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why I hate
and I mean REALLY hate . . .
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| BEST UK BLOG: nosey cow |
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. . religion
Throughout
my life I’ve struggled to understand the teachings and beliefs of Christianity. I have tried but I just don’t
get the religious thing. Firmly settled in middle age, I now entirely reject the notion of religion and increasingly begrudge
its hold over society. When I was younger and more inclined to want to fit it, I preferred to ignore it rather than challenge
its disproportionate presence. But recently that has changed. I used to be frightened of voicing my opposition, as the church has managed to equate a disbelief in
god as a lack of personal morality and
ethics. It’s a stunning achievement to link these two and get them accepted as unequivocally entwined. Over thousands
of years it has forced people like me to be a clandestine atheist for fear of being judged as not having compassion, honesty
or leading a moral existence. The implication being that a disbelief in god means you cannot believe in anything at all.
The ‘believers’ that I count as my friends, benignly
pity me because I haven’t yet managed to find god, by which they mean therefore, that I am lost. Some make a further
assumption that this signifies I have no purpose or direction and my life has no meaning. On the other hand going to church
is seen as a positive, useful contribution to the community, and appears to infer the attendee is inherently honest and upright.
I’ve never felt that any of these observations are fair or warranted. Especially when I witness the incessant selfishness
of local church goers, who park across the front of my drive every Sunday morning.
What I see as a good life, (one that I have attempted to conduct with high personal and moral values), has been so routinely
dismissed, I vowed to do something about it. I wanted social ‘recognition’ and to find a philosophical home. In
some respects I felt intellectually
isolated, even though I knew there are many more people who think and act like me, than are formally aligned to a religion. I am a moderate person dismayed
by radicalism and extremist thought and action, and recent global events sparked a search for information.
After much reading and searching it became blindingly obvious. Maybe
it’s the equivalent of a religious epiphany, because I suddenly discovered I was a humanist. I like the term. It’s
positive and encapsulates what
I do believe in, rather than what I do not:
To me this is a hugely important distinction. I found real comfort in discovering there was a growing band of humanists, and
I can barely describe the sense of relief that I am not alone. Everyone has a personal version of humanism, which I like too.
There is no book or scripture and no huge gatherings of the scholarly hierarchy to voice arguments on the interpretation of
words written centuries ago. There are no rules on eating meat, smoking, driving a car or what day you can’t work and
no texts or hymns to learn. In fact it’s very much about what you can do, rather than what you cannot. It is a positive,
life-celebrating sort of approach. It is without hierarchy, so there are no uniforms and no badges of office and no assumption
that any other doctrine, is better or worse than any other. Essentially it’s a way of thinking simultaneously modern
and yet rooted in our DNA.
My own brand of humanist thinking,
means I take full responsibility for the consequences of my actions. I seek to live a good life, secure in the knowledge now
that I can do that on my own
without help from an all-seeing deity.
On the simplest level, I strongly believe we should just be kind to each other and do what we can for other people. It’s
not hard, nor is it difficult to understand. I try to seek the best in, and for, all human beings of any colour, religion,
politics, culture, sexuality or nation. I am convinced this is actually an inherent human trait and you don’t need to
find one of those famous moral compasses to get there, or have it re-set every Sunday.
Yet christianity and other religions, proclaim man as inherently sinful, and that we displease god, so that we need to be
saved and repent. It assumes
we are bad, which means it encourages us to think badly of, and distrust, our fellow human beings. Especially if they are not of the same religion. But if you open
your eyes and watch carefully, you will see instances of kindness and compassion with no personal reward, being displayed
everywhere you go, every day. Some are tiny acts of kindness, some are huge. This picture from Haiti, explains everything
you ever need to know about the human condition. Black or white, male or female, a mix of religions, ages, wealth and culture.
None of this mattered in order to get out ANYONE that could still be alive at the bottom of a fallen building. And that look
of personal and shared joy on every person’s face is genuine. Why? Because our similarities as human beings hugely outweigh
our differences, and yes it’s a natural state.
