This piece is The Free Press at its best. Sheluyang and his parents' stories are what make America great. New York Times "journalists" will never set foot in Sunset Park to learn about Christian immigrants. This passage describes them and the soulless NPC Professional Managerial Class: "But elsewhere in Brooklyn, some of the young hipsters in my borough’s more affluent neighborhoods try to fill the void in their souls with false gods—work or social climbing or politics."
Never forget all the crimes the CCP has committed over the past century, resulting in ~50 million deaths. My family, the Pengs, and millions of others appreciate the freedom of America compared to the tyranny of the CCP. However, many American leaders no longer criticize the CCP because they have become CCP court eunuchs. Let us pray for the victims of the Tiananmen Square Massacre of June 4, 1989 and the Chinese Cultural Revolution: https://yuribezmenov.substack.com/p/tiananmen-square-massacre-cultural-revolution
Wait a minute! How can you say that? The left portrays the US as a tyrannical, racist, police state. I always say if the US is such an oppressive, racist, police state, how come tens of thousands of people from all over the world are trying to sneak in just so they can be oppressed?
If there are any hidden leftists on this BBS, maybe they can explain this to me. I won't hold my breath.
The excuse for this was for inclusion. Statistics say the between 2% and 7% of our population is LBGTQ. I think these statistic are pure anal extrapolation. Nobody knows what percent of the population is LBGTQ.
Let's take the 7% figure. If seven percent is LBGTQ is the true figure, then how is this inclusive? It is exclusion! It cuts out 93% of the population. Where as, the article points out, the US flag includes everybody.
I don't consider myself as homophobic. Years ago Texas tried to pass a state amendment legalizing same sex marriage. I was one of the small minority that voted for it, me and six others. This flag incident is just another example of left wing tyranny, trying to impose their will upon the rest of us and in doing so has insulted most veterans and most of the general population. The left has obviously not learned the examples set by Budweiser and Target. Ideologues are tone deaf. (I mean audially challenged. I don't want to offend anybody).
The wokeness, blm and other new movements will fizzle in time. The people that started these movements represent populations oppressed and suppressed for so long now that they can finally share the light of day are venting to an extreme like a spring released. Doesn't make any of it right and I hope there are no lasting consequences to all of it and they are done venting soon.
You'd think that victims of marginalization and oppression would realize that marginalization and oppression are their enemies, and do their best to eradicate these evils. But it doesn't seem to work that way. Instead, they are motivated to marginalize and oppress in turn. This is ethically incoherent--you can't denounce an evil in others while operating as an agent of the same evil yourself--but this wee detail never seems to percolate into the consciousness of the self-proclaimed victims.
What we see today isn't so much a war against marginalization and oppression as a struggle between groups to claim the mantle of victimhood, the prize being an opportunity to oppress the oppressors with a clear conscience. If that's human psychology, human psychology is badly in need of an upgrade.
Pretty much anyone other than a white male. Just in the history of the US when were blacks, women, Asians, lesbians, gays etc., really seen and treated as equals, not just rule books, but in society?
You are WAAAAY off Shri. "Wokeness" in the larger sense will be here for a generation. I guarantee it. There is a counter-revolution brewing (this newspaper is part of it) but, yeah, it's gonna be 10+ years more of this.. at least.
Some kind of "wokeness" has always been there and always will. Actually christianity has always had its own problems with their own "woke culture", "canceling" everybody not willing to live how the bible tells him to. So non-christians, homosexuals and others were excluded, tortured and burned on the stake, just for not being "woke". I'm willing to live in peace and harmony with everybody who is willing to respect all his fellow humans as they are, be they christians, gays, jews, atheists or whatever and on the other hand I strongly refuse to respect anybody who is only willing to respect his own kind and looking down on all others. So, You are on notice now, You modern wokists, self-righteous christians, racists and whoever thinks he's the better man or woman than his neighbour. I just hope that christians like the ones portrayed in this article have learned the right lessons from their misery in China. I mean that everybody has a damned right to be left alone, whatever he believes, practices or worships, christians, muslims, jews, atheists, family fathers, homosexuals, bisexuals, rigtwingers, left-wingers, folks who don't give a damn about politics.....but under one condition only: if whatever they are doing doesn't directly interfere with basic rights of others. If this condition is met there's more than enough common ground to live side by side as good neighbours. And, no just being different from You is by no means what I mean with "interfering with basic rights of others", just to be clear on that one.
They said that about the original formulae: Judaism and Xtianity are still with us; Marxism, splintered into multiple heresies like its parents, is still with us. Rumbled again, the same zealots ("Let everyone who is zealous for Tōrā and supports Bĕriyth come out with me!"; I Macc. 2: 27; the original Communist Call) conjured the various heresies of Marxist-Leninist-Mao Thought that have been overtly assailing us for three or four decades, and eight or nine of more covert subversion.
Odds are 'Woke'; 'Intersectionality'; and 'Identitarianism', etc. will hang about as all the other bad smells spawned by the original apocalypse of The New Purged Jerusalem.
Congratulations: Americans fled the Old World's 'Wars of Religion'; promply forgot about them for ther own take on the Religion Meme ("Manifest Destiny"; "American Exceptionalism"; "The Shining City on a Hill"; "The Bill of Rights/The Constitution" - Yup, same old "Chosen People"; "New Jerusalem"; "New Covenant" schtick) Now back bigger than ever (It is American; super-sized is a given!) biting us on the arse with a vengeance; the fastest growing religion and church on the planet.
I expect these cults to persist and bedevil us for centuries more; even if we recognise them as for what they are: new iterations of a schtick that goes back to Platon. After all, allegedly coming out in droves shouting "Great is Diana of the Ephesians!" didn't do a lot for "Paganism"; and nearly all Mattīṯyāhū haKōhēn ben Yōḥānān's bastard offspring persisted and indeed flourished for several centuries in spite of the heavy hand of society and state before BECOMING society and the state themselves.
I could name several that are STILL going concerns despite always being of minority of the minority status in their respective societies; and still more now extinct varieties that persisted for half a millenia or more.
Religion, more so than the poor perhaps, might always be with us, despite always being rumbled for the shite irrationality it is. Folk appear to be conditioned to be stupid that way.
ONE day for the Republic; ONE day for the veterans. A MONTH for teh "gays" (They seem the very opposite of happy!); A MONTH for teh "blacks" (How many have a boatload of "white" ancestry? How many have majority "white" ancestry? Given the reality, 75% of Ben Franklin's descendents are likelly mostly "black"). American foreign policy spent fifty years rotating around a Tel Aviv axis; now it is in complex orbit about a double star of Kiev and Jerusalem.
