Both Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris have often stated that foisting religion on children is a form of child abuse, primarily because it encourages an unquestioning belief in nonsense and a lack of critical thinking skills. And I fully agree with this assertion.
But I think that the Abrahamic religions, especially Christianity as practiced and taught in the U. S., has an even more insdious and destructive effect on our culture and our world. Why? Simply because of their acceptance of, and in some cases even reverence for, violent and malicious behavior. This is especially true in the U.S. where you have a long tradition of “hellfire and brimstone” preaching, and the worship of the more intolerant and cruel aspects of their god.
Consider the Book of Leviticus, which is in both the Old Testament of the Christian bible and in the Pentateuch of the Torah. And because of this, it is the basis for all three of the Abrahamic religions – Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. This book describes a deity so vile that the overwhelming majority of people, were they to meet a real-life person with the depicted characteristics, would reject such a person as being unfit for their circle of friends. And yet they hold this imaginary creature up to be the very pinnacle of perfection. Is it not fair, then, to say that they are worshipping malicious, capricious, mean-spirited, selfish vindictiveness, since these are the depicted attributes of this epitome of goodness that they worship?
Now I don’t mean to imply that the believers who follow these religions are all mean-spirited and sadistic and actively emulate these behaviors (although there are more than a few who do – can you say Santorum or Inhofe or Dobson or Robertson?), nor do I mean to imply that they consciously accept such cruelty as acceptable. But because they have subconsciously accepted such capricious cruelty as part of what is good and to be worshipped, when they are confronted with such behaviors in the real world they do not feel the deep revulsion that one would expect of a caring person. It is accepted as part of the natural order of things. Consider some of the manifestations of this subconscious acceptance of violence toward fellow members of our species.
Down through history, there have always been competitive sports. And among those competitive sports, there have always been head-to-head physical “combat” contests. The early Grecian Olympics featured wrestling contests. But compare that to our modern sport of boxing. Both of these sports (as with most sports) are about trying to best one’s adversary through athletic prowess. But whereas wrestling is all about using leverage and quickness, strength and technique to maneuver one’s opponent into a position of defeat, boxing is all about pummeling one’s opponent into submission through mayhem and inflicting maximum pain and/or a knockout punch. Yes there is a certain skill level involved, but the skill is geared toward the infliction of pain and suffering. Or if you prefer, compare boxing to the martial arts developed in Asia. Just as in Greco-Roman wrestling, the emphasis is on defeating one’s opponent using good technique and skill rather than inflicting pain and injury.
And what about professional football, the most popular spectator sport in the U.S.? What sport is more violent, is more about intimidation, or is more about “hitting” and inflicting pain on one’s adversary? Compare that to, say, soccer, or cricket, or baseball, where the emphasis is on technique and skill rather than the intentional infliction of pain. Or track & field events where the athlete is competing against him/herself almost as much as their opponent. And the same tendency and reverence for violence seems to be true in hockey. Compare International hockey versus American hockey – International hockey emphasizes skating and puck handling skills much more than the goonery that is so prevalent in the NHL.
Then there is that Christian pornography known as the “Left Behind” series. (One of Merriam-Webster’s definitions of pornography is: the depiction of acts in a sensational manner so as to arouse a quick, intense, emotional reaction.) These books are nothing more than a thin excuse for lurid descriptions of torments and violence visited upon non-believers, described at great length and in great detail so as to pander to the subconscious desires of rabid believers to validate their delusions. It gives them the chance to vicariously enjoy the infliction of such torment on those who make them feel inferior for believing in their nonsense. And without a religious framework glorifying violence and torture and such, you wouldn’t have such a willing audience.
While we are at it, let’s look at economics. Free market laissez-faire economics is often championed by conservatives (and the ranks of conservatives are made up of an inordinately large percentage of religionists, far more so than the general population) as the only good economic model. And in many ways, it is a good system; it encourages innovation and provides maximum incentive for industrious people to create wealth. But it is also unnecessarily cruel; it rewards those with no conscience and encourages unethical behavior and it provides no mechanism to provide for those who do not have a talent for making money, even though they may have a talent for some things that are beneficial to the society as a whole. And this can often be cruel, especially when it denyies adequate medical care, food, or shelter to those unable to provide for themselves. And considering the current political debates in this country over health care and provision for the poor in other ways, it shows just how willing people are to accept cruelty.
So yes, I do agree that the negative impact of religions by not allowing for the development of critical thinking skills and their reliance on superstitious nonsense as the basis for a worldview are both very important negative effects of religion. But I submit that, in the western world, particularly the U.S., the subconscious acceptance of caprice and cruelty is an even more insidious detriment to the advancement of a just and noble society – something that we all should be striving for. After all, what else does it mean to be civilized?
