Bishop Robert Barron has voiced concern over what he describes as the American political system being "wrenched so far left," warning that the rise of individuals identifying as extreme socialists or communists poses a significant danger to democratic principles and religious freedom.
Barron asserts that for adherents of communism, religion must be eliminated. He cites Karl Marx's view of religion as the "opium of the masses," a tool to pacify suffering populations and prevent them from challenging economic exploitation. According to this perspective, religious belief in divine providence and an afterlife dulls the populace's awareness of their suffering and their motivation to "throw off their chains."
Furthermore, Barron explains that communism aims to be a totalizing system, exerting governmental control over all aspects of society, including education, entertainment, communication, politics, and economics. Religion, by positing a divine authority that judges all human endeavors, stands in opposition to this ambition. A belief in God introduces an objective moral criterion by which all societal structures, including government and economics, can be evaluated and limited. Barron points to the Bible's portrayal of leaders and political arrangements as subject to divine law and prophetic critique, a contrast to deification often found elsewhere in ancient literature.
He argues that the First Amendment's guarantees of religious nonestablishment and free exercise are crucial because they allow religion to maintain a critical role in relation to the government, independent of state control. The suppression of religion, its leaders, or its influence is, in Barron's view, a necessary step for a totalizing system like communism to succeed. He references the histories of China, Russia, Cuba, and other nations as evidence of this dynamic.
Barron recalls Pope John Paul II's 1979 speech in Warsaw, Poland, during the Cold War. He characterizes the Pope's address, which focused on God, human rights, and individual dignity before a large crowd and the communist government, as fulfilling a prophetic function. The crowd's sustained chant of "We want God!" following the speech, Barron suggests, marked a turning point that contributed to the eventual end of the Soviet Empire.
Barron encourages fellow believers not to be complacent about the increasing success of socialists and communists in the American electoral process, which he views as a present danger to religious people. He urges them to vote, speak out, and organize.
