In Defence Of Religion
This is in response to the Rant On Religion.
It's a given that religion, like many other systems of belief, be they political, social or financial, is not without its flaws. Before I’d start, I’d like to make it clear that it’s only a small minority of religious believers who “shove” religion down peoples’ throats. Now that’s clear, I’ll begin.
In modern thought, with the re-emersion of religion on a multitude of levels for a vast myriad of reasons, we’re seeing modern life intermingle with religion on a scale never been before.
For example the emergence of Reform Judaism, which seeks to find the meaning and metaphor of certain commandments given down to Man, such as with the famous one in Leviticus where it calls those who lay in the same way with man as they lay with a woman an “abomination”. For a second, let’s just examine that. Given the plight of the Israelites being expelled from everywhere left, right and centre, something that has sadly ceased to occur even over the past century or so, such as the expulsion of the Jewish community in 1290, the “Edict of Expulsion” in England and many others all over the world, is it in the best interests of the community to stop reproducing? No, it’s not.
Without new models of medical and scientific inventions such as In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) and the liberal adoption policies we are fortunate to have in the twenty-first century, it would have been near impossible for people to have children if they were homosexual in the time of the ancient Israelites. It was in the Israelites’ best interests to encourage procreation on this scale, and while this infamous verse is brought up time and time again, I find it fascinating how nobody seems to highlight religion with crime. Fifty per cent of people in the UK have “no religion” according to a BSA survey, yet LGBT hate crime has risen 21%, as was reported in the The Guardian. May I also add that this view against those in the LGBT community is horrific, and the interpretation I have used to explain this verse is an orthodox one.
Traditionally, Paganism has held an awfully conservative view against homosexuals, but has now changed its views. I wonder what the persecution scale was like in the UK before the dawning of Christianity, but nobody seems to mention it. I also hasten to add the large scale spread of homophobic violence that is occurring worldwide at the moment, such as in Uganda, or the violence faced by the LGBT community as a whole.
The act of the death penalty upon those who are gay in Judaism has not been implemented in two thousand years. The Modern Orthodox Jewish community in Israel actually came out and welcomed homosexuals into Synagogues and some strands of Reform Judaism even allows for same-sex marriage. Can we say that for the majority of the US? No, I’m afraid that we can’t. A recent article published by Diva, a leading publication for the LGBT community actually highlighted the underground emergence of Imams in Islam sanctioning same-sex marriage. Even so, Islam with all its flaws and traditionally seen as strict or hard-line, some strands are allowing same-sex marriage to happen.
In addition, many believers of religion do not see the Bible as “divinely written” e.g. God didn’t write the books, but divinely inspired them. Reform Judaism certainly doesn’t, nor do some parts of Christianity. Divinely inspired literature can allow for mistakes and for the manifestation of hatred of those who wrote the book to appear; such as with Leviticus. In addition, many parts of religion actually triumphs those parts that threaten “damnation”; e.g. Jesus is reported to say to John in John 13:34 “Love thy neighbour as much as I have loved you”, and implementing any hatred against minority communities fundamentally disagrees with this.
Some religions, such as the monotheistic Abrahamic ones and even Vedic/Karmic religions believed in preordained destiny, meaning that a higher power has already chosen our path for us. If correct, if man is made in God’s image (Genesis), persecution of anybody in the name of religion inherently disagrees with “God gives, and God takes away”. It could be put in someone’s destiny that they should be homosexual; then if you disagree with that, who is a religious believer wanting to kill the homosexual to disagree with God and God’s plans? He’s trying to sanction his own personal hatred in God’s name: therefore, not a religious believer. A similar description of this person who uses religion to satisfy his own means is rather “a small minded and bigoted human looking to kill using religion as a scapegoat”.
I have used the issue of homosexuality in religion as it was the one used in BethanTheBarmy’s article, but there are a wide range of hates that a man can have. And, with these two fundamental and rather basic theological arguments, you can defeat each and every one of them.
One such film highlighting the plight of those who are LGBT is Boys Don’t Cry, where lead actress Hilary Swank plays a female to male transgender person in a period of transition. The story goes that he falls in love, and then, is brutally raped, stabbed, beaten and indeed killed. Those who did this, and this is based on a true story, were not religious. But, if they were, there would be outcries.
The disgusting persecution of the LGBT community throughout the history of mankind has not been solely perpetrated by religion, but by the darker shadow of mankind at large. When looking at history, we are quick to label wars as “religious”, but realistically speaking religion never grows in its extremism or faith without some form of large scale persecution of that group; for example, the Holocaust and Israel’s extreme foreign policy.
Any forms of extremism in religion can find its roots within socio-political hatred, persecution, hunger or war. If we look at countries that have fallen into extremism, religious or otherwise, we will find traces of these issues; for example, do we really think that if Somalia’s government hadn’t disintegrated and famine wasn’t occurring that the al-Shabab would even exist? Or that if American foreign policy hadn’t started drone bombing parts of Pakistan, people wouldn’t turn to Islamic extremists to give them food when their crops have been wiped out? In extreme times, people turn to extreme solutions and in the grand scheme of humanity, neither is particularly brilliant for our survival.
Modern atheism with the thought of Dawkins and Hitchens has done a lot for humanity, much like religion has. At the same time, it has replaced those who may have been historically fundamentalist with religion to be fundamentalist with atheism; militant atheists may dismiss and patronise believers or verging on hatred of religion. Surely this is replacing one belief system and one dogma with another and with the same consequences? It’s has detrimental effects on countries like Kyrgyzstan where those who were religious were denied electoral rights. Even now in China, those who worship must do so in secret. Nevertheless, while I have said this, like those who are extreme in religion, those are extreme in atheism are very few and far between, with the majority being peaceful.
