For as it was written, the seas did boil, and the mountains crumble, and the stars did fall from the heavens, and letters were returned marked 'Insufficient postage', and the toast did burn, and the very Blogosphere itself was torn asunder by fiery cinnamon-flavoured chaos...
The famed Atrios wrote a posting on religion, bemoaning religion's influence over politics, even on the so-called Left. This distresses me, too. Every single Democratic presidential candidate had to beat the God drum at some point in their campaign, because the American populace gobbles up religion like it was dick. Remember how Dean took lots of flak from certain Democratic forces for being insufficiently religious? Yeah, you remember that. Don't try to fool me.
Atrios was good and snippy, and full of beans, and no sir, no no no, he did not want to wear that 'Have you hugged your Jesus today?' button. But he wasn't on the attack. (I am.) Religion is pervasive throughout America and throughout American politics; and it shouldn't be. Religion has no place in political discourse. On the Democratic side as well as on the Republican side. Just as it has no place in public education. Now, there's absolutely zero chance of getting religion out of politics, but that doesn't mean that those of us who aren't religious have to like it. And it doesn't mean that those of us who aren't running for office have to kiss Jesus' ass to help attract the Christian vote.
Then this fella here came along and launched an attack on the Mycenean One. And it got my dander up, for it grossly misrepresents what Atrios actually wrote. And he seems to understand precisely squat about atheists. For example, he writes...
A few people, me included, have questioned why some on the political left react with such anger toward the religious community – regardless of our theological beliefs or social stands.
It's really quite simple. It has nothing to do with politics whatsoever: people who dislike religion--like, for example, me: I am the archetype for every stone this person casts--don't dislike it for political reasons. They dislike it, by and large, because it's religion. By definition, an atheist rejects all faiths, and while it is possible to do so in a kindly, good-natured sort of way, it's really difficult, once you decide religion is not for you, not to develop a sort of blanket distaste for all religion. Because religion makes no sense. Religion demands that its adherents accept things that are wildly incompatible with what we observe of the world around us. God makes no sense. A Christian person could belong to the Church of Howard Dean and campaign for the nationalisation of utilities and universal health care and his God still would make no sense. There are plenty of progressive Christians and Jews and Buddhists and Muslims and Hindus and Sikhs and Jains and Zoroastrians and animists and Jedi out there, and godless people like me are glad they're progressive, but that doesn't make their religious beliefs any more palatable or any more logical, and while I, for one, am willing to embrace their progressivism, I am not going to embrace their faith. I can't pretend to like or respect their irrational beliefs, even if it would draw in more voters to progressivism: it would be hypocritical of me.
The gentleman then says...
Unfortunately, his remarks on religion are spiteful and bigoted and must be answered.
...When Atrios' remarks were no such thing. He never attacked any religion or doctrine or person. I would, in fact, argue that it is impossible to be bigoted against religion. Disliking conservativism isn't bigotry. Disliking religion is just the same. There's nothing wrong with disliking someone's beliefs when you find them disagreeable. Am I bigoted against Rush Limbaugh fans because I think they're deluded, bitter, and anti-intellectual? No sir! Am I bigoted against neoconservatives because their policies keep fucking the world over harder and harder? No ma'am! Am I bigoted against the Roman Catholic Church because I find its positions on homosexuality, birth control, and lots of other things despicable? Hardly! Am I bigoted against the Church of Latter-Day Saints because it's just as bad? Not in the least. My dislikes of all these belief systems are very reasonable, I think, and I could hardly fail to dislike them given my own ethical and political views. That is not bigotry. That is disagreement. Impassioned disagreement, with a side of malice, but still disagreement.
Where's the cut-off for bigotry?
It's okay to attack someone's religious views; they choose to believe these things, and Christianity is not an intrinsic trait, like being gay, or black, or a woman. It is not okay to attack someone because they are religious. The views are not the person. It is okay for me to say that God is silly. It would not be okay for me to dish out personal abuse to someone just because they happened to be Catholic. And I don't do any such thing. I just dish out abuse to the Church. Which is inanimate and has no feelings, so it's okay.
It is a fact that lots and lots of Americans believe that I am going to burn in Hell for all eternity for being an unrepentant gay atheist. I think it's perfectly reasonable for me to reply 'How about a nice tall glass of shut up and go fuck yourself?' to such people.
You need to listen to the song 'Nice Weather for Ducks' by Lemon Jelly, right now. I mean it. Do not delay!
Have you listened? Are you back? Yes? Very good. Let us continue.
Clearly, Atrios is hostile towards religion and obviously uneducated over the hard work done by religious progressives over the nation’s history to fight for social justice. On many issues (slavery, nuclear weapons, globalization, etc) Christians have been at the table long before the secular community.
Now this is a lot more attack-like than anything Atrios wrote...And it's arrogant, and dismissive of anyone non-Christian. And a load of hooey. Religious progressives have done good things, and no-one will deny that. But non-religious progressives have done good things, too, and we would still have progressivism even in a world completely devoid of religion, and don't try to pretend otherwise. And religious conservatives have done lots of bad things; non-religious conservatives have done plenty of bad things, too, and we would still have conservativism even in a world completely devoid of religion. Many Christian persons loved slavery, and didn't want women to vote, and today love globalisation and nuclear proliferation (ahem, John Ashcroft. Ahem, George Bush). There is no correlation between someone's being religious and their being progressive, or even moral, or anything except religious.
Historically speaking, trumpeting past triumphs of progressive religion as opposed to progressive secularism is manifestly unfair, given that for most of the last two hundred years or so in America it has been socially unacceptable to be openly secular at all, and the secular are still marginalised politically.
On a cheerier note, here is a religion devoted to Jediism: The Jedi Religion.
Before anyone gets the impression that I hold all religions in uttermost contempt, keep in mind that I quite like the Anglican Church. Which is to say, more specifically, I quite like Archbishop Rowan Williams. He quite enjoyed Phillip Pullman, and impresses me as a thoughtful, good-intentioned, compassionate man who can work and play well with those who don't share his religious beliefs.
And I am really getting into Lemon Jelly.
Archbishop Rowan Williams would not attack Atrios.
So there.
I am an angry little man, and I do hate religion. And that is just fine.
Posted by aloysius at April 25, 2004 12:32 PM | TrackBack |