Social Evolution:
Relating to the Bigger Pictures

Social Evolution is the third rung on the evolutionary ladder. People don't typically associate social progress with spiritual evolution. They define it within a humanistic context, usually under the heading of "social justice." A few factors are responsible for this. The Left, the most vocal promoter of social justice, rarely defines community issues in a spiritual or religious context. Plus, in the West we have the division of Church and State. Furthermore, corporate philosophy, which is thoroughly materialistic, permeates the airwaves, landscape, and workplace, and therefore greatly influences our thinking. All of this sets a secular tone for discussing civil matters. Yet, we can link social progress with spiritual evolution.

Society is at least the sum of its individuals and families. Each has reached a certain degree of spiritual understanding in some area, and the overall degree of progress will reflect in their systems. To measure the evolution of a social unit, look for the spiritual qualities it expresses. Check its laws (the less needed the better: more laws always result in more criminals; less shows that the populace is more mature and responsible). Also check its crime rate, institutions (smaller is usually better), personal freedoms and rights, and the satisfaction at work and in day-to-day community interactions. A society's traditions, which are usually the unquestioned habits of the group, will reflect the embedded levels of fear and liberties. A society must provide a consistent level of spiritual mastery and commitment, which is carried out system-wide, in order to achieve spiritual quality for it's people. The ideal spiritual environment is for a society to create a mortal version of heaven on earth.

Twelve Sectors

Twelve major sectors influence society's spiritual progress. These are religion, nonprofits, science, government, commerce, finance, media, labor, education, art, law, and philosophy. Some, like philosophy, are more ubiquitous than others but are no less influential in shaping our thinking and behavior.

We seldom connect science, government, or commerce to spiritual evolution. Yet, we can rate their value by the spiritual qualities they promote and practice — not by what they preach. When they value "spin" more than truth, then they are counter-evolutionary. Although spin undeniably influences minds by creating illusions, the energy of truth communicates directly to the heart. Truth, ironically, is hard to define, and some philosophers even deny it exists. Perhaps this is because the Truth is too immense for the human brain to grasp, process, and express, except in small, delicate fragments. These fragments are pieces of the whole and carry the same quality of power. Even then, people who claim to have experienced the Truth, perhaps in the form of artistic, scientific, or spiritual inspiration, say that it comes from outside them — they didn't come up with it. For some, truth is an aspect of God.

Religion

Potentially, religions are major capillaries for spiritual energy to enter society. Of the twelve social sectors, only religion and the nonprofits promote love. The other ten rarely mention them, although art often encourages or stimulates it by promoting beauty, peace, inspiration, and happiness. In the West, Judaism advocates loving God. Christianity says to love God and love one another. Islam tells us what God loves and what He doesn't love about us.

Why does religion have such potential? First, it caters to the idea that people have a spiritual nature. Second, none of the other institutions (except the nonprofits) fully address moral or spiritual issues. Third, the number of people worldwide belonging to some religion is huge. A 2002 analysis² revealed that worldwide we have: Christians, 32.71% (of which Roman Catholics 17.28%, Protestants 5.61%, Orthodox 3.49%, Anglicans 1.31%); Muslims, 19.67%; Hindus, 13.28%; Buddhists, 5.84%; Sikhs, 0.38%; Jews, 0.23%; other religions, 13.05%; non-religious, 12.43%; atheists, 2.41%.

Christians and Muslims lead the pack, because part of their mission is to convert everyone to their way of thinking or "to the Truth." They do this with zeal and they succeed. While all religious paths offer guidelines for a good life, they fundamentally oppose one another in that most claim to have an exclusive on The Way, and this causes problems. If only one can be right, then the others are wrong. And saving souls and fighting the infidel is serious business.

Church leaders often defend this view and charge that the idea that all faiths have an equal claim to the truth is another form of relativism. However, some religions can be "higher" than others in some (or many) ways. The conflict we're trying to resolve is this: "How can the Creator of All condemn entire cultures — many that are as devout, compassionate, and love God as any other — because they grew up in a culture that practiced a different religion?" This exclusivity represents religion's main obstacle to Social Evolution. It blocks humanity from fulfilling its social potential — a spiritually based world culture or Heaven on Earth.