Lyric discussion by Nod 

Cover art for Lotus lyrics by Cage the Elephant

For those who don't know, and I may be reading into this too much, the Lotus is the flower associated with the symbol of Pisces, the era of which we are currently in which is "ruled" by the teacher or "God" known as Jesus Christ. The "Lotus" could be a metaphor for Jesus which would explain the religious theme of this song.

"The lotus flowers got me thinkin 'bout the way that we live. I got this feeling, it's gonna stop."

--Christianity (religion) within America and the way that it affects most of its population as well as its direct influence in how we run politics, our country and/or what is deemed morally "right" or "wrong".

Could be a coincidence, though.

Excuse me, the Lotus HAS been associated with the sign of Pisces. I don't want to make some claim and start spreading rumors or "false facts".

Well, the lotus has been affiliated with quite a few different things, and one that stuck out the most (when I did some research when I first listened to this song) is that it is affiliated with spiritual progression, not only any religion. When hearing the lyrics "Driven by religion, running backwards down a one-way road" it sounds very much against religion. I think the idea of the lotus is to represent spiritual progression, and the idea that all religions themselves are wrong. They are cults, and generally only call every other religion wrong and their own right. Most of them,...

Since the lotus flower also blooms twice it's also used to symbolize rebirth. And I doubt this song is centralized about Christianity, just doesn't sound much like CTE.