Religion.
Yep. I'm painting a target on the back of belief. Fire at will.
Afraid to? Embarrassed? Wondering what your parents will think? Don't want to disappoint Nana and Grandpa? I can't say as I blame you. There is a stigma against those speaking out against religion in this country (supposedly founded with ideals regarding freedom of it), because it's disrespectful. Well, you don't get many more juicy targets than that, so go ahead . . . take a pot shot . . . see how it feels.
The first question is: Why is it disrespectful to criticize or denounce religion? I have a few ideas:
1. You were raised at least a little religious (church on Easter and Christmas, Sunday School, etc.). Yeah, me too. It's tough to go against the things we were taught when we were little, especially when the threat of eternal punishment for sins committed in this life was hung over our heads. Even still, most of us who are not believers (and even quite a few of you who claim to be) recognize the ridiculousness of religion, but it is difficult to denounce it in the face of childhood lessons learned.
2. Society has conditioned us to be tolerant. Liberal minds (which, by the way, are more conservative these days than those occupying the brainpans of the Religious Right or the Christian Conservatives, or the GOP, for that matter) are trained to be tolerant, accepting, and willing to acknowledge and embrace the Other (capital "O"), even in the face of overwhelming evidence that their beliefs are dangerous, foolhardy, bigoted, violent, intolerant, self-righteous, and bass-ackwards, precisely because those individuals are free to hold them. It goes against logic. Richard Dawkins, advocate of atheism and author of The God Delsion (among others) makes this point regarding female genital mutilation. Is it best for the young girls being subjected to this barbarous act (designed specifically by religious leaders within the community to deprive them of sexual pleasure) by their elders? By those they should be able to trust not to hurt them intentionally? Every fibre of your body should be screaming "NO!" Is it an important part of their cultural heritage that we (as progressive, forward-thinking, accepting individuals) should respect as being different than ours? We're caught in our own web, I fear. But there is an answer (and I'll get to it).
3. The fallout from the religious. This especially goes for those whom we call friends, and it is perhaps the most difficult reason to overcome when speaking out (or ill against) religion. My best friend, Scott, is a believer, and the love of his life, Carrie, is even more so. Am I more cautious about what I say around them than my wife, Miranda, who is a fervent atheist? Of course. I don't want to offend my best friend or his girlfriend. I don't have a great answer to this one. All I ever do is hope that my friends (and parents, and co-workers, etc.) will be as intellectually cogent as I attempt to be. We'll talk more about this in future postings.
So how do we get around this? What is the "call to action" (remember? Check the top of this posting) that I'm talking about?
Alright, here we go.
Step 1: Actively denounce any faith you may have had. Sure, you went to Sunday School. Big deal. Sure, you like Christmas (we'll talk about it later), but it's mostly for the presents, the family time, the food, the booze, rather than the bastardized version of the myth regarding the birth of Saturn. Change your Facebook information concerning religion from "Spiritual, but not religious" to "no, thanks." Tell your loved ones that you are an atheist. Tell your friends, your co-workers, your etcetera. Let everyone know that you aren't buying in to the lies and fabrications designed to oppress free thought, suppress women and minorities, subjugate homosexuals, destroy local and indigenous cultures, promote genocide, murder, abortion clinic bombings, 9/11, the USS Cole, missile attacks on countries from Pakistan to Korea to Bosnia to Somalia to Iraq to Israel, suicide bombings, war, divisiveness, domestic abuse, I COULD GO ON! If you read that last bit and thought "sounds about right," then I fear for the rest of us. However, if even one item sparked a little fire in your brain, do the work. Connect the dots back to belief. Horror should be setting in . . . now.
Step 2: Stop giving such a colossal shit what other people think. Recognize the validity of what you think. Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson don't care what you think. Their legions of minions (along with those of the Ayatollahs, the Pope, Rabbis, etc.) at a minimum think you'll be burning in hell for all eternity, and at a maximum want to send you there a little faster, so forget about them. Focus on yourself, and on the people around you. Be proud of your ability to separate fiction from fact, scientific progress from reading of tea leaves, enlightenment from fear of the unknown. Turn that spark into a torch -- a beacon of progressive thought and rationality.
Step 3: Engage in rational, logical, informed debate with the other side. In order to do this, start reading. A lot. Start with the Holy Bible (pick your version -- the political agendas behind the lies are fairly meaningless, considering many of them were made in the 1600's). Follow up with the Qur'an, the Torah, and any other scripture you can find. Know why? Because a) most of the people you will be debating against haven't read the book they "believe" in, and b) as Sun Tzu always said . . .. Next, read atheist literature. Start with Darwin and work your way around. Dawkins is great, as is Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchens, author of one of my favorites: God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything. Of course, after you are informed enough to begin discourse, do so! Poste-haste! In addition, (spoiler alert: shameless self plug) check back with this blog. Leave messages. E-mail me. Of course, that won't (and can't) be the only thing you do. You have to engage the Other on the field of intellectual battle. Talking only to others who agree with you is how a lot gets said and nothing gets done.
Now, having said that, if you disagree with me, read up, and we'll talk.
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