Over-representation WITHOUT taxation; and the tail wagging the dog.
I hold this truth to be self-evident: Y'all need to declare independence again... from Congress.
Take note that the bomb threat to the Target stores was likely the work of one person, and not likely a conservative either. Deranged... or false flag... or disgruntled lgbt.
One man's terrorist is another's freedom fighter, Comprof. A large enough grievance, real or perceived, will generate folk to individually or collectively oppose it in arms. The impulse is agnostic.
This is why the world needs The Free Press. Would the New York Times ever write about the growth of Christian values in its own backyard, in other than its usual sneering smugness? Thank you Bari and Nellie.
Lee, not only did you make a valid point, but you did it with the calm and kind demeanor practiced by Tim Keller. Even though you did not intend to deliver a knock-out punch, I am retreating to my corner with a very sore jaw, and reeling from too many mixed metaphors.
In late 2020, after churches were closed for months, the Catholic Churches re-opened their doors as they argued their parishioners needed to receive the sacraments of communion and confession. I grew up in the Catholic Church but left when I married my husband. We attended an ELCA church faithfully and were heavily involved in volunteering and raising our children in it. When our church refused to open its doors out of fear of COVID, while at the same time they had at least 8 people in the same space to live stream services, I said enough is enough and started attending the Catholic services in person. My old ELCA church is still begging members of their flock to return. Meanwhile, my husband and I attended a First Communion service for the 8 year old daughter of friends or ours this past May and the Catholic church was packed full. Preach fearfulness and people will live in fear. Preach faith and the Word of God and your cup will runneth over.
We were the same here in N Ireland. When our local Catholic Cathedral opened up in 2020 we went along to morning mass every day and popped in on our afternoon walks for a few minutes. We were absolutely uplifted to be in this sacred space and to see other people so happy to be there too. We realised afresh how essential our faith is. Zoom services were not the answer to our need and churches that stayed shut seemed to us to have no trust in God.
In Roman Catholicism, the community I left behind, the parish priest comes out with Communion for the old and infirm, it is his calling to minister to the faithful whatever their circumstances. If something isn't broke; it doesn't need mending or replacing. Certainly not in the slipshod fashion with slipshod product that is the du jour of modernity.
Valid point. One does (should not) exclude the other. Church doors open for all who would come, film service and broadcast it/zoom etc to all those who want to attend that way. :)
I have a friend who still, when she doesn't feel like going, will attend a Zoom mass. It's painful, and that period where we were barred from going to mass for the first three months of Covid was torture -- I'd never encountered a spiritual despair like that before. It was a true blessing to be present in mass, even when there was still fear and uncertainty, Christ was still there and the Catholic christians still came.
Thank you for sharing this today. Very uplifting. May i ask what part of Northern Ireland? I've just become an Irish citizen (my passport is due any day now!) through my grandmother who was born in Omagh.
My 16 year old son (totally on his own) decided to become Catholic. His dad is culturally Jewish but he supported him since we saw, during and after Covid, how many kids were resorting to drugs and self harming. It's a wonderful diverse community and all three of us attend each Sunday.
Our Reformed church opened after three months, first with ten, then twenty, then by July 2020, opened fully including communion. Masks were optional after a few months. For many months we were the only congregation in our town serving communion. Many new people came and stayed with us.
Jesus commands us to gather on the Lord’s Day for our good. Keep the Sabbath. God designed it for His people so that we might experience a taste of His rest.
I had a similar experience - my parents' ELCA church in a mid-Atlantic resort town wouldn't even let me cross the lobby on a weekday in winter (with my vaccination card and a mask) to get to the outdoor columbarium where my parents both rest. (The outdoor side gate was blocked by scaffold for a roofing project.) The pastor got a bit nasty when I questioned this foolishness, pointed out I'd not missed a day of work at my hospital, and wondered where was the courage of the Christians who ministered to the lepers. I guess he would not have done so, since he told me to get lost.
"During the years of so-called church struggle, Protestant Christians got to their feet to say the Creed (as had not earlier been the custom). In a totalitarin state in which others are confessing their allegiance [ Faith - S.C.W.] to Hitler, to declare 'I believe in God, the Father Almighty' is a political statement. Moreover I have to recognise in the German case it was not the great universities , the liberal newspapers, the left-wing trade unions, or indeed the liberal Christians, who mounted any kind of resistance to the National Socialist creed when the chips were down. It was the conservative, Barthian, Confessing Church, which did so, and that on theological grounds." - Daphne Hampson; 'After Christianity', 2002, p.38.
The more things change; the more they stay the same.
Note the words used about about Hitler and Nazism: "confessing"; "creed". Socialist ideologies ain't; "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves" G. Mt. 7: 15, KJV; they are religions. They appeal to irrationality and not reason. Unsurprisingly, other religions are first out of the block when the new boss; same as the old boss shows up in opposing them.
Having said all that, it is admirable impulse perhaps; but do look behind your own curtain: yours is just an earlier iteration, sect, or heresy, of the same religion. There is nothing new under the sun; Qoholeth 1: 9
This is why I subscribe: real journalism. The “glitterati” of the New York media, arts and investment house set are a sad, vapid imitation of real life, life with purpose beyond self. The underground culture of Christian immigrants may prove the meme, “diversity is our strength,” and redeem the decaying “smart set.”
When I saw the headline, I figured the story would be in a similar line as previous articles on religious resurgence that has flown under the radar of an otherwise indifferent legacy media.
When I saw the author’s name and realized it was a FP comments section favourite with a reputation for writing eloquently on auto pilot, I knew we were in for a treat. Thank you for letting us in to a glimpse of your family, Sheluyang.
'The new political ideology mimics Christianity in its doctrine of original sin, but without the hope of salvation'. That really sums it up perfectly. Great article, great line.
"that reminds my parents of the Cultural Revolution they grew up under". That's the thing: most of the people living in the grip of the new American religion know nothing about the history of Maoism or the Cultural Revolution. They know nothing of the struggle sessions, starvation of millions or the ruination of many lives. They have no idea that this has all been done before with devastatingly disastrous results. Even the Chinese Communist Party has condemned the Cultural Revolution as a mistake. I can't imagine the parishioners of the new American religion ever coming around to this understanding of their own religion.
They always condemn what egregiously doesn't work, but will invent new just as egregiously bollocks band-aids rather than admit ust admit their religion is institutionalised systemic sociopathy and will never, ever, work; whatever rags they trick it out in.
I think immigrants are going to be the ones who save America from our moment of insanity. They understand work, family values, faith, community, and love of the country that adopted them.
