In my recent post “Disagreement Does Not Equal Intolerance” some readers called me out on what seemed to be a contradiction in my message. While the contradiction was unintended, I can understand why it was interpreted in such a way. Such is one of the reasons I have this blog… to tidy up my writing and work to be more clear, as well as working through viewpoints I have that may need refinement. In the beginning of that post I wrote:
“changing minds about religion is not my primary motivator when I talk about my worldview on this blog and other forums, or social media, and in real life …mostly I simply want to be true to myself, be authentic. Come out from the shadows. And find like-minded individuals to commiserate with,”
but then later I said:
“it is my goal that one day, faith-based religion ceases to exist.”
The simple way to clarify this apparent contradiction is to say that while it is a goal of mine that faith-based religion ceases to exist one day, it is not a primary goal of this blog, or of my decision to discuss atheism in general, or of my life for that matter. But I want to explore and expand on this idea of potentially ending faith-based religion for a while. Hopefully I will not muddy the waters further.
I have said before that I do not think all religions or ideas are on par with each other. Some are worse than others, and therefore require different levels of concern, or attention. While I believe that it is better if as a species we all stop believing in things without sufficient evidence, I have few concerns with the beliefs of a radical Jain over the beliefs of a radical Islamist. Likewise, if time travel were no object, I’d worry less about the teachings of the Catholic Church today than I would during the period of the Spanish Inquisition or the Crusades or how it is compared to many other religions. So, even if I had the power or the inclination to suddenly remove faith from your life, I wouldn’t see the need to tackle them all at once. However, since I am a Christian apostate, naturally my emphasis will be geared towards concerns I have with Christianity over other religions I may understand less.
Absurdities and Atrocities
Stepping back for a moment, the time travel exercise highlights part of why I dream of all faith-based religion ending. Although the Christian church of today is much different than it was 1000 years ago (and obviously there really is no one “Christian Church”), the fact that it has changed so drastically over the years despite allegedly having the same beginning and end game, shows that human interpretations of unclear directives from an unseeable supernatural entity are ripe with ways they can be distorted, misunderstood, and corrupted, sometimes in benign ways, but other times in horrific ways. Even if I believed the bible was the inerrant word of god, as it sits today, it is still completely unclear to most followers as to the intended meanings of most passages. Are there two people in the world that agree on the meaning of every sentence in the bible? I seriously doubt it. That is a problem. And that problem has and can still lead to bigger problems.
Voltaire summarized my concerns more clearly than I have so far:
“Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.”
The truth is, that while I am an agnostic-atheist, and obviously believe that is a world view that makes the most sense (otherwise, I’d be something else), I’m less concerned about people adopting unbelief than I am hopeful that they adopt a skeptical approach to the world. If I am to be called an evangelist or proselytizer of anything, I’d prefer it be that. I do not want to tell you what to think, which is a common denominator approach I see as a massive problem with most religions, especially those led by a hierarchy of humans. I want people to acquire the mental tools to be able to critically and skeptically think for themselves, and come to their own conclusions using the fundamentals of logic and reason. From my perspective, I believe this way of training our thought processes will most likely lead to atheism, as it has done for me, but not necessarily. Humans are adept at compartmentalizing beliefs. I have to continually work to put aside preconceived beliefs, intuition, and preferences embedded in my psyche in order to understand the natural world better. I’m still learning how to be a good skeptic, and probably will be learning for the rest of my life. It’s not an innate skill. It’s a learned skill, one not helped by our current public school system (a topic I’ll save for later) or cultural biases against logical thought. It is sad to me how many people who work in the sciences have a fundamental misunderstanding of what science even is, much less the rest of us. But because I know that most of us (myself included) are not naturally skilled at thinking scientifically, I want to do whatever I can to promote that bias. If that then leads to agnostic-atheism and total abandonment of faith-based supernatural religion, great! But if instead it leads to a higher percentage of religious scientists like Francis Collins, the director of the National Institute of Health, or like believer and evolutionary biologist Kenneth Miller, that’s at least a start. I think we’ll all be better off if scientific critical thinking dominates over irrational intuitive, dogmatic, magical thinking in pretty much every arena of our lives.
Fight for your Right!
