Politics: Alabama’s New State Religion

There’s an old quote often attributed to Karl Marx.

“Religion is the opium of the people.”

I didn’t think it was true the first time I heard it. I don’t think it’s true now.

If anything has become the new opium, it’s politics.

Not civic engagement.
Not healthy debate.

Politics.

Politics has become the gravitational force that swings our moral compass.

It shapes friendships. It strains marriages. It determines who we sit next to at Thanksgiving.

I’ve heard people say, “I could never marry someone who votes differently than me.”

Think about that.

Somewhere along the way, voting red or blue became a compatibility test.

It’s no longer just policy preference.

It’s identity. It’s tribe. It’s creed.

For people of faith, and Alabama has plenty, this gets complicated.

It’s natural to see political views as an extension of spiritual conviction.

Values matter. Convictions matter. But here’s the danger:

When we fuse party loyalty with spiritual identity, we give political institutions the kind of authority that belongs to something much higher.

Correction: Someone much higher.

In a two-party system, both sides have mastered this.

They elevate social issues they often lack the power to fix — and convince us that the world has gone to hell because they’re not in office to fix it.

Meanwhile, their real priorities are often shaped by interests with bottomless pockets.

And most of us?

We’re just trying to pay a mortgage and raise decent kids.

It’s Becoming Its Own Form of Division.

We don’t divide by race alone anymore.

We divide by voting history, by cable news preference, and yard signs.

We reduce human beings to bumper stickers.

And it’s exhausting.

It’s unmanageable.

So What Do We Do?

First, stop straight-ticket voting, not because one party is evil, but because thinking matters. Research matters. Discernment matters.

Second, spend time with someone who disagrees with you.

But here’s the twist. Don’t talk about politics. You already know you disagree.

Talk about raising kids, house-breaking puppies, the price of groceries, career frustrations, and aging parents.

You’ll discover something dangerous to tribalism.

You’re not that different.

Here’s something I’ve started telling myself. I heard it in a sermon years ago.

The things that unite us will always be stronger than the things that we let divide us.

Notice the word “let.”

Division requires participation.

We don’t have to give it that.

Politics should never become our religion.

Because religion demands worship.

And no political party deserves that.

Late at night, when it’s quiet and honest, I don’t see red or blue.

I see people; tired people, working people, parents, and neighbors.

And most of us want the same basic things:

Peace.
Stability.
Opportunity.
Dignity.

Maybe that’s where we start.

See you somewhere east of midnight.