Anarchists have traditionally been sceptical towards organized religion. Most organized religions are hierarchical in nature and, more often than not, aligned with contemporary power structures like state and capital. This does not mean that anarchists are in opposition to all religion, only to the authoritarian nature of most organized religions. Anti-authoritarianism is a central theme in some religions and some variants of mainstream religions. Many notable anarchists have been religious and some, like Leo Tolstoy, arrived at anarchistic principles through their religion.

Anarchist themes in religion

Anarchistic and anti-authoritarian movements have played significant roles in the development of certain religions, particularly those that arose during a class struggle. Some of these are viewed as having explicit anarchist teachings.

Buddhism

In contrast to many other religions, Buddhism is an atheistic belief system, or philosophy. While the Buddha is worshipped as lord by some buddhist sects, most recognise the Buddha as a man and as a symbol for attainment of enlightenment. In many buddhist scriptures, there is an anti-authoritarian attitude which encourages to question all authority and dogma and to trust your own judgement.

Christianity

According to some, Christianity was an originally anarchistic movement. Jesus is said, in this view, to have come to overthrow Jewish law; he supposedly taught that the only rightful authority was God, not man, and replaced the law with the golden rule. See also: Christian Anarchism

Discordianism

The teachings of the somewhat satirical Discordianism strongly resembles Situationist ideas and other core anarchist sentiments. The surreality of Discordianism certainly rings of anarchism, even if it is only ontological.

Stregheria

Stregheria, from c. 1350 CE onwards, is a religion based around the teachings of Aradia de Toscano. According to Stregheria, the wealthy Christian class made slaves of the poor, who fled from their oppressors and became thieves and assassins and began to make homes for themselves in outlaw camps in the Alban Hills surrounding Lake Nemi . Aradia, after her initiation into a Dianic Witchcraft cult, began to councel them and take pity on them. She became known as La Bella Pelegrina (The Beautiful Pilgrimess) and after supposedly receiving a vision from Diana, came to believe she was the spiritual incarnation of Aradia (goddess), and became revered as such by the outlaws. She taught them Witchcraft, and methods to curse their wealthy oppressors.

The religion originally honored the god Lucifer, the goddess Diana and their daughter Aradia (goddess), and came to adopt a Christianized view of Lucifer and Diana; Lucifer became a brave rebel who opposed the tyrant God of the Christians, whilst Diana became a nearly Lilith-like figure.

The Benandanti , Witches employed by The Church to combat the followers of Aradia (labeled the Malandanti ), eventually joined the movement when they too became the target of the witch-hunts.

The religion has no central authority or authorities in the strict sense, however deities are honored as wise teachers.

Taoism

The central text of Taoism and taoist philosophy, the Tao Te Ching, is considered by some as one of the great anarchist classics. At the time it was written in ancient China, there was a struggle between Taoists and Confucians where Confucians were in favor of codification of law and a centralization of governance whereas Taoists rejected these ideas. At the center of Taoism lies the notion of Wu wei (often translated; action through inaction). It can be summed up by the following quote from the Tao Te Ching; 'The world is ruled by letting things take their course. It cannot be ruled by interfering.' This and other ideas in the Tao Te Ching resonates with modern concepts of anarchism.

Vodun

Vodun, like Stregheria, evolved as a religion by which slaves were able to reconnect with their cultural roots. Like Stregheria, it was somewhat influenced by Christianity as it did so.

See Also

Christian anarchism

External Links

• Zen and the Art of Anarchy - essay by King Mob
• Zenarchy - by Kerry W. Thornley
• Buddhist Anarchism, by Gary Snyder