Toward true christian anarchy.

international | rights, freedoms and repression | opinion/analysis Wednesday January 18, 2006 05:10 by Xavier

Organised religion:political parties in disguise.

Organised religion and political parties are one and the same thing, bodies formed for the exercise of social control through the centralisation of power and the use of hierarchical structures

Stalinist Russia was a dictatorship, where the state exercised social control through the "communist party" as was the case throughout the history of soviet Russia. The fact that organised religion was effectively banned during the soviet period was to avoid any competition for the social control of the people. In case you are confused by my comments, let me be clear, I do not support the ideology of soviet Russia. Imperialist communism(a contradiction in terms, I know) and imperialist capitalism are equally abhorrent to me. So also is the concept of imperialist organised religion. Organised religion (christianity) was a central plank in the European oppression of Africa, India and the Americas.

To me, oppressive social control and centralised power structures are the same wheter political or religious. To look to the middle east we can see the effects of Totalitarian Islam in Iran for example, where dissent on religious or political grounds is not tolerated.The same is true in other regions where Sharia law is applied.

In European society the same laws on discrimination that apply to the individual citizen do not apply to the organised religions. Religions are allowed to discriminate on the basis of gender and sexual orientation for example. Does this not supply them with the opportunity for greater social control?Organised religion eligion would therefore appear to be state sponsored discrimination.

It really does not matter whether the sacred text of such entities was written by Marx or St.Paul. Adherence to dogmatic ideas with no opportunity for dissent from, debate about or progress forward from them has repeatedly failed the people as is evidenced not only by soviet Russia but also by the dictatorship of Roman Catholicism before it. It allows for no evolutionary thought, hence the guardians of power of such entities come to be known as the thought police( wheter it is the K.G.B or the Congregation for the doctrine of the faith it amounts to the same thing)


The three main religious sects of Europe, Roman Catholicism, Anglican Communion and Islam are all patriarchial and hierarchical. All have or are imposing repressive social control through their abuse of power. This leaves those Anarchists with Christian beliefs in a difficult position. Facing up to the dichotomy between anarchism and their membership of an “organised religion”.However on examination of the actual texts of christianity and especially the gospels and acts, where the direct teaching of Christ can be read, it is plain to see that he criticised and condemned the organised religion he was part of. I believe that adherence to these teachings is perfectly compatibile with my anarchist beliefs. In fact I cannot see how I could be a christian without being anarchist.Therefore I must reject membership of the established churches and develop other forms of communal practce. The centralised church, like the state, is the enemy of the anarchist. Being a Roman Catholic is as incompatible with anarchy as is membership in Fianna Fail.
I believe it is useless to look to the failed structures of the past. We need to look forward, to build true community based on the principles of equality, liberty and fraternity and the assent of the people and move forward from dependence on ideologies that not only control our lives but tell us what we may think. This means that as a person to whom religion is important within the anarchist movement I must examine how religious structures can be transformed to horizontal rather than vertical and hierarchical.

What is the solution from a christian point of view. We must return to a radical view of christianityif we are to free ouselves from the relgious bosses yoke, we must return to the roots. Christ himself formed a group of thirteen members, it is a good example. As a group it is big enough to have diversity of thought without losing the personal connection that often occurs with larger groups. If anarchist christians were to organise into such groups, let us call them churches,they could then form a loose association of autonomous churches for organisational purposes.Therefore they could remain true to the ideals of both anarchism and christianity.

Therefore it would appear that there is a need to begin dialogue with other christian anarchists to expand on this proposition. That is the purpose of this post.