I want to make one thing crystal clear: I would stand up for any religious person’s right to practice their religion in peace and without coercion from the government. My methods for eliminating religion end with promotion of any kind of force. If you have read my blog, you know I’m a strong advocate of Classical Liberal points of view, which espouse the right to live as one sees fit so long as the rights of others are likewise respected. My approach to ending religion by adopting skeptical thinking is purely based in rhetoric, with the exception of instances where religious freedom tramples on the Constitution, or the rights of others. I believe in the power of ideas and words, and my way of promoting skepticism and atheism is by educating, discussing, and sharing personal experience to induce introspection. Or, because I am not necessarily the best thinker the world has to offer on such issues, by promoting the words of others who have more clearly articulated viewpoints I agree with (if you have not read Sam Harris’ [easyazon-link asin=”B003V1WT72″ locale=”us”]The Moral Landscape[/easyazon-link] or Steven Pinker’s [easyazon-link asin=”B0052REUW0″ locale=”us”]The Better Angels of Our Nature[/easyazon-link] or Jared Diamond’s [easyazon-link asin=”B000VDUWMC” locale=”us”]Guns, Germs, and Steel[/easyazon-link] what on earth are you waiting for?).
Always Look on the Bright Side of Life!
I often hear some version of “why would you want to take away a person’s joy by denying them their faith?” In short, I don’t want to take away anyone’s joy. I think our lives should be about promoting joy and reducing sorrow. For me, that is a primary “meaning of life.” Unfortunately, sometimes these goals are in conflict. If we all lived in a private bubble where our thoughts and subsequent actions based on those thoughts never impacted others, then I would say believe in whatever nonsense you wish to your heart’s content. Whatever makes you happy, makes me happy.
But that is simply not how the world and human beings work. Ideas you and I have affect the decisions we make in nearly every aspect of our lives, and as social primates, those decisions impact others, from our children and family, to our friends, to strangers. Case in point: The whole argument against gay marriage is almost entirely a religiously based argument attempting to prevent what should be a secular decision. That is a very real example of how religious beliefs – even of generally kind and generous people – can limit the choices of others who do not hold those beliefs. Or if you want a more graphic example, recently in the news was the story of this child who’s parents prevented him from getting medical attention due to religious beliefs. This baby should still be alive today. I’m sure many people thought his parents were friendly and loving and should be left alone to practice their faith. No one stood up for the child being corrupted by these terrible ideas until it was too late. What’s worse… this was this couple’s second child who died due to religion inflicted neglect.
Ultimately, what I care most about is finding a way to increase the well-being of conscious creatures, with a premium emphasis on the well-being of Humans, while limiting or eliminating suffering. This is a difficult sea to navigate with many unclear choices, but I believe that it is through science and reason we will be best equipped to truly identify behaviors and strategies that get us closer to that goal. Religious beliefs often arbitrarily restrict our morale thinking for bad or unnecessary reasons, often rooted in ancient – and often wrong — understanding of how humans think and feel and work. More so, as neuroscientists are discovering every day, we can have many of the same gratifying spiritual experiences without actual belief in the supernatural. I suggest you google “God Helmet” for an interesting read. The human mind is an amazing organ. We are only beginning to crack it open and understand what it is capable of and why. Let’s base our moral choices on our best understandings of reality, not superstition. 
Similar to the goals of the religious evangelist, as a skeptical (or if you must, atheist) “evangelist,” I seek to make the world a better place for all humans. One way I choose to do this is by writing, because it is one skill I am most adept at comparatively to my other skills. For the Christian, or Muslim, or other religious people, their evangelism is often expressed by promoting behaviors that lead to a rewarding afterlife. Unfortunately, those behaviors often lead to terrible ways of treating living humans here on earth. There may be a heaven, but the only thing I know for sure is that there is a life on earth. Right now. I want us all to spend our lives focused on achieving heaven on earth for our fellow human beings. For me, that’s what it’s all about.
So don’t worry… I have no immediate plans to vote to end religion anytime soon, nor do I think religion will be eliminated in my lifetime (or maybe ever… sigh), but I do intend to keep talking. Can I get an Amen? No? No worries.
Cheers,
PersephoneK
