Justice Divine

Religion in American politics is an increasingly polarizing issue. One only has to look as far as the Republican primary debates to see how divided America has become on issues of public religious expression. The left touts the essential principal of secularism, and the right fears the degradation of moral society with the rejection of public faith. How religion should exist within the public sphere has defined the culture wars of my generation. This coupled with a growing distrust of organized religion makes speaking to a single American conception of the relationship between church and state incredibly problematic.

However, with the death of men like Kim Jong Il, like Muammar Gaddafi, like Osama bin Laden, the right and the left, the religious and the atheists alike join in a rare moment of unity. When evil men die, we like to believe in divine justice. We want those who do unspeakable evil to be punished in another life. It is so fascinating to watch social media expose this strange phenomenon. Despite a variety of religious positions, we hold on to the hope that these men will meet their fate in the next life.

It is difficult to weed through what Americans believe in the secular age, but in these watershed moments it is even more difficult to ignore how certain values have been shaped by our historic Christian identity. Even when we reject the institution and the dogma, Christianity’s impact on the American worldview can’t help but bubble to the surface when evil men die.