Anyone who reflects on the current civil war in the United States realizes that, to a large extent, it is a war between the religious and the anti-religious.
A The left despises Protestants, Catholics and Orthodox Jews for one reason: they represent everything the left hates. Of course there are secular conservatives who fight against this left, but the most effective opposition comes even from Christian and Jewish conservatives.
Differences begin in childhood. Most religious children – especially those who attend traditional Jewish or Christian schools – are raised with different values than secular children.
Here are some examples:
1: Religious creation: fight with yourself. Secular upbringing: Struggle with Society
I studied at a yesiva, an Orthodox Jewish school where I studied the Bible and other religious subjects directly from Hebrew, and also secular matters, but these in English. I studied at yeshiva from preschool to 12th grade. There I soon learned that the biggest problem in Dennis Prager’s life is called Dennis Prager. In virtually every secular or progressive school, children today learn that the biggest problem in their lives is American society – in fact, anything but themselves.
What kind of education do you think it generates more self-critical, more self-controlled, and generally better human beings? What kind of education do you think makes human beings more angry and less happy?
2: Religious upbringing: learn wisdom. Secular Creation: Wisdom Does Not Exist
I have no doubt that most children raised with the Bible and other Christian and Jewish works are wiser than any teacher or intellectual secular. Yes, there are secular individuals who have wisdom (Judeo-Christian wisdom exerts a continual influence for a generation or two), but I cannot think of a single wise secular institution.
That’s why the least wise institutions that believe and teach the biggest nonsense are the universities. After all, they are the most secular institutions in our society.
3: Religious upbringing: people are not naturally good. Secular upbringing: People are naturally good
The Psalms and Proverbs teach that “wisdom begins with the fear of God.” In other words, if there is no God, there is no wisdom. But there is another way to express how and where wisdom begins. Wisdom begins with the recognition that human nature is flawed. Or, as succinctly as possible, you cannot be wise if you consider people to be naturally good. You may be a well-meaning and kind person in the belief that others are good, but you will not be such a wise person. In fact, you’re more likely to be a fool.
The belief that people are naturally good, a belief never held by either Judaism or Christianity, is the biggest obstacle to creation of a good society. Parents who believe this do not discipline their children as they should. After all, as has been the case for at least three generations, these parents believe that children just need love.
Furthermore, people who believe that human nature is good are less likely to punish criminals because they will hold them accountable economic circumstances, family and society through murder, robbery, rape and other evils. That is, they will blame anything other than the criminal’s inability to control his faulty nature.
4: Religious creation: holy days. Secular Creation: Ordinary Days
Religious children celebrate holy days – the Sabbath every week and every other holy day in their religious calendars. Regular celebrations of the Transcendent have a major impact on child development.
The secular child has its secular holidays, but they don’t make much sense to young Americans. The 4th of July is a barbecue day. The already meaningless Halloween now has more meaning than Christmas. President’s Day means nothing. And Thanksgiving is being replaced by Indigenous Peoples Genocide Day.
5: Religious Creation: Friends and Community. Secular upbringing: friends but no community
Loneliness is a bigger pandemic than Covid’s19. So much so that the UK now has a Ministry of Loneliness to deal with the problem;
To a large extent, this is another consequence of secularism. Jews and Christians grow up surrounded by friends and a whole religious community thanks to schools and the synagogue or church.
What is the secular equivalent of church, synagogue or religious school? Maybe just sports – which, anyway, is only available to a few young people who are part of a team.
6: Religious upbringing: obligation to honor parents . Secular upbringing: no such obligation
Christian and Jewish children learn the Ten Commandments, including the command to “honor father and mother”. Needless to say, many secular children honor their parents, but only because they want to. Religious children have to honor their parents regardless of their will – which is important, because few children feel like honoring their parents all the time.
There is another pandemic in the United States – that of adults who have decided stop talking to parents. I would bet few among them are practicing Jews or Christians.
There are other things that distinguish a religious from a secular upbringing. But one characteristic deserves to be highlighted: religious children in general are happier. If one type of creation is better than the other? It’s up to you to decide.
Dennis Prager is a columnist for the Daily Signal, broadcaster and creator of PragerU.
© 12 The Daily Signal. Published with permission. Original in English
2021
