"Megachurches, megastores, monopolies, and monotheism" at Humanist Forum of Central Kentucky

Date and time: 
Thursday, June 5, 2014 - 7:00pm to Friday, June 6, 2014 - 6:45pm
Location: 
Great Hall of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Lexington Kentucky
3564 Clays Mill Rd.
Lexington , KY
United States

From the presenter, Rick Meadows:

I will try to explore how monotheism largely replaced polytheism by using one god to try to explain everything rather than having a god of thunder, a god of volcanoes, etc., even though this led to paradoxes like "If there's one omnipotent and omniscient god, why is there evil in the world?"   I will then liken monotheism's displacement of polytheism to how mega-stores are largely displacing specialty shops.  I will liken this in turn to how mega-churches are trying to displace smaller churches, in part, by seeking to provide for and control or monopolize more and more elements of their members' lives through sports leagues; entertainment (movies, music, dances, travel); health, counseling,&  relationship services (faith healing, alcohol&  drug counseling, relationship counseling, dating services); and "education"/indoctrination on a vast array of scientific and policy issues.  I will argue that the churches' drive to monopolize almost everything has led them to launch sustained attacks on their competitors in the domains of entertainment (Hollywood and the secular music industry are evil), health and counseling services (doctors and psychiatrists are "quacks" and "shrinks"; vaccines cause autism), scientists and educators (climate change is a hoax; evolution is a myth; the Founding Fathers were fundamentalists), and politicians who don't do their bidding (the Religious Right's mobilization on issues like abortion rights and gay rights).