Losing my Religion

I have recently been driven to evolving my previously static thoughts on the whole complicated and often controversial God Issue. Having been brought up a 'major catholic' and if truth be told been a little 'hard-line' in my past, I had settled into a giving the whole debate what can only be described as a stiff ignoring. The arrival of my children at a questioning age means I have had to develop a position....

And here, at the moment are my current thoughts...

To begin with I have nothing against the Catholic Faith per se, but as I hope to explain  I am against the whole idea of faith ‘handed down’ through the generations.  I fundamentally believe that there are universal moral ideals of right and wrong, from which we as humans have developed our sense of justice. The origin of this deep seated feeling may well be a higher spiritual power, and although I have no proof, I believe deep down there to be a higher power of some sort who loves creation with an unconditional love.

This unconditional love is important and is one of the main reasons that whilst I accept a higher power, I reject all forms of organised conditional religion as a mechanism to access this higher power. All religions claim the truth, demand  strict conditions and have been created by men to control men (and more often than not to subjugate women) – is that really the way to access an unconditional source of love?  I argue that the source of most of the misery in the world is fundamental belief which refuses to compromise and rejects reason. This fundamental beliefs main weapon in order to succeed is always faith. Be it the Nazis, the Communists, the Catholic Church, Muslims, Cults, Masons, Evangelicals or Green Peace; all base their arguments ultimately on faith in the absence of compelling evidence to support their assertions. I also reject other ‘faith’ based practises which have no basis in fact, such as the majority of alternative medicine, the occult, faith healers, spiritualists etc.   

In order to embed this faith within the followers of the movement a variety of psychological practises are used, ceremony, precedence, authority, social proof etc, by far one of the most insidious ways that this brainwashing occurs is by targeting children before they have the mental capacity to make their own choices.  I myself have suffered with this during my upbringing.  By associating my love for my Mum and hers for me with a belief in Catholicism (the same can be said for the love of God), reinforced by schooling I was prevented from making my own choices as to what I believed until after my mum died and I was freed from the guilt to make my own choices. It was deeply unfair that I was made to feel guilty and uncomfortable whilst learning about evolution, physics or the history of the universe (which is wondrous) because I felt I was betraying my mum’s belief in 7 day creation etc – I will see no such intellectually stifling guilt passed onto my children.  Since making my way in the world I have seen many horrors visited upon human beings by their fellow human beings, I believe that certain behaviours are right and certain are wrong, and all of us deep down understand the difference (unless they are sociopaths).  A persons actions should be judged by the actions alone, too often under the banner of religion or fundamental belief as I prefer to call it, I have witnessed evil deeds performed by misguided good men and evil men excusing evil in religions name; The Croatian Catholics, evil people using the ‘catholic church’ to do good by ethnically cleansing villages, the misguided suicide bomber, often an  ordinary children with a good heart perverted by fundamentalism into killing innocents.

 History is littered with such examples from Gulag death squads to the Cathar Crusade, mankind using their faith to justify what they deep down know to be wrong – only fundamental belief can do this. The roasted pork my Muslim friend Bash avoids because it feels wrong is part of the same ‘faith’ which led to the twin towers, as soon as reason is dispelled all is possible from witch hunts to the final solution, people must think for themselves and take responsibility.  I spoke at length to Mullahs in Afghanistan, often good men but clearly a major part of the problem within that society, to me they were clearly misguided even tragically comical. However, I thought this because they were alien to my culture, had I been born in a Muslim family (a random act of fate) I would have had a completely different view on their ‘madness’.  An Afghan expressed amusement to me about our own Anglican padre who they thought was crazy and confused – the only difference between us was the cultural prism through which the different fundamental beliefs were viewed.  I did get the children christened but for cultural and family reasons in the same way I enjoy Christmas and Bonfire night,  it is part of who we are as a family- this may well be an example of gross hypocrisy for which I apologise but do not regret.  

My Children will grow up (I hope) to respect life and act according to a deep seated sense of right and wrong, an ability to asses ideas and situations individually based on the evidence available and take full responsibility for their actions -they do not require a priest / rabbi / guru / pastor or mullah to do this. If when they are adults they wish to explore any faith they will do so forearmed with critical thinking and mature emotions.  I believe believe in a higher power and am happy with my access to it.

Regards