Is Politics Our New Religion?

UCSB Library presents a talk by Ann Taves, Professor of Religious Studies, to be followed by a public reception.

“Is politics our new religion?” How we answer this question depends on how we define religion and politics, both of which mean different things to different people (including scholars).  Instead of arguing over what counts as religious or political, we can view both as attempting to answer the big questions that structure our worldviews. If we think of the current polarization in American society in terms of conflicting worldviews, we can use the big questions — who are we, what is the situation in which we find ourselves, and what goals should we strive for — not only to deepen our understanding of how and why we and others view our current situation the way we do, but also to help us to reach out to others to overcome the polarization.