Godless Political Values: Importance of Godless Values to Modern Democracy

Godless Political Values for Liberal, Representative Democracy:
Politics in a liberal, democratic democracy cannot long proceed or survive simply by inertia; instead they must be constantly fed by people who are engaged in the political process and who share some of the basic values necessary for such a democracy to thrive. None of these values depend in any way upon religion or theism; this means that they necessarily “godless” — that they exist independently of people’s religions and gods.

Rule of Law:
Perhaps nothing is as fundamental as the rule of law: liberal democracy simply cannot exist unless everyone, from the lowest citizen to the highest official, is equally subject to the same laws. As soon as some people or groups are exempted from neutral, generally applicable laws, they are essentially placed outside the political process and made superior to the rest of us. In the end, the law means nothing unless it is fairly and equally applied to all.

Political Harmony:
Something we don’t hear much about is “harmony” in politics, which may be one reason why it’s been so lacking lately. In music, harmony requires multiple voices singing parts of the same piece; in politics, then, harmony requires the presence of multiple perspectives that all are moving towards the same general goal. Valuing political harmony means opposing efforts to reduce “dialog” to a single perspective as well as efforts to tear the group apart into wildly different directions.

Compromise:
Politics is the “art of the possible,” which means that it is a pragmatic efforts to find the best possible means for achieving particular goals. In a diverse, pluralistic community, this means that politics cannot exist without compromise: people and groups will generally get some of what they want, but almost never all of what they want because there will always be groups with different desires. Those who categorically oppose compromise thus oppose the political process of democracy.

Liberty & Autonomy:
Democracy, which is “government by the people,” cannot exist unless people are free, and moreover have the freedom to govern themselves. If sovereign power ultimately rests with the people, it can only be because the people are free to be sovereign over themselves and to explore the various options available for structuring their common government. Otherwise, it’s just another dictatorship masked as a democracy.

Secularism:
Often derided by those who don’t understand or believe in it, secularism is a critical component of liberal democracy. Secularism is the political principle or philosophy that there must exist some sphere of knowledge, values, institutions, and action that is independent of religious authority. If there is no such secular sphere, then everything is under ecclesiastical control and this undermines the possibility for liberty and autonomy.

Dispersed Power & Authority:
The more power that is concentrated into fewer hands, the greater the threat to people’s liberty and autonomy. This is true even when power is in the hands of those of good will, which is why we must guard against too much concentration of power in the government, in religious entities, and in private groups like corporations. Liberal democracy is best preserved by ensuring that social and political power is distributed as widely as possible, even if unevenly.

Openness & Honesty:
If democracy is going to work, then the people must be well informed about what their government is doing in their name. This means, therefore, that the ability of the government to keep secrets from the people must be sharply limited. If the government is given too much latitude to keep secrets, then it’s impossible for the people to make informed, educated decisions, and this means that those in power can retain power without appropriate consent from the governed.

Equality & Justice:
Two closely connected political values are equality and justice. A liberal democracy requires equality because otherwise only the privileged portion of the population ends up being truly sovereign. A liberal democracy requires justice because that is the basis for an equitable application of the law. An unjust society is one where the rule of law, morality, and equality are all violated. Neither equality nor justice, though, require any gods or religions to defend them.

Politics Without Gods or Religion:
Labeling these values “godless” simply means that they are not founded upon the alleged will of any gods and do not depend upon belief in any gods for their validity. Many religious theists can adopt them and many godless atheists may reject them; doing so, however, must occur independent of one’s religious beliefs and assumptions. At the same time, though, it might be argued that by pursuing political values independent of any gods and religion, then one is also essentially pursuing politics without gods or religion. This would mean that liberal, representative democracy must itself be godless and irreligious in some basic way.

I think that’s true. It doesn’t mean that all individuals or organizations within a liberal democracy are also godless, but it does mean that the system which creates a context for their political, social activity is godless. Some religious believers might look askance at this, but they shouldn’t. After all, the only other choice is for some particular form of some particular religion, as mediated by a few self-proclaimed religious authorities, is singled out to define that context. This, however, is inconsistent with a liberal democracy where religion can have no impact on one’s political status.

Politicians and voters may have religious values which inform their decisions, but the political system itself cannot — the political system itself must be independent of any one group’s claims about what their god wants or demands. Only in the absence of such demands can the individuals who participate in the system act with complete freedom regardless of the beliefs of those around them. This is why the godlessness of the political system is good not just for the system, but also for the religious and theistic participants in it.