Religion Seeks Truth

“Politics is not a religion nor a substitute for one. The two are inherently different activities. Religion seeks truth, politics deals in power. Religion aims at unity, liberal democracy is about the mediation of conflict, politics is the art of compromise. Religion aspires to the ideal, politics lives in the real, the less-than-idea. Religion is about the truths that do not change, politics is about the challenges that constantly change. Harold Wilson said, ‘A week is a long time in politics.’ The book of Psalms says, ‘A thousand years are in your sight as yesterday when it is gone’ (Ps. 90:4). Religion inhabits the pure mountain air of eternity, politics the bustle of the here-and-now.”

Not in God’s Name, p. 229