Has Politics Become Your Religion?

Most Americans value the separation of church and state, a concept envisioned to protect religious communities from the encroachments of government. And while Western nations have learned to forbid religious movements from seizing control of government, we’ve been less sensitive to the reality in which political movements have morphed into aggressive, quasi-religious groups. Since secularization has left a “meaning void” in the soul of postmodern culture, many individuals seek to find their identity and purpose through political activism.

While this can be quite productive, even transformational, activism becomes unhealthy when it supplants the spiritual to become our primary animating force. When adherents place their eggs in the basket of ideology, relationships fragment, anxieties increase, and we lose the ability to enjoy many of the fundamental aspects of human life.

So how do you know when your politics have surged past healthy boundaries to become your religion? This critical question requires great sensitivity and honest reflection. If you think you’re up to the challenge, here are three clues that can indicate a problem:

1. Your social media accounts have been weaponized.

Remember when Facebook was for connecting with “Friends”? Now, unfortunately, your social media accounts are your primary means of enlightening the ignorant, rallying supporters, and antagonizing detractors. This crusade has likely cost you friends who’ve grown tired of the constant political barrage, and you’re often engaged in a digital cagefight with faceless users who dare to challenge your assertions.

Instead, accept that social media is a terrible place to debate politics and limit your political posts to things that stimulate thoughtful discussion rather than visceral debate. Ask questions more than you declare answers, be humble, and while you’re at it, ask yourself why you feel such a need to fixate on your political views. There is likely something much deeper going on, related to your inability to accept a world filled with complex problems and different opinions on how to fix them.

2. People are careful to avoid political subjects around you.

Have your friends and family learned not to bring up one of your soapbox issues when you’re around? Do people tiptoe in your presence because they don’t want to unleash the beast of your political barrage or risk offending you? If you’re only hearing from people who strongly agree with you, chances are that you’ve got some reflection to do.

Instead, try to be known as a person who is safe to talk to about anything, who can appreciate the views and aspirations of people who come from a different place. While some settings are not suitable for political discourse, it can be meaningful to discuss current events with those who are healthy enough to realize that there is far more to life.

3. There isn’t more to your life.

Many pursue a career in political advocacy in order to realize their passions, while others become heavily engaged as volunteers or armchair politicians They can develop a myopic focus on their ideals that borders on obsessive. Their politics shape everything in their lives, including if and where they go to church, who they socialize with, and which products they support or boycott. They see themselves as soldiers in a revolution against injustice, embracing an imbalanced approach to life that requires the sacrifice of alienating would-be friends and family. When you’re fighting on the front line, they reason, you have to be willing to accept some casualties.

Instead, we need boundaries around our political activism. Give yourself a break from riding around like Paul Revere and let yourself be known for other things. Talk about your hobbies, socialize without an agenda, get involved in non-partisan causes, and find joy in simple things. As with our muscular system (in which we either “use it or lose it”), you may have lost the ability to engage in such trivial, civilian pursuits. But set some goals and hang in there, as your muscles will come back with practice. Eventually, you’ll learn to appreciate other cross-sections of reality, and you may even find yourself able to appreciate those who come at life from an opposing perspective.

During this election year, the religion of politics will be on full display, and many will exhibit the toxic patterns described above. Let’s do our part to contribute to the electoral process as citizens, which includes a stubborn refusal to render unto Caesar those things that make us truly human.