Was in San Fran a few months ago. I saw an Asian woman on her hands and knees on the sidewalk trying to clean something outside her restaurant. It was a stark contrast to the street dwellers who occupied the sidewalks not too far away, waiting in line for handouts.
I've lived in the Golden State since 1975, arriving with no money and knowing no one, living in a broken down Corvair Greenbriar van on the beach. This Saturday, after retiring a couple of months ago, I am leaving for Georgia where I can afford to live on my retirement income after purchasing a nearly new home for $260K.
In the past nearly 50 years I have seen a marked change in the population and the politics, including a decided shift to irreligious belief systems. Wait! I take that last statement back. What I REALLY meant to say that the shift from traditional religious belief has morphed into a secular religion of utopianism and materialism. The increasing flow of people from the Mexican border have increased the numbers of Catholic and Evangelical Churches members. This is a GOOD thing and I hope it spreads.
My Episcopalian church has several immigrant Nigerian families and all I can say is, more please. I realize we’re probably getting the cream of the crop but these people are professionally distinguished, faithful, devoted to their families and their kids are amazing. They’re hardworking, respectful, humble and insanely bright. (Just between you and me Maureen it makes me a little embarrassed for my own family’s shortcomings. What’s our excuse for being less … awesome??).
My son went to a top MBA school, it enrolled lots of Nigerians. He said they were really smart and motivated and they love America. Now compare them to the African American students. One gave the keynote address at graduation. What a sniveling pile of victimhood and greivance. Companies love to hire Nigerians because they check the mandatory box while getting an employee not wrapped up in DEI with a giant chip on her shoulder.
While still working I could easily identify Africans from their distant American cousins by their demeanor and appearance, and THAT is sad. In fact, the African Americans RESENT the new African immigrants, and THAT is sad.
This is more true than many realize. I had an African colleague (who was a US citizen by then) in my department at a big US corporation back in the mid-2000s and several AA women in HR who ran a precursor to what is today known as DEI ganged up on him and got him fired for no good reason - the reason they used is that his position was no longer required but they re-hired someone a few months later into a similar role. He had already moved on by then and probably didn’t understand his legal options. Guess he learned his lesson though - he has been posting all sorts of DEI nonsense on LinkedIn the past few years.
"My son went to a top MBA school, it enrolled lots of Nigerians. He said they were really smart and motivated and they love America. Now compare them to the African American students. "
I made an interesting discovery when I was in graduate school. On campus, there were African American blacks and African immigrant blacks, and the differences were stark.
At that point in my life, I was inclined to give people a friendly smile when I happened to meet eyes while walking across campus. African blacks would always return a friendly smile--indeed, they were often the initiators of a friendly smile to everyone.
African American blacks would give only glares in return.
I had already noticed this phenomenon when we first moved to the Midwest a decade before. The hate-stares from black strangers were a unpleasant revelation in the mixed-race (black, white, and hispanic) inner-city neighborhood we had moved to.
But on campus, the insta-hate reaction was interesting in contrast. I understood the long and ugly history that was behind it. But it seemed particularly out of place on the faces of young people who were, in theory, rising above the oppressions of the past to future success.
But I learned in graduate school that oppression is the most socially important thing to cling to.
My experience with glaring black kids included kicks to my shins, cigarette burns on my collar on the bus and an attempt to steal my purse. Do “lived experiences” entitle you to do those things to white people? Judging from the videos of black kids one sees these days, “lived experiences” entitle them to theft in broad daylight and beating up convenience store workers.
Totally out of place in in Higher Education; which is supposed to be about dispelling the ignorance we are born into; that and the mythogies our tribes preach to keep us in that ignorance.
So odd that African immigrants who have no experience dealing with white Americans might have a different demeanor/interpersonal attitude than African-American blacks who have first-hand, lived experience with them.
Now, perhaps your church should switch its loyalty to the African Bishops. They still hold to the Gospel. The English Anglican church is dead and gone.
And the missionaries from China, Iran, Iraq, and maybe even from Saudi Arabia, or whatever the new name of it will be after the House of Saud implodes.
Agree! Moral decay is running rampant in this country! I’m not religious either but wish I had the faith that the author and his family have. Also please let the immigrants work!
Some immigrants will accept this great country and work to save it and others will not having been convinced by our 'progressive' cohort that they are entitled to everything this country has to offer.
It makes me wonder if the Democrats have miscalculated in their enthusiasm for illegal immigration. If desperate Catholic Latin Americans flowing across the border turn out to outnumber the gang members, traffickers, and other criminals coming across with them, the Democrats may end up discovering--to their dismay--that their Woke ideology makes them objects of scorn and distrust instead of praise among the people they are counting on to vote Democrat in the future.
I am PRAYING that this is the case. Latin Americans can be very Catholic and do not subscribe to the mores of white liberal progressives. They shop at the local bodega, NOT at Erewhon or Whole Foods.
I was thinking the same thing. People harp on the southern border situation. I know it needs to be fixed, but what if that is what turns the country back around?
My brother just converted to Catholicism when he married a beautiful immigrant from the Dominican Republic. Their church has been revitalized by Hispanic immigrants as we native-born Americans forget our heritage. John Adams said that our nation and our Constitution are fit only for a moral and religious people. The lunacy and depredations of the atheistic left are proving him right on a daily basis. If there is any satisfaction in this it lies in how deeply unhappy and despondent most leftists are.
Agreed on all! But - unfortunately, despondent and unhappy people of the Left are more likely to take their misery out on society. And when unhappiness and Leftism pair with power? Well, the resulting toxic brew breeds the destruction we are living through now...
this has been my experience as well. In my time treating various types of patients, there is a LARGE overlap between leftist-activism and mental health issues. Big time..
I love this piece. I was raised in a very conservative christian home but in my 20’s I was so leftist, nihilistic and so unhappy for many years. By God’s grace I met my husband who is a good Mormon. For some reason he decided to marry me, a raging feminist leftist. During the early years of our marriage we had a lot of debates but he was always kind to me and slowly I began to see the error of my thinking. By the time I had my son I was pretty well back to conservative though I wouldn’t say back to Christian. When Covid hit, God spoke to me. I was seeing what was going on in the world and was terrified for my son. I started reconnecting with the faith of my childhood that I had left behind. My church only closed for a little while with Covid but opened up earlier than most. My husband and I are not the same religion but we both love God and are both practicing Christians. God has saved me from all the unhappiness of my youth. He set me on a path of joy and hope. My son goes to an affiliated Christian school and as I was starting to panic about the crazy crap happening in schools he opened doors for me to become the board chair at my sons school. Now my life has purpose and I’ve found it in volunteer work for my church and school. My church and school are filled with young parents seeking shelter from the storm and we are growing. The illiberal left have clawed their way into prominence but then emperor has no cloths and many aren’t buying it.
