Yes, But It’s Not Big Government…
Jordan Peterson says church is distinct from big government because the church:
- can’t tax
- doesn’t have a military
- can’t conscript you
- can’t throw you in jail
BUT it used to be able to do ALL of those things.
And don’t think for one minute that organized religion wouldn’t love to once again get in bed with government so that it can have the power to enforce its own orthodoxy!
~Andy
Paul's Passing Thoughts 
Yep. No question.
I might submit that government IS actually a church of sorts in that it functions according to similar metaphysical premises. (Well, I mean the “churches” with which we are familiar.) But that’s another issue.
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Government and church (ie. “religion”) ARE the same thing.
Politics is a philosophical discipline. It has to do with how much force is needed to compel the masses to take action for good (however that’s defined). Politics are derived from ethical assumptions or values. In other words, what your values are will lead you to conclude how much or what kind (if any) of force is acceptable.
People don’t realize that “religion” is actually a kind of political force. Religion prescribes a set of rules that it’s adherents must follow in order to be moral/be saved/be righteous/et al. People disagree on religion for the same reason that people disagree on politics; because they hold different values which informs them on political force.
I would make a distinction with regard to specific kinds of government; specifically that which is tyrannical. To your point, TYRANNY operates under the same metaphysical premise as religion in that it views man as fundamentally flawed and therefore MUST be ruled and compelled to whatever action IT deems to be “good” and, as already mentioned, using whatever degree of force it deems necessary.
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