the max\u00adim soci\u00adety would prove to be a very fer\u00adtile ground for groups that we would con\u00adsid\u00ader to be extreme\u00adly unhealthy.<\/p>\n

Those are just some thoughts I had on the nature of reli\u00adgion in a max\u00adim soci\u00adety. There are many, many more ways in which reli\u00adgion would change the soci\u00adety and soci\u00adety would influ\u00adence reli\u00adgion.<\/p>\n

A Max\u00adim Soci\u00adety Is At Least Tol\u00ader\u00ada\u00adble And Pos\u00adsi\u00adbly Desir\u00adable<\/b><\/p>\n

So far I have sim\u00adply tak\u00aden the poten\u00adtial exis\u00adtence of a max\u00adim soci\u00adety and dis\u00adcussed in a the\u00ado\u00adret\u00adi\u00adcal way the like\u00adly role of reli\u00adgion with\u00adin it. For just a few moments in clos\u00ading, I\u2019d like to com\u00adment on the desir\u00adabil\u00adi\u00adty of the max\u00adim soci\u00adety.<\/p>\n

You might expect me to object to the max\u00adim soci\u00adety because it legit\u00adimizes immoral\u00adi\u00adty in some form or anoth\u00ader. For exam\u00adple, it does not allow one to pass a soci\u00adety\u00adwide law mak\u00ading pros\u00adti\u00adtu\u00adtion ille\u00adgal.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m actu\u00adal\u00adly okay with hav\u00ading a legal struc\u00adture that per\u00admits immoral actions. Laws must always act a lev\u00adel infe\u00adri\u00ador to that of ethics. Every one of us will fail moral\u00adly in one way or anoth\u00ader. If we make all sin ille\u00adgal then every\u00adone faces pun\u00adish\u00adment!<\/p>\n

Jesus him\u00adself rec\u00adog\u00adnized this when he was asked about divorce. Jesus said divorce was not part of God\u2019s plan for humans, and so his oppo\u00adnents asked him why Moses per\u00admit\u00adted the ancient Israelites to divorce. \u201cJesus replied, \u2018Moses per\u00admit\u00adted divorce as a con\u00adces\u00adsion to your hard-heart\u00aded wicked\u00adness, but it was not what God had orig\u00adi\u00adnal\u00adly intend\u00aded.\u2019\u201d (Matthew 19:3\u20139<\/a>)<\/p>\n

In oth\u00ader words, Jesus explic\u00adit\u00adly affirms the idea that some things that are immoral should not be ille\u00adgal.<\/p>\n

There\u00adfore, I would say that the max\u00adim soci\u00adety is tol\u00ader\u00ada\u00adble from a moral stand\u00adpoint: it per\u00admits some things that peo\u00adple real\u00adly ought not do but it pro\u00adhibits them from doing the worst things they could do. I can live with that.<\/p>\n

Moral\u00adi\u00adty must live at a high\u00ader stan\u00addard than laws. By that I do not pri\u00admar\u00adi\u00adly mean that moral\u00adi\u00adty stands in oppo\u00adsi\u00adtion to law; indeed, the max\u00adim itself is not immoral. What I mean is that moral\u00adi\u00adty must call us to vol\u00adun\u00adtar\u00adi\u00adly aspire to a high\u00ader stan\u00addard than the law requires us to live at.<\/p>\n

For the record, I would say that the moral max\u00adim for an indi\u00advid\u00adual life was expressed by Jesus: \u201cLove the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and love your neigh\u00adbor as your\u00adself. Upon these two com\u00admand\u00adments rest all the law and the prophets.\u201d (Matthew 22:34\u201340<\/a>)<\/p>\n

In oth\u00ader words, there may be no legal require\u00adment for you to throw a life pre\u00adserv\u00ader to a drown\u00ading man, but there is a moral one. In the same way, there can be no soci\u00adety-wide require\u00adment for peo\u00adple to attend reli\u00adgious ser\u00advices, but there is a moral oblig\u00ada\u00adtion to love God with all our hearts.<\/p>\n