I appreciate your openness about your faith journey. It’s also great to hear how you are serving on the board of your son’s school. I wish you much wisdom and perseverance. We need more like yourself to step up to the plate and give of themselves as you are.
Freedom is not a dirty word. Nor is the word religion. Yet both are under vicious attacks from those who fear both. Thank you Sheluyang. And God Bless You and your parents.
Sheluyang- Great piece. Keep the faith my friend and continue spreading the word to those with an open ear. You and your parents are doing a great service to your Brooklyn community and this country is blessed to count you all among its citizens. Thank you for sharing your story.
The final line brought tears to my eyes. I've been so troubled about the illegal crossings at the southern border and yet I often hear the people praising God for delivering them when they arrive. I do think we need to stop the flow but I would take a hard working God loving immigrant over the entire graduating class at my daughter's elite college.
I know it’s cliche and a little cringe for me to say this but I genuinely think it. I have more respect for the character, intelligence and potential of the woman (legal immigrant; now citizen) who cleans my house, and for her counterpart who does our yard, than for all of the professional class of our city.
My family’s Irish heritage includes plenty of Bridgets and Paddys who did the same jobs as they are doing a century and a half ago.
The problem is that for every immigrant of good character we have God only knows how many bad guys streaming in. Our yard guy talks about cartel violence where he’s from in Mexico and how he came here to escape that.
Agree 100% which is why I still believe strongly in closing the borders and we could also talk about the "pull" of the welfare state. So many problems with the immigration system going back 40 years.
Interesting and inspiring. This article confirms my suspicions that Christianity is not dying, merely shifting to new populations that will sustain and nurture it.
It’s worth noting that the Jews in America are also undergoing a seismic shift. The Reform movement, which is 70% of all people calling themselves Jews in America, is rapidly becoming secular, intermarried, disconnected from its roots. They are having one, maybe two, but frequently zero children.
However, the Orthodox Jews, currently around 20% of all Jews, are having much larger families, are politically and socially conservative, and are on a trajectory to become the majority of Jews by 2070 or so. The majority of those who identify as Jews will be religious and prolific and conservative.
The future America may look a lot like the America of the 1800s in terms of immigrant populations and religious fervor.
Yip I think that’s what is happening, I’m a Jew in the diaspora an orthodox and a secular one ( if that makes sense) I find myself becoming more frum, and more connected to my community since those tyrannical lock downs. While it is taking time for my shul to get to capacity again I find a new sense of jewish renewal amongst my fellow congregants. Please God it gets stronger for all faiths, it is important for humans to connect!
that's an interesting prediction! I agree with you on the secularization of Jews. I live in a town that is very Jewish and very Asian. And most of my Jewish friends/neighbors are less connected with any sort of religious heritage than they are a broad set of "liberal"/left leaning cultural beliefs.
Jews (fortunately or unfortunately, depending on one's perspective) tend to be on the bleeding edge of culture wars. They push, push, push, until there is a backlash, as is happening now.
I believe that the Reform/secular Jews are lost, sadly. Reform was born in an era when tradition was clashing with modernity, e.g. village/shetl Jews immigrating to New York City and such, and a more "modern" outlook was felt to be needed. Only, it seems to me, they have gone a bit too far.
As an interesting side note, the Baptist church next door to us has a smallish congregation on Sunday mornings; there are usually 2-3 cars, maybe 4. I think it's an aging group.
Yet, at 12pm the entire parking lot is filled when the Korean Presbyterians take over. Many young families. They also come during the week, sometimes, to do landscaping and repairs. I wonder if eventually they'll buy the building.
This piece is The Free Press at its best. Sheluyang and his parents' stories are what make America great. New York Times "journalists" will never set foot in Sunset Park to learn about Christian immigrants. This passage describes them and the soulless NPC Professional Managerial Class: "But elsewhere in Brooklyn, some of the young hipsters in my borough’s more affluent neighborhoods try to fill the void in their souls with false gods—work or social climbing or politics."
Never forget all the crimes the CCP has committed over the past century, resulting in ~50 million deaths. My family, the Pengs, and millions of others appreciate the freedom of America compared to the tyranny of the CCP. However, many American leaders no longer criticize the CCP because they have become CCP court eunuchs. Let us pray for the victims of the Tiananmen Square Massacre of June 4, 1989 and the Chinese Cultural Revolution: https://yuribezmenov.substack.com/p/tiananmen-square-massacre-cultural-revolution
Wait a minute! How can you say that? The left portrays the US as a tyrannical, racist, police state. I always say if the US is such an oppressive, racist, police state, how come tens of thousands of people from all over the world are trying to sneak in just so they can be oppressed?
If there are any hidden leftists on this BBS, maybe they can explain this to me. I won't hold my breath.
This is way off topic but if this doesn't make you grind your teeth, I don't know what will.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/mississippi-veterans-cemetery-replaces-american-flag-with-gay-pride-flag/ar-AA1cfMmL?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=81ed9444d3644fceb15255d2a0a03601&ei=41
The excuse for this was for inclusion. Statistics say the between 2% and 7% of our population is LBGTQ. I think these statistic are pure anal extrapolation. Nobody knows what percent of the population is LBGTQ.
Let's take the 7% figure. If seven percent is LBGTQ is the true figure, then how is this inclusive? It is exclusion! It cuts out 93% of the population. Where as, the article points out, the US flag includes everybody.
I don't consider myself as homophobic. Years ago Texas tried to pass a state amendment legalizing same sex marriage. I was one of the small minority that voted for it, me and six others. This flag incident is just another example of left wing tyranny, trying to impose their will upon the rest of us and in doing so has insulted most veterans and most of the general population. The left has obviously not learned the examples set by Budweiser and Target. Ideologues are tone deaf. (I mean audially challenged. I don't want to offend anybody).
LP, let’s remember to thank Bill Clinton for Pride month. 🙄
The wokeness, blm and other new movements will fizzle in time. The people that started these movements represent populations oppressed and suppressed for so long now that they can finally share the light of day are venting to an extreme like a spring released. Doesn't make any of it right and I hope there are no lasting consequences to all of it and they are done venting soon.
Which populations in the US are "populations oppressed and suppressed"?
Freedom loving Christians who pay taxes and hold traditional values.
You'd think that victims of marginalization and oppression would realize that marginalization and oppression are their enemies, and do their best to eradicate these evils. But it doesn't seem to work that way. Instead, they are motivated to marginalize and oppress in turn. This is ethically incoherent--you can't denounce an evil in others while operating as an agent of the same evil yourself--but this wee detail never seems to percolate into the consciousness of the self-proclaimed victims.
