Bogosity

Most of new-wave atheist writers have asserted that religion is damaging and harmful not just to society but to the individual. Yet many people find religion helpful and there are a great many religious people who have an outlook of peace, compassion and social justice. So where is the line between ‘good’ religion and ‘bad’ religion? What is the difference between religion that leads to violence and religion that leads to peace?

I was speaking with the fool who writes Foolish Times the other day and we discussed the typical Christian response to Dawkins’ and his fellows of dismissing and refuting their claims. What if we were to respond with less aggression? Aren’t we the faith founded by a guy who thought we should turn the other cheek? The thing is that critics of religion do have a point. There is a certain type of religious person who is narrow minded, lacks imagination and wants to impose their values on everyone else. There are religious leaders who go uncriticised by their peers for saying dreadful things. There is religious segregation in Australia as well as around the world. And there have been some fanatics blowing things up with bombs in the name of God (whether it be Jesus, Mohammad or Krishna)

Getting back to a personal level and looking at how religion affects the individual, it’s also a case of definitions. What some define as harmful and unhelpful, others say is good. Take ascetics for example: they might self flagellate, wear hair shirts and go without food. I have no experience of this but there is a religious framework around this idea of taming desire for the sake of a more spiritual outlook. From the outside, this practice looks awful. But then I think about our sports stars who also punish their bodies and push themselves beyond pain. We glorify and celebrate them.

So I thought I might try and put a list together of the things that are commonly perceived as being facets of religion that are ‘bad’ and damaging and maybe I’ll get time to consider some of them more closely (or maybe I’ll forget all about this and move onto something else but this is a start)

• Authority and abuse of power – religious leaders tell people what to do. Religious people are pressured into doing harmful things by internalised religious doctrine, peer pressure and direct pressure from leaders.
• Xenophobia – religions create an ‘us and them’ situation. Often the religious person sees themselves as superior to those outside their faith and may even find this as justification for violence. They might also isolate themselves in order to remain pure.
• Irrationality – religions encourage people to make decisions based on faith rather than thinking them through. This might mean that the person suffers needlessly.

Can you think of anymore to add to this list? I just want to make it clear that I don’t think that these things are isolated to religion but that these are common complaints about religion. What I want to know is if I can come up with a set of criteria that sets ‘bad’ religion apart from ‘good’ religion.