Some things just make me MAD!

-

The Untouchables As I go through life, I am often told to respect the beliefs of others. This sounds reasonable - after all, people should be able to believe whatever they like, shouldn't they? However, things aren't quite so simple. People are mostly happy to respect the rights of others to hold different beliefs, but are less likely to respect the actual beliefs that are held. In politics, for example, different groups may hold diametrically opposed beliefs and consider their opponents to be hopelessly misguided. In a democracy, all political views are (in theory) allowed to be presented, even those that may be deeply offensive to the majority. It is considered perfectly acceptable for different parties to yell and scream at each other, and explain to the general public just how foolish the others are. But when it comes to religion we are all expected to be quietly respectful, no matter what the beliefs in question are. There are probably about twenty thousand different variants of Christianity now, each claiming to have found the correct interpretation of Scripture. They range from the Everything-The-Bible-Says-Is-True fundamentalists to the Let's-Make-Up-Our-Own-Bible brigade (e.g. the Mormons) to the strange minor sects who mix several religions together with UFOs, transcendental meditation and Elvis Worship. On top of that, there are all the other major and minor religions, each one having at least one doctrine that all the others secretly consider to be as mad as a brush. These people have deep, sincere beliefs and we are told not to speak badly of them. It doesn't matter that the Christians, Jews, Hindus and Muslims consider each other to be basically wrong - those of us with no religion are expected to sit back and keep politely quiet. Sure, the theists can yell at each other, beat each other up and wage bloody war against each other - their beliefs must still be respected and not criticised. It is Taboo! Point out the atrocities committed in the name of merciful, loving deities, or the errors and contradictions in a Holy Book, or provide a rational explanation for a miracle, and you will be accused of being negative, intolerant, a religion-basher. As atheists, we are supposed to put up with being constantly told by TV, newspapers, and even friends and family that religious beliefs must be respected, and that we should keep our irreligious opinions to ourselves. To question somebody's insane doctrine in public results in someone saying "Hush! Have a little respect!". If you question the (highly questionable) life of Mother Teresa, or laugh about the peculiar origins of Mormonism, or slam the door in the face of a Jehovah's Witness, you are considered to be a Bad Person. Yes, it is disrespectful to laugh loudly about someone's religion - but just why does that religion automatically deserve respect? Respect is earned, not automatic. If someone wants to believe that the world was created by the Invisible Pink Unicorn, and after death bad people will spend eternity mucking out Her stables, I have no problem with that at all. I would think that such a belief was quite potty, but if someone wants to believe it, fine, let them. It only seems to work one way, however. If you gave a child a toy Noah's Ark or a Kiddies First Bible (editted for sex and violence, of course) as a birthday or Christmas present, there would be smiles all round, and when children innocently ask us "Do you believe in Jesus?" or "Did you know that God made us?" [1] we are expected to either lie through gritted teeth (and what a good example that is) or at least mumble something noncommittal and quickly change the subject. If little Billy runs in saying "Mummy, Mummy, I asked Uncle if he believes in Noah's Ark, and he says it's just a story!", then Uncle is going to be in trouble. The kids are not meant to learn that there is an alternative point of view (or, if they do, they must learn that it is strange/wrong/immoral/evil or some foreign fairy-tale that nobody really takes seriously). Religious folk, when it is revealed that an atheist is present, will often tell us that they are praying for us (why not just pat us on the head and give us a lollipop while they're at it?). Unless they are truly ignorant of what atheism is, then that is an extremely disrespectful thing to do (akin to the atheist saying "You believe in God? Oh, I'm so sorry for you. I hope your brain gets better sometime."). However, the atheist cannot easily respond to such a "kind" gesture without being accused of further disrespect. At what point does a religion suddenly acquire the status of being beyond question or criticism? (Historically, it seems to have been when they started killing everyone who dared to voice questions or criticisms...) I agree that everyone has the right to believe anything they like. That is a basic human right. If it makes them happy, and they don't harm others because of their beliefs, or forcibly impose those beliefs on others, that's great. If you want to follow a religion that teaches that the Moon is a balloon, and God lives on a spoon, fine. Just don't get upset when I point at you and laugh. If I don't deserve respect for believing that you are wrong and your god exists nowhere but in your head, why should you deserve respect simply because you believe in some sort of deity? Why should arbitrary belief command instantaneous, polite, unquestioning respect? Many religions do indeed deserve a certain amount of respect. They may preach peace and tolerance, and their followers may do many selfless, charitable acts. These things deserve respect. But this is respect that has been earned. Even then, does this mean that the religion should never be critically examined? The problem is that respect is demanded for religions which preach intolerance, hatred towards minority groups, hive-mind thinking and denial of the real world. I can respect a religion that sends aid to disaster regions, but I can't respect a religion that advocates praying for people in disaster regions. As an atheist, you will be asked to quietly tolerate everybody else's religion, no matter how insane, pointless or dangerous you consider it to be; and to solemnly accept having everybody else telling you that your point of view is not worthy of any sort of respect and should be hidden away from the world. If you stand up and say "I'm raising my children to be good Christians and follow Jesus Christ", you will hear pleased murmurs from the crowd. If you stand up and say "I'm raising my children to be good Secular Humanists and develop their own morality through intelligence and reason", there will be gasps of horror and the crowd will reach for their pitchforks and flaming torches. A theist has the right to believe anything she likes, even if her actual beliefs seem completely nonsensical to outsiders. An atheist, on the other hand, does not even seem to have the right to openly express rational non-belief! To hear someone say "I don't believe in a God because I know of no valid reason to think there is one, and there are better scientific explanations for the universe." appears to offend some people's religious sensibilities, and this is often cited as a reason why we should just keep quiet. But, isn't a Hindu effectively saying "Jehovah and Jesus are just myths, because I know of no valid reason to think otherwise, and there are better explanations in Hinduism for the universe."? And doesn't the same apply when a Muslim extolls her point of view to a Hindu, or a Christian to a Muslim? Each is basically saying "My God exists, your God is a figment of your imagination and nothing more.". Only when an atheist says "None of your Gods are real." does there appear to be cause for concern. Maybe it's because theists all at least agree that there is a God, but differ on the details - at least those other theists are worshipping something. So, it is wrong to offend the religious sensibilities of theists, and the atheist will be rebuked for doing so. Strangely, followers of one religion are even happy to stand up in defense of other religions - I remember an Anglican clergyman talking about the "hurt done to Muslims" by Salman Rushdie, even though Islam and Christianity are themselves mutually exclusive and each effectively teaches that the other is a fairy-tale. Never have I heard a clergyman stand up and complain about the insults done to the intelligence of atheists by people claiming that God made the world, or is watching over us, or loves us. Atheists have to put up with being called anti-Christian or anti-religious whenever they state their opinions, but when have you heard a priest being referred to as anti-atheist for saying "There is a God"? It seems to be the case that those who hold any sort of religious belief, from the big mainstream religions to the tiny UFO-cults, are considered to be better people than those who profess no belief. It doesn't matter what you believe, as long as you believe in something supernatural. If you fail to adopt such a belief, you'd better just shut up, keep your head down and bow and scrape before the superior, enlightened beings around you. © Adrian Barnett 1998 [1] This has happened to me a couple of times. When a five-year old asks you how the world was made, and you try explaining about the condensation of planets from a stellar dust cloud in terms that a kid can understand (while trying to drive the car at the same time), you're not going to get very far very quickly. "Silly Uncle Adrian", they say, "God did it. Didn't you know?". To a five-year old, "God did it" is much simpler answer. Unfortunately, to some twenty, forty and sixty year-olds, that is still the easier answer. Hey ho...

-