So I do not con\u00addemn the max\u00adim soci\u00adety for not for\u00adbid\u00adding behav\u00adiors and beliefs I find regret\u00adtable. In fact, I find much to com\u00admend with\u00adin the max\u00adim soci\u00adety. In fact, I see sig\u00adnif\u00adi\u00adcant cor\u00adre\u00adla\u00adtions between the Chris\u00adt\u00adian faith and the under\u00adpin\u00adnings of the max\u00adim soci\u00adety.<\/p>\n

What do I mean?<\/p>\n

I mean that the max\u00adim soci\u00adety is dri\u00adven by con\u00adtracts. So is Chris\u00adtian\u00adi\u00adty. Give me just a moment here: I think this part may be more instruc\u00adtive for you than any\u00adthing else I\u2019ve said today. I will tell you what I first thought when I, as a mis\u00adsion\u00adary, began to con\u00adtem\u00adplate min\u00adistry with\u00adin a max\u00adim soci\u00adety.<\/p>\n

A Case Study: How I, As A Chris\u00adt\u00adian Mis\u00adsion\u00adary, Would Approach A Max\u00adim Soci\u00adety<\/b><\/p>\n

This might help you to see how oth\u00ader reli\u00adgious peo\u00adple and groups are like\u00adly to func\u00adtion with\u00adin the max\u00adim soci\u00adety.<\/p>\n

My first thought was jubi\u00adla\u00adtion. Chris\u00adtian\u00adi\u00adty could tear it up in a max\u00adim soci\u00adety because the max\u00adim soci\u00adety would make cer\u00adtain Chris\u00adt\u00adian con\u00adcepts more under\u00adstand\u00adable to the aver\u00adage cit\u00adi\u00adzen.<\/p>\n

The Bible is divid\u00aded into two sec\u00adtions: the Old Tes\u00adta\u00adment and the New Tes\u00adta\u00adment. That word \u2018tes\u00adta\u00adment\u2019, means \u2018covenant.\u2019 Covenant is a spe\u00adcif\u00adic type of con\u00adtract.<\/p>\n

In oth\u00ader words, the Bible has two divi\u00adsions: the Old Con\u00adtract and the New Con\u00adtract. The Old Con\u00adtract is the sto\u00adry of God\u2019s deal\u00adings with the nation of Israel. He estab\u00adlished a con\u00adtract with them that con\u00adtained a clause that referred to the com\u00ading of a sav\u00adior. The New Tes\u00adta\u00adment is the record of what hap\u00adpened when God exer\u00adcised that option in the con\u00adtract. <\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the essence of it in a nut\u00adshell:
\n1) We belong to God because He cre\u00adat\u00aded us.
\n2) In return for the gift of life, God expects us to be moral (as I defined moral\u00adi\u00adty ear\u00adli\u00ader).
\n3) Each of us has vio\u00adlat\u00aded this implic\u00adit con\u00adtract and done things we knew were wrong.
\n4) God was under no oblig\u00ada\u00adtion to for\u00adgive us for our wrong\u00addo\u00ading, but mer\u00adci\u00adful\u00adly chose to offer us a rene\u00adgo\u00adti\u00adat\u00aded con\u00adtract in the per\u00adson of Jesus.
\n5) That con\u00adtract is sim\u00adply this: we acknowl\u00adedge our con\u00adtrac\u00adtu\u00adal vio\u00adla\u00adtions (i.e., we con\u00adfess that we have sinned), we declare our inten\u00adtion to stop vio\u00adlat\u00ading the terms of the con\u00adtract (we repent of our sins), and we ask him to over\u00adlook our vio\u00adla\u00adtions (we ask for his for\u00adgive\u00adness). We then ask for God\u2019s help in ful\u00adfill\u00ading this new con\u00adtract and \u201cseal the deal\u201d by trust\u00ading in Jesus to be our leader and for\u00adgiv\u00ader.<\/p>\n

By the way, I am no longer speak\u00ading of the\u00ado\u00adry but of fact. If you would like to learn more about liv\u00ading life accord\u00ading to God\u2019s plan\u00b8 vis\u00adit our web\u00adsite or talk to me after class. God is real and He can change your life.<\/p>\n