Author: The Militant One
But I think that the Abrahamic religions, especially Christianity as practiced and taught in the U. S., has an even more insdious and destructive effect on our culture and our world. Why? Simply because of their acceptance of, and in some cases even reverence for, violent and malicious behavior. This is especially true in the U.S. where you have a long tradition of “hellfire and brimstone” preaching, and the worship of the more intolerant and cruel aspects of their god.
Consider the Book of Leviticus, which is in both the Old Testament of the Christian bible and in the Pentateuch of the Torah. And because of this, it is the basis for all three of the Abrahamic religions – Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. This book describes a deity so vile that the overwhelming majority of people, were they to meet a real-life person with the depicted characteristics, would reject such a person as being unfit for their circle of friends. And yet they hold this imaginary creature up to be the very pinnacle of perfection. Is it not fair, then, to say that they are worshipping malicious, capricious, mean-spirited, selfish vindictiveness, since these are the depicted attributes of this epitome of goodness that they worship?
Now I don’t mean to imply that the believers who follow these religions are all mean-spirited and sadistic and actively emulate these behaviors (although there are more than a few who do – can you say Santorum or Inhofe or Dobson or Robertson?), nor do I mean to imply that they consciously accept such cruelty as acceptable. But because they have subconsciously accepted such capricious cruelty as part of what is good and to be worshipped, when they are confronted with such behaviors in the real world they do not feel the deep revulsion that one would expect of a caring person. It is accepted as part of the natural order of things. Consider some of the manifestations of this subconscious acceptance of violence toward fellow members of our species.
Down through history, there have always been competitive sports. And among those competitive sports, there have always been head-to-head physical “combat” contests. The early Grecian Olympics featured wrestling contests. But compare that to our modern sport of boxing. Both of these sports (as with most sports) are about trying to best one’s adversary through athletic prowess. But whereas wrestling is all about using leverage and quickness, strength and technique to maneuver one’s opponent into a position of defeat, boxing is all about pummeling one’s opponent into submission through mayhem and inflicting maximum pain and/or a knockout punch. Yes there is a certain skill level involved, but the skill is geared toward the infliction of pain and suffering. Or if you prefer, compare boxing to the martial arts developed in Asia. Just as in Greco-Roman wrestling, the emphasis is on defeating one’s opponent using good technique and skill rather than inflicting pain and injury.
And what about professional football, the most popular spectator sport in the U.S.? What sport is more violent, is more about intimidation, or is more about “hitting” and inflicting pain on one’s adversary? Compare that to, say, soccer, or cricket, or baseball, where the emphasis is on technique and skill rather than the intentional infliction of pain. Or track & field events where the athlete is competing against him/herself almost as much as their opponent. And the same tendency and reverence for violence seems to be true in hockey. Compare International hockey versus American hockey – International hockey emphasizes skating and puck handling skills much more than the goonery that is so prevalent in the NHL.
Then there is that Christian pornography known as the “Left Behind” series. (One of Merriam-Webster’s definitions of pornography is: the depiction of acts in a sensational manner so as to arouse a quick, intense, emotional reaction.) These books are nothing more than a thin excuse for lurid descriptions of torments and violence visited upon non-believers, described at great length and in great detail so as to pander to the subconscious desires of rabid believers to validate their delusions. It gives them the chance to vicariously enjoy the infliction of such torment on those who make them feel inferior for believing in their nonsense. And without a religious framework glorifying violence and torture and such, you wouldn’t have such a willing audience.
While we are at it, let’s look at economics. Free market laissez-faire economics is often championed by conservatives (and the ranks of conservatives are made up of an inordinately large percentage of religionists, far more so than the general population) as the only good economic model. And in many ways, it is a good system; it encourages innovation and provides maximum incentive for industrious people to create wealth. But it is also unnecessarily cruel; it rewards those with no conscience and encourages unethical behavior and it provides no mechanism to provide for those who do not have a talent for making money, even though they may have a talent for some things that are beneficial to the society as a whole. And this can often be cruel, especially when it denyies adequate medical care, food, or shelter to those unable to provide for themselves. And considering the current political debates in this country over health care and provision for the poor in other ways, it shows just how willing people are to accept cruelty.
So yes, I do agree that the negative impact of religions by not allowing for the development of critical thinking skills and their reliance on superstitious nonsense as the basis for a worldview are both very important negative effects of religion. But I submit that, in the western world, particularly the U.S., the subconscious acceptance of caprice and cruelty is an even more insidious detriment to the advancement of a just and noble society – something that we all should be striving for. After all, what else does it mean to be civilized?
Author: The Militant One
