Religious privilege, some insights.
This isn't a small idea. It's big. It doesn't fit in a sentence or even a paragraph. Some people might find it offensive because I am questioning things they consider part of their identity. I mean NONE of this personally. If you don't feel up to it, please skip on. There are better presentations of most of the topics I touch on out on the web, from people who are better word and thought smiths than I.
It's a difficult thing, when you strive to be an ally, to run into someone poking at your privilege. The whole #notallmen/#yesallwomen thing grew out of it. I know I've thought "But... I'm on your side of this..." all too often. Even when I wasn't really being criticized personally. It can be hard to observe when it's your own visceral reaction, and I'd never had the opportunity of watching someone else go through this up close. That is until quite recently.
Now... some background: I'm an Atheist. A Naturalist, an Empiricist, a Humanist, and an Atheist. I even occasionally go so far as to be an anti-theist when I'm feeling particularly grumpy (like today.) This puts me at the bottom of the religious privilege ladder here in the US. Lack of belief in any god to most people implies that I lack moral direction because... hell I don't know why. It's the claim that pisses me off the most.
Anyway... Girlfriend is a member of a very liberal PCUSA church (Church just voted to allow same-sex marriage, and her particular congregation is on the liberal end of that.) She personally /is/ an ally. We agree on most points of philosophy etc.
Recently, an article came to my attention that gave voice to something that I had been ruminating over and trying to work through my intuition on, namely that liberal ecumenical religion is dangerous because it gives cover to the crazies. It says it's OK to believe you know God's will, that you are doing God's work, that God is active in the world today. Fanatical terrorists and the people who preach the 'Prosperity Gospel' and nonsense like "Katrina was to punish the gays" base their entire crazy on those points. Liberal theists will disagree wholly with the conclusions those groups reach but they defend and give justification to the premises.
So I started going over my thoughts... and the reaction I got was at first surprising, and then very very familiar: Hurt, personal, deep emotional pain. And lacking thirty years of learning how to cope with it like I have (and I still don't perfectly,) it cut really deep. And then I recognized it. It's the same way I feel when "Men are violent rapists" comes up. It's why, even if I'm well known and recognized at her church, I never feel at ease. And I never will, because I know I have to pretend to be something that I'm not.
I am no fan of stupid patriarchy and I fight it how I can. I think it's a cultural complex that hurts everyone. I'm not a fan of religiosity either, for the same reasons. I have heard it said that "It isn't religion, it's how people have used it!" often enough, and perhaps this is true. The same can be said of explosives, firearms, and yes, patriarchy. Anyone who would suggest the first two go unregulated is pretty much not thinking, and I think the analogy carries over.
Which brings us to... the topic of the week: The law in Indiana that has caused such an uproar. It's bad in the way 'Stop And Frisk' and 'Stand Your Ground' laws are bad. It gives more power to an already dangerous cultural complex, one that has been used to justify atrocity after atrocity. And before some of you start to invoke the horrors of Stalinism, Maoism and Pol Pot, take note that all of those were discredited within a century where religion has remained proof for thousands of years.
I know I have various believers among my readers. I know that I need to state this: This isn't a criticism of /you/ or what /you/ personally believe. It is a criticism of of the cultural complex of religion. It isn't about what your religious texts say or whether the perpetrators are following the 'true spirit' of their faith. It is about how that cultural complex is used, and to what ends. It is used to justify horrors. It is used to justify racism and sexism. If all who believe are brothers and sisters, take a close look at what those brothers and sisters are doing... and consider if you want them as part of your family.
It's a difficult thing, when you strive to be an ally, to run into someone poking at your privilege. The whole #notallmen/#yesallwomen thing grew out of it. I know I've thought "But... I'm on your side of this..." all too often. Even when I wasn't really being criticized personally. It can be hard to observe when it's your own visceral reaction, and I'd never had the opportunity of watching someone else go through this up close. That is until quite recently.
Now... some background: I'm an Atheist. A Naturalist, an Empiricist, a Humanist, and an Atheist. I even occasionally go so far as to be an anti-theist when I'm feeling particularly grumpy (like today.) This puts me at the bottom of the religious privilege ladder here in the US. Lack of belief in any god to most people implies that I lack moral direction because... hell I don't know why. It's the claim that pisses me off the most.
Anyway... Girlfriend is a member of a very liberal PCUSA church (Church just voted to allow same-sex marriage, and her particular congregation is on the liberal end of that.) She personally /is/ an ally. We agree on most points of philosophy etc.
Recently, an article came to my attention that gave voice to something that I had been ruminating over and trying to work through my intuition on, namely that liberal ecumenical religion is dangerous because it gives cover to the crazies. It says it's OK to believe you know God's will, that you are doing God's work, that God is active in the world today. Fanatical terrorists and the people who preach the 'Prosperity Gospel' and nonsense like "Katrina was to punish the gays" base their entire crazy on those points. Liberal theists will disagree wholly with the conclusions those groups reach but they defend and give justification to the premises.
So I started going over my thoughts... and the reaction I got was at first surprising, and then very very familiar: Hurt, personal, deep emotional pain. And lacking thirty years of learning how to cope with it like I have (and I still don't perfectly,) it cut really deep. And then I recognized it. It's the same way I feel when "Men are violent rapists" comes up. It's why, even if I'm well known and recognized at her church, I never feel at ease. And I never will, because I know I have to pretend to be something that I'm not.
I am no fan of stupid patriarchy and I fight it how I can. I think it's a cultural complex that hurts everyone. I'm not a fan of religiosity either, for the same reasons. I have heard it said that "It isn't religion, it's how people have used it!" often enough, and perhaps this is true. The same can be said of explosives, firearms, and yes, patriarchy. Anyone who would suggest the first two go unregulated is pretty much not thinking, and I think the analogy carries over.
Which brings us to... the topic of the week: The law in Indiana that has caused such an uproar. It's bad in the way 'Stop And Frisk' and 'Stand Your Ground' laws are bad. It gives more power to an already dangerous cultural complex, one that has been used to justify atrocity after atrocity. And before some of you start to invoke the horrors of Stalinism, Maoism and Pol Pot, take note that all of those were discredited within a century where religion has remained proof for thousands of years.
I know I have various believers among my readers. I know that I need to state this: This isn't a criticism of /you/ or what /you/ personally believe. It is a criticism of of the cultural complex of religion. It isn't about what your religious texts say or whether the perpetrators are following the 'true spirit' of their faith. It is about how that cultural complex is used, and to what ends. It is used to justify horrors. It is used to justify racism and sexism. If all who believe are brothers and sisters, take a close look at what those brothers and sisters are doing... and consider if you want them as part of your family.