“A second problem with pluralism as a goal for our society concerns the need for social cohesion. Sociologists widely agree that a common religion is necessary to hold a society together. When the religious base of a society is undermined, or its unifying vision is lost, the fragmentation of life and the polarization of society is likely to occur. Our society’s confessional pluralism, however, prevents foundational biblical principles from being the basis of social cohesion. And, thus, the issues of public policy are becoming increasingly intractable.”
David M. Carson
God & Politics — pg. 118
The resolution commonly pursued to the problem of pluralism that Carson notes is to create a pagan civil religion with the intent of serving as the unifying glue to hold a society together. The success of such a civil religion to serve as social glue is its ability to borrow enough from the competing religions in the society to satisfy all the adherents of the different religions. The result is a civil religion that is characterized by pagan syncretism. In America this civil religion was most clearly seen in the Chapel service in Washington DC following 9/11.
The observation here is important because one clear implication is that as long as there are religions out there who insist that confessional pluralism is something that we need to institutionalize are in reality working to insure that the civil religion of pagan syncretism will be the religion of the nation. Radical two Kingdom virus people should take special note of this.
Without some religion providing the glue which makes for social cohesion the result will be cultural disintegration and balkanization.
