Religion-Lite as a gateway religion to fundamentalism
I just can’t help periodically visiting the site of Focus on the Family, at least once in a while. They address many good topics over there—I often disagree with their conclusions, though not always (I almost always disagree with their attempted intrusions into government). They offer some solid good advice on parenting, marriage and career, some of it without much religion. Sometimes it reads like almost entirely like pop psychology.
For instance, in the current article on Mary Cheney, there is no condemnation, no fire and brim stone, only concern. Actually, lots of concern. Most of it about the absence of a father-figure in a child’s life. This is a legitimate concern, though it seems a bit hollow coming from an organization which is quintessentially homophobic. But they keep their deeper concerns about gays and inerrant bible passages in check in this particular article. Certainly, there is no discussion about hell.
Another current FOTF article features “Worldviews.” The ostensible concern is that “The Lion King” does not teach biblical Christianity, “despite a handful of good moral lessons. Again, no rampant condemnation. Instead, the article warns that
the notion of the “circle of life,” that history is circular and the present is heavily influenced by the spirits of one’s ancestors, is closer to Eastern pantheism or native spiritualism than the linear view of history presented in the Bible.
On a lark, I read a FOTF article on “Marijuana — inhaled intellectual impairment.” The gist of the article is that marijuana …