What we see today isn't so much a war against marginalization and oppression as a struggle between groups to claim the mantle of victimhood, the prize being an opportunity to oppress the oppressors with a clear conscience. If that's human psychology, human psychology is badly in need of an upgrade.
Yes....the struggle is hard.
Pretty much anyone other than a white male. Just in the history of the US when were blacks, women, Asians, lesbians, gays etc., really seen and treated as equals, not just rule books, but in society?
Is everybody except white males a victim?
You are WAAAAY off Shri. "Wokeness" in the larger sense will be here for a generation. I guarantee it. There is a counter-revolution brewing (this newspaper is part of it) but, yeah, it's gonna be 10+ years more of this.. at least.
Some kind of "wokeness" has always been there and always will. Actually christianity has always had its own problems with their own "woke culture", "canceling" everybody not willing to live how the bible tells him to. So non-christians, homosexuals and others were excluded, tortured and burned on the stake, just for not being "woke". I'm willing to live in peace and harmony with everybody who is willing to respect all his fellow humans as they are, be they christians, gays, jews, atheists or whatever and on the other hand I strongly refuse to respect anybody who is only willing to respect his own kind and looking down on all others. So, You are on notice now, You modern wokists, self-righteous christians, racists and whoever thinks he's the better man or woman than his neighbour. I just hope that christians like the ones portrayed in this article have learned the right lessons from their misery in China. I mean that everybody has a damned right to be left alone, whatever he believes, practices or worships, christians, muslims, jews, atheists, family fathers, homosexuals, bisexuals, rigtwingers, left-wingers, folks who don't give a damn about politics.....but under one condition only: if whatever they are doing doesn't directly interfere with basic rights of others. If this condition is met there's more than enough common ground to live side by side as good neighbours. And, no just being different from You is by no means what I mean with "interfering with basic rights of others", just to be clear on that one.
If only everyone thought like you the world would be a better place.
one can hope :)
They said that about the original formulae: Judaism and Xtianity are still with us; Marxism, splintered into multiple heresies like its parents, is still with us. Rumbled again, the same zealots ("Let everyone who is zealous for Tōrā and supports Bĕriyth come out with me!"; I Macc. 2: 27; the original Communist Call) conjured the various heresies of Marxist-Leninist-Mao Thought that have been overtly assailing us for three or four decades, and eight or nine of more covert subversion.
Odds are 'Woke'; 'Intersectionality'; and 'Identitarianism', etc. will hang about as all the other bad smells spawned by the original apocalypse of The New Purged Jerusalem.
Congratulations: Americans fled the Old World's 'Wars of Religion'; promply forgot about them for ther own take on the Religion Meme ("Manifest Destiny"; "American Exceptionalism"; "The Shining City on a Hill"; "The Bill of Rights/The Constitution" - Yup, same old "Chosen People"; "New Jerusalem"; "New Covenant" schtick) Now back bigger than ever (It is American; super-sized is a given!) biting us on the arse with a vengeance; the fastest growing religion and church on the planet.
I expect these cults to persist and bedevil us for centuries more; even if we recognise them as for what they are: new iterations of a schtick that goes back to Platon. After all, allegedly coming out in droves shouting "Great is Diana of the Ephesians!" didn't do a lot for "Paganism"; and nearly all Mattīṯyāhū haKōhēn ben Yōḥānān's bastard offspring persisted and indeed flourished for several centuries in spite of the heavy hand of society and state before BECOMING society and the state themselves.
I could name several that are STILL going concerns despite always being of minority of the minority status in their respective societies; and still more now extinct varieties that persisted for half a millenia or more.
Religion, more so than the poor perhaps, might always be with us, despite always being rumbled for the shite irrationality it is. Folk appear to be conditioned to be stupid that way.
ONE day for the Republic; ONE day for the veterans. A MONTH for teh "gays" (They seem the very opposite of happy!); A MONTH for teh "blacks" (How many have a boatload of "white" ancestry? How many have majority "white" ancestry? Given the reality, 75% of Ben Franklin's descendents are likelly mostly "black"). American foreign policy spent fifty years rotating around a Tel Aviv axis; now it is in complex orbit about a double star of Kiev and Jerusalem.
Over-representation WITHOUT taxation; and the tail wagging the dog.
I hold this truth to be self-evident: Y'all need to declare independence again... from Congress.
Well, you may not consider yourself to be "a homophobic"....
Target and Budweiser will be just fine. The majority of people have no interest in calling in bomb threats, destroying displays, etc.
Take note that the bomb threat to the Target stores was likely the work of one person, and not likely a conservative either. Deranged... or false flag... or disgruntled lgbt.
Lol! Yeah...always a non-conservative doing things in the midsts of a conservative bigotry culture rage, isn't it?
Guess all those self-posted videos inside Target were AI generated. Yeah...and Antifa and BLM stormed the Capitol.
Yeah....I'll make sure to "take note." ;)
One man's terrorist is another's freedom fighter, Comprof. A large enough grievance, real or perceived, will generate folk to individually or collectively oppose it in arms. The impulse is agnostic.
Glad you agree!
Millions, not tens...
Money.
I like your writing, but I have to say I am always a little startled to see Bezmenov's name, since he died in 1993.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuri_Bezmenov
This is why the world needs The Free Press. Would the New York Times ever write about the growth of Christian values in its own backyard, in other than its usual sneering smugness? Thank you Bari and Nellie.
Yes, thank you Bari Weiss!
I take your point, Alastair - but once in a while The Free Press's evil twin does come up with something similar..
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/28/opinion/tim-keller-appreciation-christianity.html?unlocked_article_code=yCMeYnbE6PvQKFhFcID3z6_wvdvhPXs8SpKj0-ZLbv1RnHRt3q6W0CplV5CWmBYDryTXC29B9BlWZwOhOrRTn1OadI15XplttRgQmbgD8qg_N6pzFaOCZnMb48Jk_ilMRHQzXEpaUGqAOQw4c0akkuFMq2eBfnne0P7EOke8vEYDOmxG_vZB-YnybJ_UkHjzE3Go584W-JFPAJYqv81nvCQedoe8ViljUVqwoBmzxD5fKs5raxpGQu2UoGariVAHiPbj692ZKWY-54PdrI5gXgnicgVm_SJBGGI5GJrWr9G-z0KtAWgRpQeYyRyIkP7fXmAqgK0gs5EI8NhcDr7ioNcnqO5_nOIAnAcmqyVm&smid=url-share
Lee, not only did you make a valid point, but you did it with the calm and kind demeanor practiced by Tim Keller. Even though you did not intend to deliver a knock-out punch, I am retreating to my corner with a very sore jaw, and reeling from too many mixed metaphors.
