Theism? Superstition? Myth? Ritual? Does it have to teach a fixed dogma, and/or does it have to be undefined and flexible enough to allow for its continuous development and for individuals' ongoing learning? If it is inherently motivated by politics or if it grows to seek political goals, does it have to contain material that is separate from and more enduring than the political movement? Michael Ducey in 1977 distinguished “mass ritual” and “interaction ritual” based on whether the audience participates. (Referenced in William Beers. Women and Sacrifice: Male Narcissism and the Psychology of Religion. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1992. p. 164.) Thought becomes religious when it thinks itself out to the end. Albert Schweitzer The psychologist Philip Tetlock(1999, 2003, 2004) identifies values as sacred when they are so important to those who hold them that the very act of considering them is offensive. Daniel C. Dennett. Breaking the Spell: Religion as
Sharing a couple threads I spotted on Twitter. First, here's Frank Figliuzzi, formerly a top FBI official, now a national security analyst for MSNBC, saying that Trump is behaving like a "barricaded subject" in a hostage negotiation. He says that Biden is handling the situation correctly, staying calm and allowing Trump an opportunity to vent, while letting Trump keep his options open for resolving the standoff "the easy way" rather than "the hard way." On November 10, the New York Times published a large article explaining that no significant election fraud has been found . This has been the most secure U.S. election ever , according to a November 12 New York Times article. Yet Trump has been refusing to cooperate with the Biden team (see these articles from CNN and Huffington Post ). He's making the moves of a dictator ( CNN ). To the extent he ever performed normal presidential responsibilities, he has now stopped working altogether. (