Questioning Religion

The fundamental problem with religion is that it stifles inquisitiveness and learning, instead thrusting the worshipper into a world of blind acceptance. 

I once had a pair of Jehovah's Witnesses come to my door and engage in trivial small talk which was no doubt a lead in to their usual sales pitch. One of them, a reasonably elderly lady for whom my concerns lay on how she made it up the hill of my street in the first place, started commenting on my, at the time, reasonably healthy looking garden.

"That plant right there," she pointed to a lush looking Kangaroo Paw, "Have you ever wondered how it got there?"

"Yes," I replied. "I planted it."

Where she was going suggests that the answer lay at the feet of Jehovah, not me and my aching back from a day of gardening earlier in the month. She was also going to overlook chemistry, physics, evolution, the cycle of life and how one thing interacts with another in a scientific sense. For her, not only was the answer 'God', there was no PS to add to that answer. She questioned nothing, aside from my non-believing attitude. And what is worse about this aspect of it, is that it wasn't my answer that she was disapproving of, it's that my answer wasn't the same as hers, because had it been the same, we could have both moved along...unquestioning of anything.

The very nature, if that's the right word...perhaps I mean, at the core of every religion is the requirement for those worshipping to accept what they are being told without question, and they are usually being told things by one individual who refers to one reference book. It's not always the same book of course, but it's always just one. This isn't a recipe for growth and that makes sense when you look at religion, because it hasn't really grown in thousands of years. The answers that were 'true' back in the past are the same answers today.

Relating this to politics, and as usual, I'll try not to offend, rather point out how we are all a little bit hypocritical in all this, but for most of us our faith in our political beliefs is no different to a blind faith in a selected religion.

Consider this...if you're reading this, you probably believe in Climate Change. There is nothing that is going to sway your belief in Climate Change.

"But there's scientific evidence to support Climate Change!"

Correct, but think about how angry and annoyed you get when someone attempts to argue the point with you. Think about how infuriating it is when you engage in a debate with a climate change denier.
Now understand that that feeling, the feeling of "Ugh, how come you can't get it, why are you denying what is obvious!!??", is the exact same feeling the religious person feels when someone like me argues AGAINST their beliefs.

Whether your position is cemented through science or faith, the feelings when your views are challenged are the same. Sure, there will be some of us who say "well, I'm open to having my knowledge expanded or views challenged", but how often do people who believe things change their mind?

Now back to questioning religion, which is somewhat relevant at the moment given Prime Minister Scott Morrison's recent revelations that he is "doing God's work" and surreptitiously praying for people whilst touching them. Twitter, my chosen platform for daily rantings, erupted in the usual way over this issue with the expected divide between those on the right, but there was a difference...time for my Venn Diagram skills...

As you can see, within the group of both LNP voters (or conservatives in general) and ALP voters (or progressives in general), there is a connecting group, that being religious folks. Now sure, the gold circle could probably be even further to the LNP side, but the point remains, there are religious people on both sides of the ledger. So what we have found is suddenly some people on the left of politics are saying "hey, Scott Morrison may be a cretin, but don't pick on his faith."

I'd also suggest that the people saying this fall into two groups;

a- Those who aren't religious, but recognise that belief in religion is generally less able to be budged or criticised than political beliefs and that by having a go at Morrison, no matter how nutty his proclamations, you can't mock religion and expect to win the debate, and,

b- Those who are also religious and feel personally attacked when anyone criticises religion.

There is often an interesting crossover of attitudes when it comes to religion and specific political issues which aren't inherently political in this country. A lot of people arguing against Climate Change action are religious and as part of their arguments against Climate Change, require proof. Likewise, there will be a lot of religious folks on the left who also support action ON Climate Change and offer up proof to support their position...unlike their religion.

Questioning religion brings out the worst in people. It brings out the worst in me because I become annoyed and probably a bit aggressive or grumpy when people attempt to push their views onto me and require no proof for what they are selling. People defending it become unreasonably arrogant when preaching the non-requirement of proof to justify their position.

This is why we have a separation between church and state. Have your religion if it brings you comfort, but it should not be in the parliament, nor should it be used in an attempt to stamp your authority or worthiness for your position. 

Parliament should be about our representatives making reasoned and rational decisions for everyone in the country. Religion is neither reasoned or rational. 

When Scott Morrison is standing in his church, we can ignore him and his religion. When he is standing anywhere else, he is OUR representative and we should demand he leave his religion at the altar.

llama
@SirWonderLlama