Thx for sharing this.
EXACTLY!!!!
In late 2020, after churches were closed for months, the Catholic Churches re-opened their doors as they argued their parishioners needed to receive the sacraments of communion and confession. I grew up in the Catholic Church but left when I married my husband. We attended an ELCA church faithfully and were heavily involved in volunteering and raising our children in it. When our church refused to open its doors out of fear of COVID, while at the same time they had at least 8 people in the same space to live stream services, I said enough is enough and started attending the Catholic services in person. My old ELCA church is still begging members of their flock to return. Meanwhile, my husband and I attended a First Communion service for the 8 year old daughter of friends or ours this past May and the Catholic church was packed full. Preach fearfulness and people will live in fear. Preach faith and the Word of God and your cup will runneth over.
We were the same here in N Ireland. When our local Catholic Cathedral opened up in 2020 we went along to morning mass every day and popped in on our afternoon walks for a few minutes. We were absolutely uplifted to be in this sacred space and to see other people so happy to be there too. We realised afresh how essential our faith is. Zoom services were not the answer to our need and churches that stayed shut seemed to us to have no trust in God.
"churches that stayed shut seemed to us to have no trust in God"
YES!!!!!!
Zoom will never be a placement for people “in communion” with others.
Zoom services sure bring comfort for those too old or infirmed to attend church.
True lonesome. Like the tv broadcast of mass before Zoom, or the radio broadcast I listen to while driving.
Agree, Lonesome, but definitely understand the point GA made.
In Roman Catholicism, the community I left behind, the parish priest comes out with Communion for the old and infirm, it is his calling to minister to the faithful whatever their circumstances. If something isn't broke; it doesn't need mending or replacing. Certainly not in the slipshod fashion with slipshod product that is the du jour of modernity.
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
Valid point. One does (should not) exclude the other. Church doors open for all who would come, film service and broadcast it/zoom etc to all those who want to attend that way. :)
I have a friend who still, when she doesn't feel like going, will attend a Zoom mass. It's painful, and that period where we were barred from going to mass for the first three months of Covid was torture -- I'd never encountered a spiritual despair like that before. It was a true blessing to be present in mass, even when there was still fear and uncertainty, Christ was still there and the Catholic christians still came.
Thank you for sharing this today. Very uplifting. May i ask what part of Northern Ireland? I've just become an Irish citizen (my passport is due any day now!) through my grandmother who was born in Omagh.
Yes, of course. I live in Derry about 30 miles from Omagh. Came back from a lifetime in England 17 years ago. Good luck to you!
Is this the same Derry that was portrayed Netflix's delightfully hilarious "Derry Girls?"
If yes, lucky you!
Yes, it is. “Derry Girls” is very true to life as it was then and the humour of the Derry people is something else!
Thanks Geraldine.
Anchor baby.
House un-American. :-)
My 16 year old son (totally on his own) decided to become Catholic. His dad is culturally Jewish but he supported him since we saw, during and after Covid, how many kids were resorting to drugs and self harming. It's a wonderful diverse community and all three of us attend each Sunday.
Our Reformed church opened after three months, first with ten, then twenty, then by July 2020, opened fully including communion. Masks were optional after a few months. For many months we were the only congregation in our town serving communion. Many new people came and stayed with us.
Jesus commands us to gather on the Lord’s Day for our good. Keep the Sabbath. God designed it for His people so that we might experience a taste of His rest.
Thanks for sharing this.
I had a similar experience - my parents' ELCA church in a mid-Atlantic resort town wouldn't even let me cross the lobby on a weekday in winter (with my vaccination card and a mask) to get to the outdoor columbarium where my parents both rest. (The outdoor side gate was blocked by scaffold for a roofing project.) The pastor got a bit nasty when I questioned this foolishness, pointed out I'd not missed a day of work at my hospital, and wondered where was the courage of the Christians who ministered to the lepers. I guess he would not have done so, since he told me to get lost.
This.
"During the years of so-called church struggle, Protestant Christians got to their feet to say the Creed (as had not earlier been the custom). In a totalitarin state in which others are confessing their allegiance [ Faith - S.C.W.] to Hitler, to declare 'I believe in God, the Father Almighty' is a political statement. Moreover I have to recognise in the German case it was not the great universities , the liberal newspapers, the left-wing trade unions, or indeed the liberal Christians, who mounted any kind of resistance to the National Socialist creed when the chips were down. It was the conservative, Barthian, Confessing Church, which did so, and that on theological grounds." - Daphne Hampson; 'After Christianity', 2002, p.38.
The more things change; the more they stay the same.
Note the words used about about Hitler and Nazism: "confessing"; "creed". Socialist ideologies ain't; "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves" G. Mt. 7: 15, KJV; they are religions. They appeal to irrationality and not reason. Unsurprisingly, other religions are first out of the block when the new boss; same as the old boss shows up in opposing them.
Having said all that, it is admirable impulse perhaps; but do look behind your own curtain: yours is just an earlier iteration, sect, or heresy, of the same religion. There is nothing new under the sun; Qoholeth 1: 9
This is why I subscribe: real journalism. The “glitterati” of the New York media, arts and investment house set are a sad, vapid imitation of real life, life with purpose beyond self. The underground culture of Christian immigrants may prove the meme, “diversity is our strength,” and redeem the decaying “smart set.”
Well said!
And may I say, part of what I enjoy here is the insightful, respectful comments section! "Sad, vapid imitation of real life" - that's TGIF-worthy.
Well said, indeed!
I do what I can 😉
Keep up the good work.
When I saw the headline, I figured the story would be in a similar line as previous articles on religious resurgence that has flown under the radar of an otherwise indifferent legacy media.
When I saw the author’s name and realized it was a FP comments section favourite with a reputation for writing eloquently on auto pilot, I knew we were in for a treat. Thank you for letting us in to a glimpse of your family, Sheluyang.
Came here to say same. Insightful, eloquent and wise beyond his years. Can we say “we knew him when..”?
He’s such a good writer. He’s published in Tablet now too; look for his recent articles there: https://www.tabletmag.com/contributors/sheluyang-peng
Came here to say same. Insightful, eloquent and wise beyond his years. Can we say “we knew him when..”?
'The new political ideology mimics Christianity in its doctrine of original sin, but without the hope of salvation'. That really sums it up perfectly. Great article, great line.
