The Impact of Conservatism in Religion

The Impact of Conservatism in Religion

Change has always involved resistance as well as acceptance. Changes that have to make their way over opposition will presumably be better than changes that are accepted without serious questioning.

In addition, modern conservatism is not resistant to change as such, but to intentional change of a peculiarly sweeping sort characteristic of the period beginning with the French Revolution and guided by Enlightenment and post-Enlightenment philosophies such as liberalism and Marxism. For example, the family as an institution has changed over time in. However, the current left/liberal demand that all definite institutional structure for the family be abolished as an infringement of individual autonomy (typically phrased as a demand for the elimination of patriarchy and sexism and for the protection of children's rights) is different in kind from past developments, and conservatives believe it must be resisted.

Conservatism involves a recognition that certain trends are pernicious because they destroy the possibility of moral community. Examples include the current trends toward hedonism, radical individualism, and radical egalitarianism. Since moral community is required for the coherence of individual and social life, and since a reasonably coherent way of life is a practical necessity, conservatives are confident that in some fashion those trends will be reversed and in important respects the moral and social future will resemble the past more than the present. In particular, the future will see less emphasis on individual autonomy and more on essentialist ties among men and moral tradition.

The conservatism discussed is traditionalist American conservatism; other varieties are discussed in section 6

There has however been no impact of conservatism in Religion. The Abrahamic religions of Islam, Christianity, and Judaism, represent over 70% of the world’s religious population. They have more in common than differences, but even the many of the differences are not significant. Each is monotheistic, believes in creation, have similar basic concepts, similar moral codes, similar practices, and share similar views of secularism.

Religions are by their very nature conservative; and conservatism by definition means traditional or resisting change. Therefore, the phrase, “conservatism in religion” is pleonastic. It has however, come to mean a return to traditional or Conservative views within religions.

“We