I have thoughts on this piece: https://twitter.com/noahpinion/status/1297203935535538178

Joseph Bottums argues that the rise of “woke culture” is not just coinciding with the collapse of religious (specifically Protestant) identity; it is replacing that identity.

In place of Original Sin, acolytes of Wokeness have concepts like “privilege,” which arbitrarily damns some members of society, and must be atoned for.

Those caught to be “sinning” (diverging from the demands of woke culture in some way) are swiftly punished and excommunicated.

In a very Weberian (Protastantism = Individualism = Capitalism) sense, individuals are forced to consider their place in the world.

Where normally a Protestant would answer the question “How do I know I’m good?” with “I believe in Christ,” now that answer is more complicated.

But here’s my hangup:

The Protestantism that Bottums is describing is one of Conservative Calvinism.

The idea that the church is an exclusive institution, and that those unworthy of it should be cut loose/punished, is a relatively narrow belief in Protestant thought.

The people that are most likely to embrace Woke Culture (those on the social Left) are also the least likely to practice the kind of Protestantism that Bottums is describing.

Socially Left Protestant Churches emphasize forgiveness for sinners. The sort of public shaming that Bottums decries isn’t consistent with a ‘Socially Left Church -> Woke Culture’ Pipeline. If conservative Evangelicals were leading the Woke movement, I could see his point.

Moreover, the anxiety over the question “how do I know I’m good,” is something that the Religious Left has a long history of dealing with. I could see why a Conservative Calvinist might be anxious in this new Woke world, because their ideology is based around Christ alone.

But Liberal Methodists, for instance, are well-equipped for a Woke world. They believe they’ve been saved by Jesus, but they still feel compelled by their faith to do good works. Left Methodism is about overcoming sin by ‘walking the walk.’ So is Left Judaism. So is Wokeism.

Some Left-leaning Protestants see their church not as an exclusive institution, but as a privilege that they are lucky to have. One that they are enthusiastic to share! Bottums is right that Wokeness functions in the same way.

But the anxiety he feels around that isn’t rooted in the decline of organized religion. It’s rooted in his fear of Social Liberalism.

Bottums is right to decry the worst excesses of Cancel Culture, but I don’t see those events as truly representative of all of Wokeness. Just as Calvin’s Second Reformation isn’t representative of all Protestants.

Maybe he’s right that Wokeness functions similarly to a religion. The things he dislikes about Wokeness are the exact things I dislike about religion.

But those on the Religious Left will tell you that there’s a way to ‘do religion’ without doing all those other nasty things.

Just as there’s a way to embrace Wokeness without doxxing random utility workers.

But Bottums seems to have dismissed that for some reason.

Further questions/thoughts:

What is Bottums’ actual purpose in classifying Wokeness as a religion? Are there valuable Social Science conclusions we can make about religions, generally, that this classification would allow us to apply to Wokeness?

A lot of this appears to be a critique of Wokeness, written by a Social Conservative, that is attempting to use the language of Atheism to prove to Social Lefties that “you’re secretly just as bad as we are.”

Which is /an argument/, but like, who is this for? The pundits?