(no subject)
This was born as a response to Alissa's post earlier today, but I mean it for everyone. I'm sorry if it comes across as harsh, but this is something I find really upsetting, especially lately. I ask those who know me to read it through.
A lot of people get down on Bard because of its intolerance to non-liberal points of view; they write angry lj entries about Alex Weinstein's car getting trashed, and respond to student protest with negativity or apathy. One realm, however, in which this backlash is totally absent is religion. Republicans on campus are looked on semi-fondly as eccentrics. People are proud to have one conservative friend. Mention religion, though, outside of secular Judaism, and suddenly everyone's looking at you funny. I'm tired of feeling like I have a secret, or something to be ashamed of. I'm tired of the assumption that smart religious people are under some sort of social spell, like they're somehow immature, but they'll figure out the truth eventually. You can't pay lip service to the concept of "to each his own" and then claim that faith is based on fear, ignorance, weakness, or a lack of self-analysis. It's insulting, and it's going to come across as such.
I'm just as terrified of Pat Robertson as anyone else. I hate the hateful politics that people back with words like "moral compass" and "family values." Yes, the religious right is huge, scary, and very into acquiring power. Yeah, godhatesfags.com is run by a preacher, and yeah people get kicked out of church every day because they're gay or pro-choice or believe that women are full people. The culture of the church has problems -- big ones -- but the religion of the church is beautiful. It really is. There are things at its core, messages of love and forgiveness, that can do amazing things within your life. There are also passages in the Bible about the proper length of beards and how to sell your goats, but common sense, and your own heart, will tell you as you go along what is meaningful and what's not. Not all religious people fear this kind of questioning. Any religious thinker who can call him or herself an adult knows that questioning is a key part of the process. It isn't about groupthink. The beliefs are shared by many people, but you have to get to them yourself.
You know that common question about why God doesn't come to people in their times of need, when bad things are happening? Mature religious people's answer is often this: God wants to treat you like an adult. God doesn't want your faith to come from blind relief, like the love of a kid for its daddy. God wants you to believe because you want to -- because you've examined your options, armed yourself with all your skepticism, and still find that you feel at home in God.
I'm not calling myself devoutly religious, by any means. I have issues with faith. But I do call myself Catholic, and it's very important to me. I'm tired of no one respecting that. Not tolerating it -- respecting it.
For many people, their dislike of religion is a knee-jerk reaction, which is frustrating. I wish some people realized that they are just as indoctrinated as the religious wackos they laugh at. When you grow up in a place where everyone around you calls religious people "jesus freaks," and you become an adult who thinks that all religious people are fool southerners, well, then you have to examine that belief. Of course, some people have examined their dislike of religion more, Alissa, obviously, for one, but a lot of people seem to share her feeling -- "Because this is true for me, I can't understand how it's not true for everyone else." Alissa discovered at one point that the voice of God was actually her own consciousness speaking to itself. That level of self-knowledge is wonderful -- but it doesn't mean that this is the case for everyone, and it certainly doesn't mean that every person of faith is a fool living an unexamined life. Honestly, I resent the implication that religion is borne of a fear that the world is absurd and unguided. It's condescending. Reconceptualize it for yourself: rather than thinking about it as a crutch, think of it as a different worldview. Remember that when Marx said "religion is the opiate of the masses," he followed it with, "It is the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions." I think that in this statement, Marx sees religion in truer colors than most of the people who have quoted him. Basically, I interpret him thus: whether or not it's true, and even if it's bullshit, the core of religion is positive. It is about the heart and the soul. It has been used to oppress, but that is not what it is about. Jesus was not an exclusionist or a tyrant. He was a hippie, for lord's sake. And after all, he's the important one, not some fool pope who felt the need to lead an Inquisition.
So, yeah. I don't mean to be self-righteous, and I honestly believe everyone has a right to their opinion (unlike Pat Robertson). I just wish people wouldn't base their beliefs on smug presumptions about "the masses" out there. I'm not directing that toward Alissa at all. In Alissa's comments, bobthegoat wrote, "people, on the whole, are weak, stupid, and want to take the easy way out. They also hate anything that's not an absolute." I don't know who this person is, but his statement is misanthropic bullshit. It's easy to think like that, and it's lazy. It's adolescent, and, yeah, I think it's stupid.
