Each paragraph offers a particular viewpoint based on a distinct perspective. Your task is to read each one closely and identify which worldview it expresses. Pay attention to what it values, how it sees reality, and what it dismisses. Let the underlying assumptions guide your recognition. Answers below.
Twelve Worldviews
Materialism
Spiritism
Realism
Idealism
Mathematism
Rationalism
Psychism
Pneumatism
Monadism
Dynamism
Phenomenalism
Sensationalism
The Role Of Religion In Government
Viewpoint 1
Religion in government sounds noble until you try to apply it. People worship differently — or not at all. The facts on the ground are messy. Good governance must deal with what is, not what’s believed. Justice must be applied evenly, not filtered through dogma. Religion’s place is in the heart or the temple. Government belongs in the streets, the courts, the schools — where reality demands results.
Viewpoint 2
The state should be the outward shape of our highest values — and what values are higher than those found in true religion? Not the corrupted kind, but the shining ideal behind every faith: justice, mercy, dignity. A government that forgets the divine image in each person forgets its purpose. We must build a world worthy of the human soul, or we fail both heaven and earth.
Viewpoint 3
A state that imposes one religion ignores the multiplicity of spiritual centers within its people. Each individual is a world, a bearer of inner light. Government should protect this unfolding, not define it. The danger isn’t just tyranny — it’s spiritual erasure. Let the individual seek truth. The role of law is to preserve space for becoming. Any system that forces belief reduces the infinite to the uniform.
Viewpoint 4
When you look closely, “religion” in government often masks something else — control, nostalgia, fear. We must ask not what labels say, but what actually shows up: how does this policy appear in real lives? Who gains, who suffers? Ideas of divinity may inspire, but governance lives in appearances — how laws affect bodies, behaviors, relationships. Trust not the claim of holiness — only the phenomenon of justice.
Viewpoint 5
Every society is a collective of souls, and the laws that govern it should resonate with the inner life of its people. Religion, when authentic, expresses the archetypes that shape human consciousness. But if the state enforces one form of expression over others, it wounds the very beings it’s meant to serve. Let the law guard freedom — but let religion inspire. One speaks to order, the other to meaning.
Viewpoint 6
Religion in government? It depends — what force does it bring? Some traditions invigorate, others control. The question isn’t “Is it religious?” but “Does it channel power or suppress it?” Law should align with what drives human energy forward. When faith inspires boldness, justice, awakening — welcome it. But when it crushes dissent or freezes change, cut it out. Government must ride the forces, not fossilize them.
Viewpoint 7
Religion may contain truths, but reason must arbitrate them. A state cannot legislate from faith alone — only from principles that can be examined, debated, and understood by all. If a belief cannot be explained without reference to authority or mystery, it has no place in law. Government must rest on reasoned consensus, not sacred declarations. Belief is free, but governance must be justified to every thinking mind.
Viewpoint 8
There is a Will moving through human history — not random, but divine. Religion brings that Will into awareness. Government should not mimic religion, but it must sense the larger spiritual currents shaping humanity. True law arises when leaders open to the guiding Spirit, not just their opinions. Without that, policy becomes hollow, reactive. A wise state listens — not just to its people, but to the world’s soul.
Viewpoint 9
You know when something’s right by how it feels. A law infused with genuine faith carries a warmth, a resonance. But forced religion in politics? It grates. It smells of hypocrisy. People should feel free, not preached at. When government starts sounding like church, the tone changes — the light dims. Good rule, like good worship, should awaken the senses, not numb them. Keep policy grounded in felt life.
Viewpoint 10
Religion introduces variables you can't quantify — that's the problem. You can’t calculate governance around revelation. The laws of a country must be clear, coherent, and capable of projection. Religion muddies the algorithm. It adds untestable inputs to systems that require clean logic. Keep law secular, and structure efficient. You can’t optimize what you can’t define. And faith, by nature, resists definition.
Viewpoint 11
To govern without the guidance of the Spirit is to wander blind. A nation is not a machine; it’s a living soul-community. True governance must rise from sacred insight, not cold law. The higher worlds whisper the wisdom humanity needs. Religion, rightly understood, brings those whispers into law. A government without spiritual anchoring becomes shallow, violent, and lost. The Spirit must illuminate the state.
Viewpoint 12
Government should deal in roads, laws, and wages — not angels. Religion is private. When it mixes with policy, people suffer real-world consequences over unprovable beliefs. Keep governance grounded: food, shelter, infrastructure, defense. These things matter because they're real. The state must deal with facts, not faith. Let churches preach if they must, but leave government to those who can lay brick and balance budgets.
Answers
12. Materialism
11. Spiritism
1. Realism
2. Idealism
10. Mathematism
7. Rationalism
5. Psychism
8. Pneumatism
3. Monadism
6. Dynamism
4. Phenomenalism
9. Sensationalism