Obvi\u00adous\u00adly, there\u2019s more I could say about this, but I just want\u00aded you to see that there\u2019s no intrin\u00adsic antag\u00ado\u00adnism between the max\u00adim soci\u00adety and faith. Faith will find a way. <\/p>\n

So I\u2019ve not real\u00adly got major prob\u00adlems with the max\u00adim soci\u00adety.<\/p>\n

Some Prac\u00adti\u00adcal Con\u00adsid\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtions Unre\u00adlat\u00aded to Reli\u00adgion<\/b>
\nMy chief con\u00adcerns with the max\u00adim soci\u00adety are not moral or reli\u00adgious in nature, they\u2019re just prac\u00adti\u00adcal. Here are a few thoughts which I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve talked about, but whose res\u00ado\u00adlu\u00adtion is not appar\u00adent to me.<\/p>\n

* There is a con\u00adstant ref\u00ader\u00adence to laws that are based upon the max\u00adim (e.g., the case of adop\u00adtion, the case of pol\u00adlu\u00adtion, the laws gov\u00adern\u00ading what con\u00adsti\u00adtutes a valid con\u00adtract) yet I find no pro\u00advi\u00adsion for law mak\u00aders.
\n* I don\u2019t think the max\u00adim soci\u00adety deals well with the prob\u00adlems of glob\u00adal ter\u00adror\u00adism. I\u2019ve heard it sug\u00adgest\u00aded that the max\u00adim soci\u00adety would have no need to fear ter\u00adror\u00adism, but I find that implau\u00adsi\u00adble. Sup\u00adpose that Israel became a max\u00adim soci\u00adety with\u00adin the next year. Does any\u00adone seri\u00adous\u00adly believe that their ter\u00adror\u00adism prob\u00adlems would go away?
\n* The idea of a mili\u00adtia-based defense seems to me to be sub\u00adop\u00adti\u00admal. There is a cat\u00ade\u00adgo\u00adry dif\u00adfer\u00adence between pro\u00adfes\u00adsion\u00adal sol\u00addiers with well-trained lead\u00ader\u00adship and a rag\u00adtag band of yahoos who buy sur\u00adface-to-air mis\u00adsiles on the open mar\u00adket. I\u2019m not sure the max\u00adim soci\u00adety could with\u00adstand inva\u00adsion from an ene\u00admy such as the Unit\u00aded States. For exam\u00adple, sup\u00adpose that Mex\u00adi\u00adco became a max\u00adim soci\u00adety. Instant\u00adly, it would become a haven for drug lords. I can con\u00adceive of sce\u00adnar\u00adios in which the Unit\u00aded States would deem regime change to be in its best inter\u00adests.<\/p>\n

Read If You\u2019re Curi\u00adous About Chris\u00adtian\u00adi\u00adty<\/b>
\n* Os Guin\u00adness<\/a>, Long Jour\u00adney Home<\/a>
\n* C. S. Lewis<\/a>, Mere Chris\u00adtian\u00adi\u00adty<\/a><\/p>\n

Read If You\u2019re Curi\u00adous About Faith And Free\u00addom<\/b>
\n* Var\u00adi\u00adous arti\u00adcles by the Acton Insti\u00adtute<\/a>
\n* Os Guin\u00adness, The Great Exper\u00adi\u00adment: Faith and Free\u00addom in Amer\u00adi\u00adca<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

These are notes from a lec\u00adture I pre\u00adsent\u00aded on \u201cReli\u00adgion In the Max\u00adim Soci\u00adety\u201d in Ron Howard\u2019s class on Vol\u00adun\u00adtary Social Sys\u00adtems (no class web\u00adsite that I could find). In case you\u2019re won\u00adder\u00ading, a max\u00adim soci\u00adety is one in which every law flows from the max\u00adim that \u201cpeace\u00adful, hon\u00adest peo\u00adple have a right to be \u2026 Con\u00adtin\u00adue read\u00ading \u201cReli\u00adgion and the Max\u00adim Soci\u00adety\u201d<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-954","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-stanford"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6Ded-fo","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/954","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=954"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/954\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}