I am sure religions were founded
initially to attempt to explain what happens when we die. It’s so tempting to believe that when our life is finished
there might just be something else. It gives hope. But
let’s face it, if there wasn’t anything before, and there won’t be afterwards. The trouble is, it’s an extraordinarily hard truth to swallow
and a devastating realisation. It’s frightening and doesn’t offer the comfort of an everlasting afterlife where
you meet up with desperately missed, dead friends and family. But when you accept this and begin to come to terms with it,
there is an urgent need to find happiness and ensure that every minute has a purpose. Personal fulfilment, love and friendship
become more important than ever, materials things less so.
My current life is devalued
if I believe another one starts when this one finishes. Ironically, I think I would be less likely to lead a good and fulfilling life if all is forgiven and I go to a better place afterwards (whatever
and wherever that is). Accepting that this is it, makes me want to be generous, honest and kind and enjoy all the things (and
people) around me, as much as possible. I completely reject the notion therefore, that because something comes to an end,
it’s meaningless. This is not a practice for another better life, this is it and I want to be proud of its depth, even if the length is out of my
hands. So I not only want,
but desperately need, to make sure it’s good in every sense of the word.
In
contrast, why would people create ideologies for which there is no supporting evidence and encourage belief in the unbelievable?
I can understand the need to allay fears about death, but religious authority has been used, and occasionally still is, to
extract underserved wealth and to oppress, discriminate and inhibit pleasure. A walk around the Vatican with its excesses
and breathtaking immorality over the centuries, pretty much sums it up. So much so, that the recent exposure of widespread
child abuse is not really a huge surprise. Conveniently, it also stifles free debate. The insistence of a wonderful afterlife,
leads to less motivation to question the status quo or fight to end misery or injustice, making the most vulnerable more inclined
to endure suffering and subjugation. Millions
of people have been killed through the centuries in the name of religion and god. Even post-Darwin and the most amazing advances in science, religious
differences are still being used to justify discrimination, war, terrorism and violence.
Humanists
of course, are struck by how similar the various religious teachings are anyway. What’s there to argue about? Whose sky fairy is more powerful and whose afterlife
more fabulous? In this country, Christianity has dubious credentials and a shameful history and yet
is omnipresent socially and politically. Those at the top clearly like dressing up and performing pompous ceremonies and whilst
they lecture the community on morality, their day job openly
supports misogynistic, homophobic attitudes and discriminatory work practices. And they wonder why congregations are rapidly diminishing? Given its
lack of tangible, rather than assumed, support, the Church of England should be disentangled from the State immediately, with
its state-funded privileges removed. It’s given a prominence totally out of proportion to the minority who support
it. It controls education in a third of our schools funded from my pocket. It exercises political power through
26 Bishops automatically elevated to the House of Lords (why?). It is rich beyond belief but argues for more public funding
and brazenly attempts to influence equitable law-making despite its lack of mandate.
So, ‘all of the above’ means I am vehemently anti-religious. If you feel the same you should investigate some
of the writings on humanism. It’s a great relief to know so many intelligent and kind people have a moral home they
can go to. I want to see Britain become a modern, open and secular society with unearned religious privilege eradicated and
all citizens truly being treated equally. Just imagine
the John Lennon vision of “and no religion too”.
Think that through and realise how good it would be. It’s probably a step too far right now, because organised religions
are firmly entrenched in all the formal power structures. So until that day, long after I’m dead, let’s settle
for the following - I will fight for my right to be a humanist, but I will also fight for the right of anyone to have the
freedom to believe what they want. As long as it doesn’t discriminate and they don’t impose it on someone else.
QUOTATIONS
“Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as
false, and by the rulers as useful” Seneca
the Younger 4 BC to AD65
“Facts
do not cease to exist because they are ignored”
Aldous Huxley
“Extraordinary
claims require extraordinary evidence”
Carl Sagan
“The
way to see by faith is to shut the eye of reason”
Benjamin Franklin
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