Podcaster Joe Rogan stated that progressive ideology has replaced religion for many on the left and that some individuals are incorporating their political beliefs into Christianity. Rogan expressed his view that the left is "much more loony" than the right because a significant portion of the left has embraced secularism.
"I think they're just lost," Rogan said on his podcast. "There's no moral scaffolding to hold on to."
Rogan argued that a shared moral code, like the Ten Commandments, and humility toward a higher power are beneficial for society. He suggested that for many liberals, far-left political ideology has become their new religion, to the extent that they attempt to infuse their liberal viewpoints into traditional Christianity.
"There's been this larger than normal presence of these, like, LGBT pastors and these people that are promoting a very different Christianity," Rogan stated. "They're talking about things that, you know, biblical scholars are like, ‘Hey, wait, what page is this on? What? Where does it say abortion's OK? Like, how are you getting to that? Where does it say God's non-binary?’"
He questioned the impact of these changes, saying, "You know, there's a lot of this weirdness — that this woke weirdness that sort of entered into religion and some pastors are doing it. And you go, ‘OK, is that good?’ I don't know if that's good. Because you're not following the original stuff."
Rogan also commented that if any biblical passages were due for re-examination, they would be those concerning slavery and genocidal warfare, predating questions about God's gender identity.
His guest, Francis Foster, co-host of "Triggernometry," agreed, drawing a comparison between his Catholic upbringing and a modernized Church of England service. Foster stated that a genuine religion should be taken seriously and acknowledged the need for a sense of moral consequences for actions.
Bishop Robert Barron, founder of Word on Fire and Bishop of Winona-Rochester, expressed general agreement with Rogan's observations. "For the past several decades, various forms of liberal Christianity have compromised the doctrinal content of the faith, first turning the great dogmas into vague symbols and subsequently evacuating them completely in favor of the progressive political agenda," Barron told Fox News Digital. "The test is whether someone can honestly and with enthusiasm subscribe to the Apostles’ Creed. Does he believe in God, in the divinity of Jesus, in the power of the Holy Spirit, in the objective truth of the Resurrection? If not, he is using classical Christianity as a smokescreen."