A lot of people get down on Bard because of its intolerance to non-liberal points of view; they write angry lj entries about Alex Weinstein's car getting trashed, and respond to student protest with negativity or apathy. One realm, however, in which this backlash is totally absent is religion. Republicans on campus are looked on semi-fondly as eccentrics. People are proud to have one conservative friend. Mention religion, though, outside of secular Judaism, and suddenly everyone's looking at you funny. I'm tired of feeling like I have a secret, or something to be ashamed of. I'm tired of the assumption that smart religious people are under some sort of social spell, like they're somehow immature, but they'll figure out the truth eventually. You can't pay lip service to the concept of "to each his own" and then claim that faith is based on fear, ignorance, weakness, or a lack of self-analysis. It's insulting, and it's going to come across as such.
I'm just as terrified of Pat Robertson as anyone else. I hate the hateful politics that people back with words like "moral compass" and "family values." Yes, the religious right is huge, scary, and very into acquiring power. Yeah, godhatesfags.com is run by a preacher, and yeah people get kicked out of church every day because they're gay or pro-choice or believe that women are full people. The culture of the church has problems -- big ones -- but the religion of the church is beautiful. It really is. There are things at its core, messages of love and forgiveness, that can do amazing things within your life. There are also passages in the Bible about the proper length of beards and how to sell your goats, but common sense, and your own heart, will tell you as you go along what is meaningful and what's not. Not all religious people fear this kind of questioning. Any religious thinker who can call him or herself an adult knows that questioning is a key part of the process. It isn't about groupthink. The beliefs are shared by many people, but you have to get to them yourself.
You know that common question about why God doesn't come to people in their times of need, when bad things are happening? Mature religious people's answer is often this: God wants to treat you like an adult. God doesn't want your faith to come from blind relief, like the love of a kid for its daddy. God wants you to believe because you want to -- because you've examined your options, armed yourself with all your skepticism, and still find that you feel at home in God.
I'm not calling myself devoutly religious, by any means. I have issues with faith. But I do call myself Catholic, and it's very important to me. I'm tired of no one respecting that. Not tolerating it -- respecting it.
For many people, their dislike of religion is a knee-jerk reaction, which is frustrating. I wish some people realized that they are just as indoctrinated as the religious wackos they laugh at. When you grow up in a place where everyone around you calls religious people "jesus freaks," and you become an adult who thinks that all religious people are fool southerners, well, then you have to examine that belief. Of course, some people have examined their dislike of religion more, Alissa, obviously, for one, but a lot of people seem to share her feeling -- "Because this is true for me, I can't understand how it's not true for everyone else." Alissa discovered at one point that the voice of God was actually her own consciousness speaking to itself. That level of self-knowledge is wonderful -- but it doesn't mean that this is the case for everyone, and it certainly doesn't mean that every person of faith is a fool living an unexamined life. Honestly, I resent the implication that religion is borne of a fear that the world is absurd and unguided. It's condescending. Reconceptualize it for yourself: rather than thinking about it as a crutch, think of it as a different worldview. Remember that when Marx said "religion is the opiate of the masses," he followed it with, "It is the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions." I think that in this statement, Marx sees religion in truer colors than most of the people who have quoted him. Basically, I interpret him thus: whether or not it's true, and even if it's bullshit, the core of religion is positive. It is about the heart and the soul. It has been used to oppress, but that is not what it is about. Jesus was not an exclusionist or a tyrant. He was a hippie, for lord's sake. And after all, he's the important one, not some fool pope who felt the need to lead an Inquisition.
So, yeah. I don't mean to be self-righteous, and I honestly believe everyone has a right to their opinion (unlike Pat Robertson). I just wish people wouldn't base their beliefs on smug presumptions about "the masses" out there. I'm not directing that toward Alissa at all. In Alissa's comments, bobthegoat wrote, "people, on the whole, are weak, stupid, and want to take the easy way out. They also hate anything that's not an absolute." I don't know who this person is, but his statement is misanthropic bullshit. It's easy to think like that, and it's lazy. It's adolescent, and, yeah, I think it's stupid.