[A defence of organized religion] Part 3: But why religion?
-- I realized that I had left this finished and essentially unpublished, so I'll publish it now. :)
In my last two blog posts, I discussed two key avenues of criticism of organised religion. There are others, as I am well aware, but the main reason why I chose not to discuss them is because they are often well covered by other religious apologists, such as Alistair McGrath.
Although I have not discussed the failings of organized religion fully, then, I feel I must complete this three-part series with a brief explanation of why I think people not only could, but should follow organized religion. This is to defend the view not only that religion can be saved, but that it is worth saving. In doing so, I maintain the concept that an individual can belong to a faith without sharing key aspects of its ideology; this is important precisely because so many large organized religions maintain social or even doctrinal teaching which is abhorrent to the views of many. Whether an individual is part of a religious community or not is a decision that we should consider personal and our own; declaring oneself as part of a religion says as much about the local and worldwide community of people that we belong to, as it does about our beliefs.
The argument for doctrinal belief is clear; religious people may use such beliefs as social comforts or emotional crutches, and I simply can't see why this would be a bad thing.
Social teachings of many major religions are controversial worldwide as a result of their destructive views on people, but on the other side of the coin is a moral framework that gives structure to the lives of many, and which encourages and actively reinforces really basic values that we can all agree on, and which we are not reminded of. Perhaps it is condescending of me to think that we all need such reminders! but as unethical decisions and actions continue to be taken in society, I can't help but feel that it is in our interests to evaluate our actions and improve ourselves.
The third concept, that of being surrounded by a community of like-minded people, is something which is under-valued by many people in their assessments of religion. The fact that for many people, their local place of worship can often act to give them [no replacement suggested by people who want to get rid of organized religion entirely; the issue of replacement needs to be addressed]
I feel I must briefly address the relationship between science and religion, which has been much discussed by both the religious and scientific communities, and
Does religion impact upon peoples'
- Capacity to dream and envision -> do religious beliefs influence the ability of people to think scientifically? Religion should be encouraging critical thought!
It is a truly sad reflection of the state of religion today, that I find myself defending not what religion is, but what it should be. I am part of a tradition and culture that is ostensibly declining in the West, and I can see why. Frankly, many of the tragedies that occur as a result of religion are barbaric. The continuing split between those with conservative values and their liberal colleagues is resulting in two options; we can either choose to let current organized religion die altogether, and replace it with a new system of some kind (or with systems that already exist), or we can attempt to repair the damage and preserve things within religion which are good. Personally, I side with the latter. But it is only because I can see beautiful things, both practical and more abstract, which are accomplished every day. I see people helping the old and vulnerable in their communities. I see people thinking about what they believe and defending their views. Very occasionally, I see true socialism. And I know that these things can all be accomplished perfectly well without religion, but religion motivates these people. And it could motivate more people, if more people were exposed to it.
Maybe I am too ambitious in my hope that we can change things. But surely it is this hope that motivates people and gives people strength not only in this battle, but in so many other social or ethical struggles. Hopefully one day, there will be an end to discrimination on the basis of race, gender or sexuality, greater equality between the rich and poor, an end to absolute poverty worldwide. These things can only be accomplished if we effect change. And it is this kind of radical change that I believe we need, if we are to save organized religion.
In my last two blog posts, I discussed two key avenues of criticism of organised religion. There are others, as I am well aware, but the main reason why I chose not to discuss them is because they are often well covered by other religious apologists, such as Alistair McGrath.
Although I have not discussed the failings of organized religion fully, then, I feel I must complete this three-part series with a brief explanation of why I think people not only could, but should follow organized religion. This is to defend the view not only that religion can be saved, but that it is worth saving. In doing so, I maintain the concept that an individual can belong to a faith without sharing key aspects of its ideology; this is important precisely because so many large organized religions maintain social or even doctrinal teaching which is abhorrent to the views of many. Whether an individual is part of a religious community or not is a decision that we should consider personal and our own; declaring oneself as part of a religion says as much about the local and worldwide community of people that we belong to, as it does about our beliefs.
In short, I believe that there are three key aspects of religion:
- Doctrinal belief
- Agreement with and/or adherence to social teaching
- Practice and community
The argument for doctrinal belief is clear; religious people may use such beliefs as social comforts or emotional crutches, and I simply can't see why this would be a bad thing.
Social teachings of many major religions are controversial worldwide as a result of their destructive views on people, but on the other side of the coin is a moral framework that gives structure to the lives of many, and which encourages and actively reinforces really basic values that we can all agree on, and which we are not reminded of. Perhaps it is condescending of me to think that we all need such reminders! but as unethical decisions and actions continue to be taken in society, I can't help but feel that it is in our interests to evaluate our actions and improve ourselves.
The third concept, that of being surrounded by a community of like-minded people, is something which is under-valued by many people in their assessments of religion. The fact that for many people, their local place of worship can often act to give them [no replacement suggested by people who want to get rid of organized religion entirely; the issue of replacement needs to be addressed]
I feel I must briefly address the relationship between science and religion, which has been much discussed by both the religious and scientific communities, and
Does religion impact upon peoples'
- Capacity to dream and envision -> do religious beliefs influence the ability of people to think scientifically? Religion should be encouraging critical thought!
It is a truly sad reflection of the state of religion today, that I find myself defending not what religion is, but what it should be. I am part of a tradition and culture that is ostensibly declining in the West, and I can see why. Frankly, many of the tragedies that occur as a result of religion are barbaric. The continuing split between those with conservative values and their liberal colleagues is resulting in two options; we can either choose to let current organized religion die altogether, and replace it with a new system of some kind (or with systems that already exist), or we can attempt to repair the damage and preserve things within religion which are good. Personally, I side with the latter. But it is only because I can see beautiful things, both practical and more abstract, which are accomplished every day. I see people helping the old and vulnerable in their communities. I see people thinking about what they believe and defending their views. Very occasionally, I see true socialism. And I know that these things can all be accomplished perfectly well without religion, but religion motivates these people. And it could motivate more people, if more people were exposed to it.
Maybe I am too ambitious in my hope that we can change things. But surely it is this hope that motivates people and gives people strength not only in this battle, but in so many other social or ethical struggles. Hopefully one day, there will be an end to discrimination on the basis of race, gender or sexuality, greater equality between the rich and poor, an end to absolute poverty worldwide. These things can only be accomplished if we effect change. And it is this kind of radical change that I believe we need, if we are to save organized religion.
Comments
Post a Comment