Zero Religion, Infinite Devils

Devils have been making headlines these past few days. French anthropologist and historian Emmanuel Todd insists that our Western nations have drifted over the past two centuries away from an initial state of active religious belief to a state he calls “zombie religion.” He notes that developed nations in the West have now pretty much struck bottom, achieving a level of “zero religion.” In his most recent book, La Dislocation, he suggests that Germany may have achieved minus one. If Todd is right, the very idea of a devil should be so distant from today’s secular culture that it wouldn’t even function as a metaphor. Consider, however, a statement made by US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee. Responding to critics who questioned the rationality of the US–Israeli war on Iran launched by US President Donald Trump last February, Huckabee remarked: “I think it’s a spiritual issue.

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