2023 has been an action-packed year, and has proved that religion still plays a significant role in all of our lives.
Photo by Ahmed Abu Hameeda on Unsplash
1. War in the Holy Land.
Whilst it is highly necessary to reaffirm that the situation in Israel-Palestine is not a ‘holy war’, it certainly does have religious implications. The Hamas attacks on October 7th provoked a disproportionate reaction of collective punishment from Israel, which is illegal under international law. The attacks also provoked a significant rise in both antisemitism and Islamophobia across the world, with the offices of Muslim lawmakers in Europe being pelted with faeces, and children at Jewish schools in the UK being advised to remove their uniforms and religious clothing in the streets, for fear of abuse.
Furthermore, the horrific Israeli bombing campaigns, which have now killed over 20,000 Palestinians, have caused upheaval in the way that religious groups operate in the Holy Land. Palestinian Muslims, in Gaza and around the world, have been forced to contend with generalisations which associate them with Hamas and Islamist terrorism. In addition to this, Palestinian Christian communities (whose lineage dates back to the time of Jesus Christ) have been almost completely wiped out by Israel. This caused Christmas to be celebrated radically differently in Bethlehem, in the occupied West Bank, with greater emphasis on the parallels between the suffering under Israeli occupation in 2023, and Roman occupation at the time of Jesus.
This conflict and its dire consequences have brought religion back into the spotlight around the world, as new debates arise about Islamophobia and antisemitism, and religious figures such as Pope Francis call for a ceasefire.
Photo by Ashwin Vaswani on Unsplash
2. Pope Francis.
What a year for Pope Francis. In 2023, he stamped his authority on the Church, was active in denouncing the war crimes of Russia and Israel, and paved the way to further LGBTQ+ acceptance in the Catholic Church.
2023 began with Pope Francis presiding over the funeral of his conservative predecessor, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, and ended with him opening the door to Priests blessing same-sex unions in the Church. In between, Francis executed his new approach to governing the Church, with the Synod on Synodality, made headlines by denouncing Israeli ‘terrorism’, and allegedly referring to Israel’s bombing campaigns as ‘genocide’ in discussion with Palestinian activists, and removed prominent conservative critics in the Church such as Bishop Joseph Strickland, whilst criticising the ‘ideology-over-faith’ approach of the Catholic Church in America, which appears to have become embroiled in the raging culture war approaching the 2024 election, and in the wake of various wins for the Christian right-wing in the US.
Overall, Pope Francis has had a successful and impactful year, despite his ailing health, and has found himself in the news very regularly, due to his fearless engagement with hot-button issues.
Photo by Natilyn Photography on Unsplash
3. Christian Nationalism in the US.
Christian Nationalism in the US is the view that the country should reconnect with its Christian heritage and become a theocracy, with the entire nation unified under one religion. This view has been on the rise of late, with its most significant development this year being the election of Mike Johnson as Speaker of the House of Representatives. Johnson is a young earth creationist, who believes that the world was created around 6,000 years ago by God, and has been linked to many anti-abortion, anti-LGBTQ+, and Christian Nationalist organisations. For example, Johnson’s links to Christian Nationalist David Barton has sparked fears that he may try and use the first amendment to remove the separation of Church and State.
This plays into very real fears about ‘Project 2025’, leading up to the next election. ‘Project 2025’ is a Christian Nationalist organisation which seeks to install Donald Trump as President, ruling as a dictator, uniting the nation under Christianity. The movement advocates complete bans on abortion, climate change denial, the banning of pornography, the designation of transgender people as sex offenders, and a massive expansion of presidential powers. The most controversial wings of the movement, such as Nick Fuentes of ‘AmericaFirst’, advocate for the execution of non-Christians who refuse to convert.
The political landscape of the US is changing, with religion at the forefront.
2023 proved that religion is far from the fringes of public life. It could be argued that it has not been so relevant for centuries, and this will not change going into 2024.
Add comment
Comments