No matter what you think this article will be arguing, you’re probably wrong.
According to wikipedia:
Dualism in cosmology is the moral or spiritual belief that two fundamental concepts exist, which often oppose each other.
Zoroastrianism is considered a dualistic religion. There is a sort of spirit of good (Ahura Mazda) and a spirit of evil (Angra Mainyu).
Christianity contains a small element of dualism (belief in the Devil), to the extent it absorbed Zoroastrianism. However, Christianity is still monotheistic; the Devil is not considered a match for God.
Zoroastrians, by contrast, believe in an ongoing battle between these two forces. The former cannot stamp out the latter, because the latter has the power to resist.
To Zoroastrians, the force of evil is as fundamental as God, but something to be hated. Though not recognized as such, Angra is a sort of “god.” But, just because you believe in a god, it does not follow that you should worship that god.
This concept is foreign to our ears. Christianity, Judaism, and Islam had dominated the discourse of religion for so long that it is hard for us to imagine a notion of God that is not synonymous with perfection.
But that’s a quirk of history. The ancient polytheisms didn’t believe their gods were synonymous with perfection.
Is it possible to imagine a religion that only believes in a spirit of evil (a devil)? A sort of satanism, but in the form of actual religion, not just a counter-Christian joke? Can this possibly exist: a religion that believes in a god it hates? There’s nothing grammatically incoherent about the idea.
You may know that I consider political correctness a religion (I’ll call it “progressivism” from now on. “Leftism” is more neutral, but too sterile). If you are unconvinced of this point, read my post on the topic.
The last couple decades have been interesting anthropologically, because I have been able to see the rise of a new religion, and how it perpetuates itself. This modern version of progressivism is more than a fad. It can help or hurt individual adherents, as they sacrifice themselves to their faith. But in doing so, the faith grows more powerful as a super-organism.
I have to correct a point in the linked post. I recently realized:
Progressivism is actually not a non-theistic religion. It is not atheist. They believe in a sort of a deity, a spirit, or whatever you want to call it.
It’s not a god per se. It’s like the Zoroastrian anti-god. It’s Hitler. Hitler is dead, of course. But so is Jesus, and Christians consider him a manifestation God. The difference is, while Jesus is meant to be worshiped, Hitler is meant to be… whatever is the opposite of worshiped?
So yes, Hitler is dead. But they believe in a sort of “spirit” of Hitler. I myself am glad Hitler is dead, and happy go about my day content in that knowledge. Whereas, progressivism seems to believe the “spirit” of Hitler manifests in all of their enemies, as if there is a Nazi behind every corner.
This is why progressives have such a persecution complex, despite manifestly controlling the culture. Take, for example, the paranoia on display in this, a memo that very recently came out of my university in reaction to a complete non-issue.
Of course, progressivism takes influences from earlier ideologies. For example, it subscribes to the Marxist idea of the human march away from of oppression and inequality.
Similarly, progressivism shares the Christian view that society is slowly moving away from God. The difference is, Christians believe it is a bad thing, and will someday lead to the rapture. Progressives see it as a good thing, (their “god” being Hitler and all), that will lead to utopia.
I think they’re correct about their growing influence. We’ll all have to grapple with this new religious landscape.
Epiphany a Week 