Can you recommend a religion?
To some religion should always be talked about with great respect. For them, religion is different from economics or political science or literature, because it touches upon the deepest beliefs and feelings a person might have. It's one thing to critique or make fun of shakespeare, it's quite another to critique or make fun of the bible.
But isn't this position intellectually dishonest? It seems to boil down to the following statement: "Use your full critical capacity when examining all spheres of life - except for religion. When it comes to religion, leave those critical capacities at the door." Here at the Left Hand of God, we believe religion is worthy of the same merciless rigor with which we should examine all expressions of our humanity.
In fact, we like John Dewey. For Dewey the main problem with religion was not this or that article of belief. The problem was not that it required believing stuff that given modern science it's now hard to believe. It's deeper. Religion requires a mode of imparting truth that is just not compatible with a democratic society. Religions impart truth from the top down - when it comes to truth they're hierarchical and often authoritarian. Democracies, on the other hand, need open debate and discussion to flourish. You just can't have a thriving democracy when people are not allowed to challenge authority, when truth is given once and for all.
What kind of religion would you recommend for a democracy? The whole idea of recommending a religion sounds strange. But should it?
posted by elivo at 5:32 PM
6 Comments:
"religion is worthy of the same merciless rigor..."
i agree. but maybe we don't know enough about it beyond what we get from scriptures and such.
i think religion is put in another realm. shakespeare was human...anything in his writing we know came from a human mind, it denotes human perspectives, human everything!!
religion...is a bit different. there's a whole side of it that we cannot even begin to fathom?! (or can we? maybe too lazy to start?)
maybe that's why we don't critique it as vigorously as shakespeare?!
just a thought...hehe, i know this is not where you were going.
am i the only one reading this?! seriously, i need a life.
lc
surprisingly, 63 views yesterday...
yayyy!!!!
how about jainism, "the friendly religion." it's always good for democracy to try a little tenderness.
i don't think people want democracy in religion. many seem to love thinking that their religion is the one true religion and don't enjoy seriously comparing others. it's quite threatening don't you think?
Hello! My name is Corine. You probably don't remember me but I took your Religion and Interpreters class about..wow..2 years ago. I'm currently in Hong Kong on an international Christian music ministry and I hope I post this comment correctly because all of the buttons are in Chinese. I'm excited you started this blog. I enjoy reading your ideas. I do have a question about this post. I'm not sure if saying that religion has not been tested by our mental facilities is a valid argument. Is there substance to this claim? I feel like many great thinkers, philosophers, theologians, scientists,... have tested the claims of various religions. I have the most experience and knowledge about Christianity so I mainly refer to this religion. (Isn't it amazing that many of the religious claims still stand even thousands of years later and people believe they receive truth in them when many theories in other areas have actually been proven completely false-sorry for the topic change)It seems as though religion has also inspired some of our greatest discoveries in science and the human condition, maybe even encouraged our pursuit of knowledge and the use of our mental capacities. Of course there are instances against this advancement but is that fair to assume about religion in general? (Plus I don't believe any discoveries in modern science makes faith any less believable. As far as Christianity goes, there is absolutely nothing in science that disproves any Christian doctrine; hard to believe-yes, but that's why its called faith, right?) I hope you are doing well. Have fun with soccer!
Sincerely,
Corine
corineashley@yahoo.com
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