America makes a lot more sense once you realize it’s built on two competing-yet-cooperating religions:
-
America makes a lot more sense once you realize it’s built on two competing-yet-cooperating religions:
- Christianity
- Western esoterica
Christianity is loud and public. Esoterica, by contrast, pretends to be hidden—even though it’s everywhere, hiding in plain sight.
I bring this up because today I spoke with a self-described conspiracy theorist who despises the Freemasons, Rosicrucians, and hippies. But he’s deep into astrology, cosmic micro/macro parallels, and a strict spiritual hierarchy. He didn’t realize his worldview—practically textbook Western esoteric—is mirrored in the very groups he claims to hate.
That’s the thing: Western esotericism is as deeply rooted in American culture as Christianity. Maybe deeper. And most of its followers have no idea they’re believers.
Perhaps the most American thing of all is believing you’re immune to mysticism while being totally immersed in it.
-
America makes a lot more sense once you realize it’s built on two competing-yet-cooperating religions:
- Christianity
- Western esoterica
Christianity is loud and public. Esoterica, by contrast, pretends to be hidden—even though it’s everywhere, hiding in plain sight.
I bring this up because today I spoke with a self-described conspiracy theorist who despises the Freemasons, Rosicrucians, and hippies. But he’s deep into astrology, cosmic micro/macro parallels, and a strict spiritual hierarchy. He didn’t realize his worldview—practically textbook Western esoteric—is mirrored in the very groups he claims to hate.
That’s the thing: Western esotericism is as deeply rooted in American culture as Christianity. Maybe deeper. And most of its followers have no idea they’re believers.
Perhaps the most American thing of all is believing you’re immune to mysticism while being totally immersed in it.
@atomicpoet Years ago I had a chat with an Orangeman (no, not that one) in Northern Ireland and it was... fascinating. Be interesting to trace where these beliefs come from.
-
@atomicpoet Years ago I had a chat with an Orangeman (no, not that one) in Northern Ireland and it was... fascinating. Be interesting to trace where these beliefs come from.
@lyda In the USA, there are two distinct forms of the Religious Right.
The first is familiar: Evangelicalism and traditional Catholicism. Most people recognize these Christian currents and intuitively understand their political ambitions and dangers.
But the second is more elusive—the Esoteric Right. This current includes QAnon, corporate wellness culture, New Age influencers, and the spiritual-but-not-religious crowd.
The Esoteric Right doesn’t preach Jesus. It preaches “the universe.”
It doesn’t wear crosses. It wears crystals.
But beneath the talk of “energy,” “alignment,” and “vibrations” is the same metaphysical rigidity: a belief in hidden hierarchies, chosen initiates, and an elite who possess secret knowledge. It replaces scripture with intuition, but still ends in submission to cosmic order.
Both flavours of the religious right have similar results: conspiracy, control, and a pseudo-spiritual path to the same authoritarian endpoint. -
America makes a lot more sense once you realize it’s built on two competing-yet-cooperating religions:
- Christianity
- Western esoterica
Christianity is loud and public. Esoterica, by contrast, pretends to be hidden—even though it’s everywhere, hiding in plain sight.
I bring this up because today I spoke with a self-described conspiracy theorist who despises the Freemasons, Rosicrucians, and hippies. But he’s deep into astrology, cosmic micro/macro parallels, and a strict spiritual hierarchy. He didn’t realize his worldview—practically textbook Western esoteric—is mirrored in the very groups he claims to hate.
That’s the thing: Western esotericism is as deeply rooted in American culture as Christianity. Maybe deeper. And most of its followers have no idea they’re believers.
Perhaps the most American thing of all is believing you’re immune to mysticism while being totally immersed in it.
@atomicpoet More specifically: America is built on two competing-yet-cooperating religions: Calvinist Christianity (although I wouldn't call that Christianity anymore) and capitalism. -
@atomicpoet More specifically: America is built on two competing-yet-cooperating religions: Calvinist Christianity (although I wouldn't call that Christianity anymore) and capitalism.@cbontenbal I would say esotericism is its own form of Calvinism but framed differently.
Instead of the elect being chosen by God, they’re “high-vibration” souls destined to ascend, while the rest remain karmically stuck, too low-frequency to awaken.
