the legacy of monotheism

The most significant event in western history was not the change from pastoralism to settled agriculture. Nor was it the Industrial Revolution. The most momentous change was the rise of monotheism. This led to changes in a lot of things besides religious belief.

In the pre-Christian pagan world of the Roman Empire (and to a lesser extent in classical Greece and the Hellenistic world) there were countless competing belief systems. There were countless religious cults and there were myriad philosophical systems (and the dividing line between theology and philosophy was very very hazy). You could choose your own religion, your own belief system. If someone else chose a different religion or a different belief system that has his (or her) affair. You weren’t likely to divorce your wife because you’d discovered that she was a secret neo-Platonist. You weren’t likely to see gangs of devotees of the cult of Isis roaming the streets beating up worshippers of Mithras. Pythagoreans and Stoics might engage in spirited debates but they weren’t likely to accuse each other of being evil and sinful.

That changed with monotheism. If you believed that your god was the One True God then worshippers of other gods really were evil and sinful. You had a right, in fact you had a duty, to impose your beliefs on those sinful folk.

It was not just a matter of worshipping the One True God. If there really was only one true god then there was probably only one correct way to worship that god.

This new monotheist mindset had many long-term consequences. When religion started to decline in the 18th century, to be replaced by ideology, ideology was treated the same way. There could be only One True Ideology. Followers of other ideologies were not mistaken – they were wicked and sinful. There was no possibility of agreeing to disagree.

The monotheist mindset affected attitudes towards morality as well. Pagans thought of morality in pragmatic utilitarian terms. Morality was whatever seemed to make for an orderly society. Sexual morality was pretty basic. If you slept with another man’s wife you were stealing his property. The same applied if you debauched his unmarried daughter. Apart from that it was a case of whatever floats your boat. Prostitution was taken for granted.

Monotheists however tended to think that just as there was One True God there was also One True Morality, and you had a duty to impose that morality on everyone else. Including sexual morality. Rather unfortunately the monotheist religions tended to be extremely hostile to any and all sensual pleasures. If it felt good it was undoubtedly a sin. And anyone who indulged in sensual pleasures was seen as wicked and sinful. They had to be punished.

The monotheist mindset is still alive and well, even as Christianity has decayed and religions and ideologies have multiplied. Every adherent of a modern ideology believes in his heart that his ideological opponents are wicked and sinful. They need to be punished. And that monotheist mindset is still very much alive and well when it comers to morality, sensual pleasures and (especially) sex.

Classical liberalism seemed on the surface to go against this trend, emphasising tolerance. But actually their tolerance never did extend to anyone who disagreed with them. So now we have multiple competing ideologies, all determined to impose their views on everyone else. They’re even determined to impose their views on people in other countries. We seem to be stuck with the One True religion mindset.