It occurred to me recently that the great harm of the Catholic Church, exposed in the recent cases of sexual abuse, is its prolonged history of exploitation of the poor and rich alike. Religion, as we know it, is basically a form of exploitation. There is no measurable, concrete product offered by religion that is not available in many other places in society. In fact, the products and services offered by religions are generally inferior to those offered professionally in other segments of society. However, the political Right resents subsidizing quality services for those who cannot afford them.
The big push by capitalist exploiters on The Right in the last decade for faith-based initiatives seems a profitable way to direct the poor to these inferior services to free up public funds from providing higher quality social security services. Why pay a highly qualified, licensed child psychologist to counsel poor urban youths when an under-qualified urban reverend will gladly take a small Federal grant in exchange for setting up an ineffectual grass-roots after-school basketball team? Why provide tax-funded shelters with qualified social workers and medical personnel when a church will provide a soup kitchen and blankets?
Religion presents itself as philanthropic, as well as paternalistic. The leaders set themselves up as qualified to dispense wisdom, ethical advice and counseling. Their provenance comes from "The Lord", whichever deity they represent for their purposes. The wisdom they dispense fits the script of their own purposes. Frequently, those purposes are their own celebrity, income and bourgeoise lifestyle. Challengers to their authority are painted as disturbed and uninformed. Conformity within their followers is used as a weapon to isolate and victimize dissenters.
As we see in the Roman Catholic Church, these methods have worked very well for centuries. The recent wave of fundamentalist entrepreneurs in the U.S. have followed that well-worm model. It is perhaps the oldest form of pyramid scheme in the world.
The problem for these demagogues is simple. There is something inherent in the human intelligence that eventually resists domination and exploitation. Once educated or freed from unhealthy dependence, the human psyche rebels and reveals injustice. The truth will out.
The rage of the exploited is intense and infectious, as we have seen in the Roman Church. I would speculate that some of the rage tapped by the Tea Party movement is the rage of disenchanted born-agains. Once manipulated by The Right under the misconception that the "successful" were benignly pointing them in the correct or moral path through their religious leaders, former Moral Majority members now rally to Tea Party banner, also funded by the same Right Wing manipulatiors. Now, as we see, they are much more difficult to herd, because they are wary of being duped again. Their rage at government is pehaps displaced rage at their pastors, who taxed them and delvered nothing of value in return.
My advice to anyone who wishes to found a morality-based movement or religion is simple. Focus on the giving, not the taking. That is perhaps the only way to stay on course for the greater good. Encourage your followers to pay taxes and get involved with government. And, when presented with problems and issues outside the realm of the well-meaning do-gooder, refer your members to professional services.
