ONLINE FIRST
published on November 20, 2024
Anna Peterson

https://doi.org/10.5840/radphilrev20241119150
Ideas, Activism, and Social Change
This essay explores the roles of ideas in progressive social movements, with special attention to ideas rooted in religion. Religion in part because it plays an important role in many social movements, both faith-based and secular. In addition, examining religion can help us understand the role of ideas in movements more generally, for several reasons. First, attention to religion¡¯s role in social movements underlines the importance of the content of ideas ¨C why some resonate and inspire, while others fall flat. Second, religious ideas are often embedded in narratives that connect present events to sacred history or transcendent values. Third, religious ideas are part of popular culture, familiar and ¡°normal¡± to many potential activists. Religious roots can make progressive political proposals less threatening and more palatable. Finally, like all ideology, religious ideas are shaped by material institutions and structures, at the same time they have an influence on these forces.