Religion not as opiate, but as Viagra

Marx’s statement that religion is “religion is the opiate of the masses” is certainly one of his most famous. He suggested that religion was used to alleviate pain but not to heal; to quiet opposition and to encourage passivity. Today, in sharp contrast, religion is increasingly used not to placate, but to incite. It is offered more as Viagra than as opium.

In the nineteenth century, science was of burgeoning interest, rebellion was in the air all over Europe, and many established churches were bulwarks of oppressive regimes. Together with a generally pejorative perception of religion a disdainful approach developed that anticipated that religion was destined to disappear and was impeding progress. More than anything, it was thought, religion encouraged passivity that served the interests of the governing classes, and as such Marx and others opposed it.

Many supporters of the Zionist movement shared this feeling. Rather than simply praying three times a day to return to Zion, they said, Jews should move there themselves. Bialik’s famous poem on the Kishinev pogrom in 1903 echoed this feeling: in “The City of Slaughter”, he wrote: “Your deaths are without reason; your lives are without cause. What says the Shekinah? In the clouds it hides in shame…” Religion, according to many in the mainstream Zionist movement, offered no solution. Only a new home and a state could offer the protection that would enable them to break tradition and actively set a new course for the Jewish people.

Indeed, Israel became known for its activism on many fronts. Pioneers came to settle and develop agriculture, kibbutzim were developed from the north to the south, new cities sprung up, and Israeli culture, science, sport and society, all flourished. Solidarity among Jews who came from all over the world helped give all a sense of purpose. Most recently, the “Start-Up Nation” became a theme that engaged many in the younger generation.

Yet those who are engaged in the economy of the new technology are a small minority. The national leadership has not been fostering a sense of national purpose, but rather national fragmentation. President Rivlin talked of “four tribes”, the Ultra-Orthodox, religious, secular, and Arabs, acknowledging the disintegration of society. Massive privatization and cuts in social services have resulted in increasing socioeconomic gaps. The nation-state law of 2018, passed by a slim majority, legislated a superior status to the majority over the Arab minority of 20%. Most young people are finding it increasingly difficult to find jobs, impossible to find housing, and hard-pressed to see where they fit in a malfunctioning political system. For many, employment choices are motorcycle deliveries or waiting on tables.

Hence the re-invention of Judaism as Viagra. While perhaps beginning with the excitement of the 1967 victory of the very secular IDF, religious leaders beginning with Rabbi Shlomo Goren have sought to overpower nationalist, democratic sentiments with messianic, religious ones. Today, it is the supporters of the state who are portrayed as weak while those fired with religious determination are gaining ground. The two leaders of the third largest party, perhaps unjustly named “Religious Zionism”, turn to religious motivation and to a small coterie of fanatic rabbis as a source of inspiration. Rapidly gaining a stronghold among the younger generation, one of its leaders has publicly praised the mass murderer Baruch Goldstein as a hero, others back the often violent activities of the “hilltop youth”, some have advocated pardoning Itzhak Rabin’s assassin. They support an activist, fundamentalist, and extremist brand of Judaism which they create as they gain power. To demonstrate the aggressiveness of this approach, one member of Knesset advocated razing the Supreme Court with a bulldozer and just this May, MK Pindrus from “Torah Judaism” said his dream was to blow it up.

Rather than recognizing and appreciating the revolution that Zionism led in establishing a modern, democratic state, religious forces are working on its undoing. Instead of cementing Israeli identity and patriotism, they encourage tribal identities that send us back two thousand years. Rather than a force for garnering support for the state, it advocates rebellion against it. Finally, rather than fostering calm and thankfulness, religion is used as a catalyst for protest and uprising, and action. Basic Jewish values of mutual responsibility, respect for the “ger” (the foreigners amongst us), community, learning, and wishes for peace are being replaced by hostilities towards others, close-mindedness, and war-mongering.

Religion as Viagra is, among other things, only a temporary solution to the frustrated and powerless. Israel needs to revive the idea of citizenship, and an inclusive one, in order to reinvigorate a sense of a nation rather than that of a hostile tribe. Instead of submitting to the waves of new religious fanaticism, we must rekindle the charm of democracy. Israel should encourage building solar panels and farming the Galilee, not constructing barbed wire fences in the West Bank or vigilante activities beyond (or within) the country’s borders. Nation states that want to recapture their power among the young and disgruntled must offer real solutions to attract the younger generations that include offering them purpose, belonging and practical help.