However, atheism has opened up the door for free speech, discussion and debate; I wholeheartedly welcome this and it’s arguably atheism’s best act to date, opening the door that has been closed for thousands of years, and challenging people in a way they never have before. When it comes to religion, there are as many truths as there are people; who am I to judge, and more importantly, who am I to jump on a moral high horse?
As a society, we owe a lot to religion. Before organised religion came to the UK, we lived in a system of Celtic tribal warfare where killing and rape were ordinary occurrences. Many parts of the Bible are specifically written into law, and without this moral compass, we wouldn’t have progressed as fast as we have over these past two thousand years. Of course it’s shameful for humanity to be threatened with damnation to not rape or kill each other, but, nonetheless, we have benefited from it in thousands, if not more, ways.
In Bedouin Saudi Arabia, the dawning of Islam gave women a status in society they previously wouldn’t have had; this includes the rights to an inheritance (something that was only given to British women over the past two hundred years) and the right of a women’s money as her own. Islam also gave birth to modern medicine, and while Europe fell into disarray after the fall of the Roman Empire, Baghdad and Alexandria were world-wide centres for medicine and scholarship. It’s also had its downfall in society, but all religious (and non-religious systems) have; the atheistic Communist system in Russia pushed out hundreds of thousands of Jews fleeing from persecution and the killing by puritan pilgrims in the United States of women who were seen to be witches and brutally killed. Burnt at the stake by people who had distorted a clear message, leading to the now infamous Salem Witch Trials.
In short, I have all the time in the world for religious believers who seek to reinterpret their texts with different viewpoints, for atheists, agnostics, but absolutely no time for militant atheists who may seek to brand me as dim-witted, unintelligent and seek to wipe out religion in all forms they see it. It’s good to reconsider the other person’s position to maximise your argument, to broaden it and be more considered. I have no time for an extremist of any kind. Besides, most of the atrocities done in the name of religion is used it as a scapegoat for financial gain; for example, the slave trade that lead to people being stolen from Africa and forced to work the land in the US, or indeed, colonialism; which begs the question, why aren’t we putting this much effort, thought and discussion into capitalism?
Sub-Ed Note: The views in this article are those of the author, not necessarily those of theSprout. Disagree with this article? Comment below or submit your own.
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3 Comments – Post a comment
neilramsden
Commented 10 months ago - 19th July 2011 - 13:35pm
I think it's a shame that religion tries to take stunning natural beauty, truly incredible things, and allocate them to some kind of higher being. Isn't it enough that it's just amazing in it's own right? I don't like Richard Dawkins, I find him, as you say, very patronising, but he makes some really valid points about religion attacking science, and this is the issue that really gets me. Science is all about saying 'we don't know', and the focus is on trying to prove yourself wrong until, through combined efforts, you either have to change a theory or accept it as the best available. What annoys me is that in America (as an extreme example) schools come under fire for teaching science, and some have had to include religious views in their classes. But never would this be allowed in reverse. Science is accused of trying to override religion, when in fact it is the one which accepts uncertainty as an integral part, and for fear of offending people's right to believe what they want, they have to cede ground. But scientists do not get the same respect, no religious people need worry about offending a scientist's beliefs.
LoudandProud
Commented 10 months ago - 19th July 2011 - 13:35pm
Great Article here and from my own experiences people can use religion to hide behind. As I am doing my dissertation around LGBT, I have found that even before christainity came along, the world were accepting of homosexuals and you can see this in greek plays and art masterpieces.
I would say that the rise of LGBT Hate Crime has only risen is because people are becoming more aware that it is ok to report these type of crimes.
I (not Loud & Proud) feel that as I said before that people say it religion what did this but I think it down to the person themselves.
I know a wide range of preists who accept LGBT people into their congregations and I also know of 2 priests who identify as Gay.
Can I just say a great article again and it good to see that people think that being gay is ok!!
BethanTheBarmy
Commented 10 months ago - 20th July 2011 - 01:15am
This is a great article! :) I feel like I should defend myself here!
I'd like to make the point that I acknowledge that not all religious people thrust their beliefs upon others, just as not all atheists will argue until on their deathbed that religion is a joke. I only mentioned that in my article to focus upon the severe differences in opinion which I encounter personally, and to prove that I think both views are entirely ridiculous.
I know that most religious people can't be tarred with the same brush as the homophobes and terrorists (a point that I did try, and possibly fail, to get across in my article - oops) and I certainly acknowledge that without political input, previously deemed 'religious' wars wouldn't occur. Unfortunately, I don't actually know enough about politics to bring that into an article, so I left that bit out - sorry! :D
Atheists are just as dangerous as religious people, and I'm not going to pretend any different. Neither will I stand here and act as if I am superior due to my atheism. I completely agree that any person who believes that religion is a weakness is too closed-minded to have their point taken seriously. In fact, I respect religion and consider it a strength in a lot of circumstances, which I highlighted in my article.
I hope that the cynical tone of my article didn't cause anyone to think that I am one of those closed-minded people. I really understand why people are religious, as do I recognise that religion isn't the source of all - or indeed most- of the world's problems. Despite the somewhat questionable title of my article, it wasn't an attempt to bitch about religious people, but more a focus on extremism. I promise!
I hope that cleared it up a little... I did really like your article though! Brilliant.