Refreshing Observations

Submitted by Al Rodbell (United States), Nov 6, 2018 at 20:37

Interesting observations requiring different axes of analysis. "Civilizations" are intertwined with religions, defined as un-examined norms that define and isolate members. Based on this criteria the Ultra-orthodox Jews are closer to the masses of Muslims in fealty and obedience to "God."

http://www.pewforum.org/ provides a cornucopia of research on this.

One who chooses to continue, or join a Muslim sec, is making an adult decision to adhere to defending their God, to the point of condoning killing apostates. In contrast, the vast majority of Jews in the Western world, are secularists, for whom their Jewishness to various degrees are ethnic identities only.

If the "civilization" that you describe is secular, based on accepting the insights that began during the enlightenment, continuing to the replacement of supernatural causation with science based understanding of our world, the expansion of such political parties is to be welcomed.

However, the anti-Muslim stand of the Trump-Republicans happens to be intertwined with the mystical belief of Christianity. We are no longer the country with the motto E Pluribus Unum, but rather "in God we Trust" an assertion that could be sworn to by the most pious of Muslims. When "civilization" parties are extensions or our founder's Deism, or modern secularism, I will certainly applaud their becoming a substantial movement of our era.

In other words, civilizationalism has to have objective criteria to determine whether it is an improvement over nationalism,

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