"that reminds my parents of the Cultural Revolution they grew up under". That's the thing: most of the people living in the grip of the new American religion know nothing about the history of Maoism or the Cultural Revolution. They know nothing of the struggle sessions, starvation of millions or the ruination of many lives. They have no idea that this has all been done before with devastatingly disastrous results. Even the Chinese Communist Party has condemned the Cultural Revolution as a mistake. I can't imagine the parishioners of the new American religion ever coming around to this understanding of their own religion.
They always condemn what egregiously doesn't work, but will invent new just as egregiously bollocks band-aids rather than admit ust admit their religion is institutionalised systemic sociopathy and will never, ever, work; whatever rags they trick it out in.
I think immigrants are going to be the ones who save America from our moment of insanity. They understand work, family values, faith, community, and love of the country that adopted them.
Was in San Fran a few months ago. I saw an Asian woman on her hands and knees on the sidewalk trying to clean something outside her restaurant. It was a stark contrast to the street dwellers who occupied the sidewalks not too far away, waiting in line for handouts.
First, sorry you had to be in SF.
Second, care to imagine what that Asian woman was scrubbing off the sidewalk?
California is an example of a leftwing utopia.
I've lived in the Golden State since 1975, arriving with no money and knowing no one, living in a broken down Corvair Greenbriar van on the beach. This Saturday, after retiring a couple of months ago, I am leaving for Georgia where I can afford to live on my retirement income after purchasing a nearly new home for $260K.
In the past nearly 50 years I have seen a marked change in the population and the politics, including a decided shift to irreligious belief systems. Wait! I take that last statement back. What I REALLY meant to say that the shift from traditional religious belief has morphed into a secular religion of utopianism and materialism. The increasing flow of people from the Mexican border have increased the numbers of Catholic and Evangelical Churches members. This is a GOOD thing and I hope it spreads.
Still the Golden State; but now it is the stink of golden rain.
"A marked change in the population."
"Here we are Nowhere; nowhere Left to go"; to bastardise Bill Cluney's lyric.
And pooping in public.
My Episcopalian church has several immigrant Nigerian families and all I can say is, more please. I realize we’re probably getting the cream of the crop but these people are professionally distinguished, faithful, devoted to their families and their kids are amazing. They’re hardworking, respectful, humble and insanely bright. (Just between you and me Maureen it makes me a little embarrassed for my own family’s shortcomings. What’s our excuse for being less … awesome??).
My son went to a top MBA school, it enrolled lots of Nigerians. He said they were really smart and motivated and they love America. Now compare them to the African American students. One gave the keynote address at graduation. What a sniveling pile of victimhood and greivance. Companies love to hire Nigerians because they check the mandatory box while getting an employee not wrapped up in DEI with a giant chip on her shoulder.
While still working I could easily identify Africans from their distant American cousins by their demeanor and appearance, and THAT is sad. In fact, the African Americans RESENT the new African immigrants, and THAT is sad.
This is more true than many realize. I had an African colleague (who was a US citizen by then) in my department at a big US corporation back in the mid-2000s and several AA women in HR who ran a precursor to what is today known as DEI ganged up on him and got him fired for no good reason - the reason they used is that his position was no longer required but they re-hired someone a few months later into a similar role. He had already moved on by then and probably didn’t understand his legal options. Guess he learned his lesson though - he has been posting all sorts of DEI nonsense on LinkedIn the past few years.
Well, speaking as one of those cousins, I have zero resentment nor does anyone else I know.
A minority of children will always resent their parents.
"My son went to a top MBA school, it enrolled lots of Nigerians. He said they were really smart and motivated and they love America. Now compare them to the African American students. "
Wow.....
That's exactly what I would do.
I made an interesting discovery when I was in graduate school. On campus, there were African American blacks and African immigrant blacks, and the differences were stark.
At that point in my life, I was inclined to give people a friendly smile when I happened to meet eyes while walking across campus. African blacks would always return a friendly smile--indeed, they were often the initiators of a friendly smile to everyone.
African American blacks would give only glares in return.
I had already noticed this phenomenon when we first moved to the Midwest a decade before. The hate-stares from black strangers were a unpleasant revelation in the mixed-race (black, white, and hispanic) inner-city neighborhood we had moved to.
But on campus, the insta-hate reaction was interesting in contrast. I understood the long and ugly history that was behind it. But it seemed particularly out of place on the faces of young people who were, in theory, rising above the oppressions of the past to future success.
But I learned in graduate school that oppression is the most socially important thing to cling to.
My experience with glaring black kids included kicks to my shins, cigarette burns on my collar on the bus and an attempt to steal my purse. Do “lived experiences” entitle you to do those things to white people? Judging from the videos of black kids one sees these days, “lived experiences” entitle them to theft in broad daylight and beating up convenience store workers.
Totally out of place in in Higher Education; which is supposed to be about dispelling the ignorance we are born into; that and the mythogies our tribes preach to keep us in that ignorance.
So odd that African immigrants who have no experience dealing with white Americans might have a different demeanor/interpersonal attitude than African-American blacks who have first-hand, lived experience with them.
Weird.
Now, perhaps your church should switch its loyalty to the African Bishops. They still hold to the Gospel. The English Anglican church is dead and gone.
It’ll come in time. I often say that in 100 years African missionaries will be sharing the gospel with Americans and the English.
And the missionaries from China, Iran, Iraq, and maybe even from Saudi Arabia, or whatever the new name of it will be after the House of Saud implodes.
Agree! Moral decay is running rampant in this country! I’m not religious either but wish I had the faith that the author and his family have. Also please let the immigrants work!
Some immigrants will accept this great country and work to save it and others will not having been convinced by our 'progressive' cohort that they are entitled to everything this country has to offer.
I sure hope so. I'm a child of immigrants and know very well what you refer to .
It makes me wonder if the Democrats have miscalculated in their enthusiasm for illegal immigration. If desperate Catholic Latin Americans flowing across the border turn out to outnumber the gang members, traffickers, and other criminals coming across with them, the Democrats may end up discovering--to their dismay--that their Woke ideology makes them objects of scorn and distrust instead of praise among the people they are counting on to vote Democrat in the future.
I am PRAYING that this is the case. Latin Americans can be very Catholic and do not subscribe to the mores of white liberal progressives. They shop at the local bodega, NOT at Erewhon or Whole Foods.
I was thinking the same thing. People harp on the southern border situation. I know it needs to be fixed, but what if that is what turns the country back around?
What a beautiful, uplifting story. Perhaps there's still hope for our country.
My brother just converted to Catholicism when he married a beautiful immigrant from the Dominican Republic. Their church has been revitalized by Hispanic immigrants as we native-born Americans forget our heritage. John Adams said that our nation and our Constitution are fit only for a moral and religious people. The lunacy and depredations of the atheistic left are proving him right on a daily basis. If there is any satisfaction in this it lies in how deeply unhappy and despondent most leftists are.
