As a mental health provider and former fundamentalist Christian, the majority of my writing is motivated by the idea of connecting with others that have had similar experiences, have outgrown faith, or are at least willing to ask questions to that end. The original Faith-Free Future Substack sprang up in 2022 during a brief hiatus I had between psychiatric jobs. At the time, the premise of the site was similar to what it is now, but the primary impetus was actually the Supreme Court’s decision to toss out Roe V Wade. It was an incredibly consequential example of the downstream effects of faith in society and one that I felt at the time should not be ignored. The current political situation in the US has only further exemplified these effects.
In addition to the risks of psychological damage, indoctrination with a faith-based belief system risks turning down the volume knob of critical thinking to a level where it plays no role in certain decisions and undermines the baseline, natural cognitive ability to identify and evaluate threats. In the case of Christianity, it also normalizes the in-group, out-group mentality embedded in the endless splintering into unique denominations and sects. These effects are the result of the psychological installation and maintenance of a supernatural worldview in the brains of believers during development by religious indoctrination. This warped understanding of reality has a direct consequence on the perception of genuine threats, especially those more distant in time or space (i.e. climate change, authoritarianism) and creates the tendency to see invisible beings and forces at work everywhere in the world.
The slide of the United States towards authoritarianism via the Trump administration would not be happening right now if a significant percentage of votes in the most recent presidential election hadn’t been cast based on the belief that the Abrahamic god intended the former reality star to be in charge of the US. This is not speculation. Multiple polls reveal that 25-35% of voters believed that Trump was ordained by their god to be president. The sad irony is that many of those who voted because of this belief are the ones most affected by his policies in terms of Medicaid cuts, ICE activity, costs of living, etc. The fact that they continue to support him today is further evidence of the trumping of any critical thinking skills by belief.
In a democracy, the ‘reality’ on which one bases their decisions matters not just to themself, but also to the rest of society. If a lone delusional individual believes that a particular candidate is actually Superman, with the ability to fly, fight evil and save humanity, and so votes for that candidate, his one vote would likely matter little in the overall outcome. If, however, 30% of the population has that same delusion and bases their votes directly on that delusion, the entire remainder of the country will be affected by the unsubstantiated belief in an imaginary superhero. This candidate, knowing this, can further increase their chances of winning by claiming to be Superman. While the majority of the voters are able to easily see this as the lies of an unethical politician, it makes the delusion that much more believable to the delusional. To be clear, I am not calling all Christians who voted for Trump delusional. Rather, this analogy is meant to highlight the obvious potential for the ‘faith’ of others to influence each and every one of our lives. Obviously, any individual’s reason for voting is based upon any number of competing emotions, rationalizations, psychological predispositions and social narratives. In the US, we have been taught (at least we used to be taught) that a person’s right to vote is sacred, and any challenges to this concept should naturally be met with skepticism and concern; however, when a worldview is based on supernatural fantasy, and that worldview controls the voting behavior of a significant percentage of voters in society, it is necessary for the rational voices in that society to speak up and raise their concerns about the obvious risks associated with belief with the hope that we can avoid further impediments to our future progress.
For those who disagree with my analysis, or who may be moderate Christians unwilling to cede the point that belief should not influence voting, please listen to the insane, Bible-based ideas espoused by Doug Wilson, the pastor of Pete Hegseth and an ally of the current White House administration. Here is a link to his interview by Sam Harris from earlier this year. As a teaser, he believes: in a Christian theocracy rather than representative democracy, that only Christians should hold office, that women should NOT have the right to vote, that slavery was not wrong and should be re-institutionalized, that sodomy laws should be reinstated, and that adultery should receive the death penalty. The closeness of this individual to the current power structure in Washington is terrifying, and it is inarguably the result of the role of belief in the last election. I typically post articles on Sunday only and no longer write much about politics, but if interested, please check out my other work and consider joining the community of Faith-Free Future.