A Waning Faith in Government

Written By: Gary North  |  Posted: Tuesday, August 31st, 2010

When people lose faith in any religion, they cease attending services. Maybe they transfer their membership. American pastors learned this two centuries ago. When Massachusetts abolished tax support for Congregational churches in 1833, that ended the last trace of state compulsion in church circles. But religion is not limited to churches. It extends to the state. The state is perfectly happy to use tax revenues to promote this religion, just as it was in ancient Rome.

When faith wanes in political religion, members of the congregation start looking for alternative places of worship. They want their tithes and offerings to be voluntary. The state denies this way of escape. Voters see no way out, so they choose another approach: to impose pain on the priests. We are seeing this on YouTube. Congressmen who venture into a local town hall meeting are finding that they no longer are in control. The people who were once deferential are confrontational. They are mad as hell and won't take it any more.

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