Agreed on all! But - unfortunately, despondent and unhappy people of the Left are more likely to take their misery out on society. And when unhappiness and Leftism pair with power? Well, the resulting toxic brew breeds the destruction we are living through now...
yup, that's exactly right.
The midwest isn't the only heartland!
this has been my experience as well. In my time treating various types of patients, there is a LARGE overlap between leftist-activism and mental health issues. Big time..
I love this piece. I was raised in a very conservative christian home but in my 20’s I was so leftist, nihilistic and so unhappy for many years. By God’s grace I met my husband who is a good Mormon. For some reason he decided to marry me, a raging feminist leftist. During the early years of our marriage we had a lot of debates but he was always kind to me and slowly I began to see the error of my thinking. By the time I had my son I was pretty well back to conservative though I wouldn’t say back to Christian. When Covid hit, God spoke to me. I was seeing what was going on in the world and was terrified for my son. I started reconnecting with the faith of my childhood that I had left behind. My church only closed for a little while with Covid but opened up earlier than most. My husband and I are not the same religion but we both love God and are both practicing Christians. God has saved me from all the unhappiness of my youth. He set me on a path of joy and hope. My son goes to an affiliated Christian school and as I was starting to panic about the crazy crap happening in schools he opened doors for me to become the board chair at my sons school. Now my life has purpose and I’ve found it in volunteer work for my church and school. My church and school are filled with young parents seeking shelter from the storm and we are growing. The illiberal left have clawed their way into prominence but then emperor has no cloths and many aren’t buying it.
I appreciate your openness about your faith journey. It’s also great to hear how you are serving on the board of your son’s school. I wish you much wisdom and perseverance. We need more like yourself to step up to the plate and give of themselves as you are.
I’m not Christian. I love this story. America can still be the land of dreams, if you know where to look.
Agree so much. I’m an atheist and this story made me smile and cry.
I am not religious but I am not antireligion. Religion brings comfort to billions of people and what is wrong with that?
Well, as between God or the State, in whom would you place your trust?
And I say this as a mostly irreligious person.....
I put my trust in people, so guess it’s even-steven.
a rather slender reed, ne c'est pas?
I trust the Constitution, which I suppose is the State. But, eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.
Given the disdain our current government has for our Constitution, that's a comparison I would not make.
I trust in the Holy Scriptura, the actual words of God to human beings.
“The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the Word of God stands forever”
Unchanging, unmoved by the turbulence of mere men.
“Be still, and know that I am God”
Freedom is not a dirty word. Nor is the word religion. Yet both are under vicious attacks from those who fear both. Thank you Sheluyang. And God Bless You and your parents.
Sheluyang- Great piece. Keep the faith my friend and continue spreading the word to those with an open ear. You and your parents are doing a great service to your Brooklyn community and this country is blessed to count you all among its citizens. Thank you for sharing your story.
The final line brought tears to my eyes. I've been so troubled about the illegal crossings at the southern border and yet I often hear the people praising God for delivering them when they arrive. I do think we need to stop the flow but I would take a hard working God loving immigrant over the entire graduating class at my daughter's elite college.
I know it’s cliche and a little cringe for me to say this but I genuinely think it. I have more respect for the character, intelligence and potential of the woman (legal immigrant; now citizen) who cleans my house, and for her counterpart who does our yard, than for all of the professional class of our city.
My family’s Irish heritage includes plenty of Bridgets and Paddys who did the same jobs as they are doing a century and a half ago.
The problem is that for every immigrant of good character we have God only knows how many bad guys streaming in. Our yard guy talks about cartel violence where he’s from in Mexico and how he came here to escape that.
Agree 100% which is why I still believe strongly in closing the borders and we could also talk about the "pull" of the welfare state. So many problems with the immigration system going back 40 years.
Interesting and inspiring. This article confirms my suspicions that Christianity is not dying, merely shifting to new populations that will sustain and nurture it.
It’s worth noting that the Jews in America are also undergoing a seismic shift. The Reform movement, which is 70% of all people calling themselves Jews in America, is rapidly becoming secular, intermarried, disconnected from its roots. They are having one, maybe two, but frequently zero children.
However, the Orthodox Jews, currently around 20% of all Jews, are having much larger families, are politically and socially conservative, and are on a trajectory to become the majority of Jews by 2070 or so. The majority of those who identify as Jews will be religious and prolific and conservative.
The future America may look a lot like the America of the 1800s in terms of immigrant populations and religious fervor.
Yip I think that’s what is happening, I’m a Jew in the diaspora an orthodox and a secular one ( if that makes sense) I find myself becoming more frum, and more connected to my community since those tyrannical lock downs. While it is taking time for my shul to get to capacity again I find a new sense of jewish renewal amongst my fellow congregants. Please God it gets stronger for all faiths, it is important for humans to connect!
Skinny, belief is a journey and you have placed yourself on that path.
👍🏻
Agreed!
Hopefully not profligate...
thank you, I stand corrected :)
Thank you for taking it so graciously. Being an English teacher, I just couldn't resist putting my two cents' worth in.
Please resist. It's distracting to read comment after beautiful, insightful comment, to come across a "you used a comma incorrectly" etc.
Okay, I apologize, but about three hours ago I also penned a beautiful, insightful comment .
Thanks...but... she's right. I accordingly edited my post.
I, too, am an English teacher and totally get it! :-)
that's an interesting prediction! I agree with you on the secularization of Jews. I live in a town that is very Jewish and very Asian. And most of my Jewish friends/neighbors are less connected with any sort of religious heritage than they are a broad set of "liberal"/left leaning cultural beliefs.
Jews (fortunately or unfortunately, depending on one's perspective) tend to be on the bleeding edge of culture wars. They push, push, push, until there is a backlash, as is happening now.
I believe that the Reform/secular Jews are lost, sadly. Reform was born in an era when tradition was clashing with modernity, e.g. village/shetl Jews immigrating to New York City and such, and a more "modern" outlook was felt to be needed. Only, it seems to me, they have gone a bit too far.
As an interesting side note, the Baptist church next door to us has a smallish congregation on Sunday mornings; there are usually 2-3 cars, maybe 4. I think it's an aging group.
Yet, at 12pm the entire parking lot is filled when the Korean Presbyterians take over. Many young families. They also come during the week, sometimes, to do landscaping and repairs. I wonder if eventually they'll buy the building.
I can see that. The Koreans that I know are QUITE religious. We'll see how it all shakes out :)
love this insightful piece.