this post was submitted on 14 Apr 2024
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I always feel like I struggle with a lot of the beliefs behind anarchism, but can I ask how being a pastor works in combination with it? Religious doctrine sounds like it would be at odds. (I'm sorry if this sounds condescending I'm just not smart about political theory and I like hearing people explain their viewpoints)
It's not condescending and a very legitimate question. In fact, it's partly the reason why I said that I have anarchist tendencies but don't call myself an anarchist.
But for me, anarchism is about anti-authoritarianism. Religion can be authoritarian and hierarchical, or can be a free association of like-minded people. I don't see how the second one couldn't fit in an anarchist society. When I read for example Bakunin, I don't recognize religion as I live it everyday; he clearly speaks about something else. Moreover, Jesus himself was quite anti-authoritarian and most political passages of the Bible criticize quite strongly the powerful people, or praise Jesus as a freedom giver (to call the Bible an anarchist book would be at least an anachronism, but the Bible was an influence of the early anarchist thinkers).
Thank you for taking the time to respond and that makes a lot of sense! I really appreciate your perspective :)
My pleasure