1. Why Democracy Is Hostile to Religion
1.1 The First Force: Toleration
It’s obvious to foreigners like myself and Tocqueville how strange American religious tolerance is and how corrosive it is to your religious life. But not to Americans. So let me tease this out with a story. So, when I just arrived in America, I was fresh off the boat, a Jewish friend of mine married a Christian lady. Beautiful marriage. They hosted dinner to celebrate. And just over dinner they casually made a remark that we’re going to raise our son half Jewish and half Christian. Okay? I was so confused. I blurted this out in the middle of dinner. What the hell do you mean you’re going to raise your son half Jewish and half Christian? Okay, some things you can go halfsies on, right? Half the time you learn Hebrew, half the time you learn Greek, half the weeks you take Sabbath off, half the weeks you take Sunday off. Some things you don’t want to go halfsies on. Circumcision. Cheeseburgers. How do you tell your ki…