The Religio-Political Estuary | National Catholic Reporter

The Religio-Political Estuary | National Catholic Reporter by MSW.  MGB: Actually, and this gets a lot of people, evolution - or creationism - is a General Field Theory, aka Paradigm or World View.  Such things do have believers - especially on the creationist side - which is entirely based on belief rather than evidence.  Such attitudes are driven by age and by family solidarity - an otherwise well educated child of a creationist may support the family line, even if taught the modern line - which is itself evolving due to understandings of the fluidity of even a living species - we aren't determined at conception - we change a bit during life.  Whether those changes happen is not in doubt.  How is the question.

The description of Fallwell is apt (MSW is, in fact, the expert - at least among Catholics) - including the rise of the nones - although the nones likely include the children of those who left the Catholic Church over Humanae Vitae - a teaching which entirely ignores scientific experience - both on the sociology and psychology of the family and embryology as well.  As far as materialism, the fundatmentalist propserity gospel is the height of materialism and support for capitalism.  For conservative Catholics who oppose Francis, this is no surprise.  He is the Church's Barack Obama in their eyes and they can only fear him.

As for secularism or secular materialism (usually associated with Communism - which is a hint on why the right wing opposes it) the problem is not a forgetting of God, but a disregard for the opinions of the Church.  For some, this appears to be a wise course.

As we speak, I have two loads of laundry going in the dryer -one towels and one unifmrs for work.  If I had no such machines right now, I could simply go to the laundramat.  If such machines simultaneously vanished, however, I would be much less happy.  Indeed, automatic washers and dryers were what allowed women to go to work and not spend Mondays in arduous labor - Monday being the traditional day to do the wash.  Francis would not be against washers per say, but against how they are distributed.  Indeed, he is from a continent where not everyone has such equipment.

Francis' writings on the Angry God paradigm actually prallel my writings on the denial of this world view (espoused by both the Fandamentalists and the traditionalists who believe every sperm is sacred (to quote Monty Python).  Jesus is the repairman of the human heart because his sacrifice made God feel like us, not because it made us feel like God.  That is an utterly more attractive versions unless you are arguing for the need for a powerful Church.  I do not believe (there is that word again) that the battle will be about secularism.  It will be about tribalism and power.  It always has been.