Religion and modern socialism

The universal human quest for the true and the right

      The three Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) all emerged in the Middle East.  Different from the religions of China and India (Confucianism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Taoism), they formulated a concept of a God who acts in history in defense of the poor and the oppressed.  But the Judeo-Christian-Islamic vision of social justice would become corrupted by the integration of religious institutions with structures of political power and empires.  They therefore would play a pivotal role in modern European colonialism and imperialism as well as in the anti-imperialist struggles of the colonized. 

      There has been a tendency in the Western Left to be opposed to and dismissive of religious beliefs, because of the historic role of religion in support of conquest and imperialism.  However, there is emerging today in leftist currents of thought an increasing appreciation of the possibilities for religious institutions to participate in human struggles for liberation,…