One of the disadvantages of growing up Mormon is that one doesn't learn much about religion. One learns about Mormonism perhaps, but not much about the wealth of thousands of years of thinking and writing about religion that preceded Mormonism. One of my recent discoveries is the concept advanced by the Roman scholar and writer, Marcus Terentius Varro (116 BC – 27 BC) that religion is divided into three parts: the civil, the natural (or philosophical), and the mysterious.

I am still reading more about this idea and how it has influenced the thinking about religion since. Although this concept is over two thousand years old, I see it as still very applicable to our day and that it can perhaps help us in our thinking about religion. I also wanted to share my enthusiasm for a new (to me) discovery.

Civil/political theology is the collection of beliefs in the divine that unite people as a political entity. The Greek city states had their divine patrons and later the Roman emperors took this role over as gods of the state. After the arrival of Christianity, cities adopted patron saints. Today this role has been taken over by what we call patriotism, with George Washington as our patron saint and the Constitution as scripture. One need only see how people become heated about kneeling during the national anthem to see how this set of beliefs still motivates people at a visceral level.

Natural theology provides arguments for the existence of God based on reason and ordinary experience of nature. This is the thinking that links natural disasters and other events with the will of God. Since the Age of Enlightenment, science has slowly (so very slowly) displaced natural theology. However, we still see this thinking in areas such as climate change where people's concept of God can prevent their understanding of how human activity and not God is shaping the environment.

Mystery theology includes all of that which is separate or transcends political theology or natural theology. Mystery theology is based on scripture and/or personal spiritual experiences. Because it pertains to the unknowable, mystery theology includes both atheism and theism.

A fundamental problem of Mormonism is its attempt to be all three theologies in one, and in particular, staking the validity of its claims for civil and mystery theology on having unique natural theology (the BOM).

Not that Mormons are alone. It is obvious that a substantial portion of the country have conflated being white and protestant with being a "real" American, and are otherwise immune to reason or fact.

Thanks, this makes a lot of sense. It explains some of the craziness in the US today.

I'd prefer theology of any kind be kept out of civil/political areas, thanks.

Politics has enough problems (greed, self-interest, hunger for power, etc.) without adding on theological delusions.

That's the point. Politics is its own form of religion, with its own symbols, rituals, and claims on the behavior and rights of the individual.

It when adherents of a particular mystery theology leverage its claims in the sphere of political theology (or natural theology) that we run into problems. As Jesus said, "Render unto Caesar that which is his..." They are different worlds.

I agree completely with your second part.
The first part...not so much.

Everything isn't a religion. Even things that share many things in common with religion (the things you mentioned). Religions involve claims of/worship of supernatural things. Politics doesn't.

The very word "theology" includes a deity word as its root. No matter how dedicated, enthusiastic, ritualistic, etc. followers of a political ideology are, political ideologies themselves aren't theological. They have no 'god' concept.

Excluding theocratic political ideologies, of course -- which is your second part :)

Politics is much more like a cult. It seems very cult-like. Look at Trump’s supporters. And his haters from the other cult.

Yep, I'd go for that :)

Interesting, Mark. Thanks for sharing.
Gonna look Marcus Terentius Varro up.

{sorry, can't help myself at times}

MarkJ. I understand why your not a Mormon, your a thinker. Thanks for an interesting post. I'm googling Varro now