Negotiating a truce

So it was bound to happen. I once again made someone cry during a heated discussion about religion. She wasn't even religious. She was merely defending the right for someone to be a bigot, and I snapped. She was upset and told me to stop swearing about it, so I turned on her and near enough shouted 'there are no words severe enough to condemn this utter evil' and proceeded to claim that it was a 'human duty to attack religion wherever it was found and on all levels'.

While I would of course be lying if I said that those words don't still make me chuckle I have decided that I am probably in need of some anger therapy. Nothing gets me more worked up than the sight of bright young people falling victim to an institution which is designed solely to prey on the desperate. 'I was bullied in high school for being fat and I found comfort by adopting a doctrine of evil' How selfish are they? How weak!? How blind!?!' - is something else I may have said.

It was all because I bought this new book, 'microtrends' written by the devil himself, Mark Penn (a devil because he is contracted to work for Hillary Clinton's election team). In it he quotes a study that says since 1960 the number of women in America graduating from theology schools and entering the clergy has increased dramatically. Meanwhile, over that same period, ALL churches that have allowed women clergy have rapidly declined in popularity, while those that ban them have seen a rapid increase. This fact immediately made me think about all those smart young girls in Arkansas that every sunday and wednesday pledged their allegiance to an institution that regarded them as utterly inferior and good for nothing but rearing the next generation of southern bigots. The blood started to boil, the heart started thumping and I got that warm feeling of pure rage in my stomach.

I know this is not healthy for me. I also know that it is not based on entirely correct assumptions. I can not deny that religion can have a good side. When not preaching hatred churches occasionally raise money for good causes, they can provide support for drug users and in the devastating aftermath of hurricane Katrina, many took the opposing view of their government, and decided to help out (even if it was mostly a case of white churches helping other branches of their white franchise). Better still, HOPE international which works around the world is a micro-finance group working with kiva.org - founded by a church from Pennsylvania. They are currently investing my $25 in a woman who sells bras. So churches really can be supportive.

Accordingly I can often justify the existence of organised religion on the grounds that it is often the lesser of evils. Here in the UK it is disgustingly common to see people abusing alcohol and drugs. Broken families spawn children that disrupt classes and steal your wallet, then go on to gobble up generous amounts of tax payers money by getting themselves in jail. Walking the streets of Scotland and witnessing the native heathen population tear itself apart while the Catholics from Poland, and the Muslims from Asia, get on with the job of bettering the country is often an uncomfortable sight.

If only their parents felt shame at the concept of divorce and had decided to stay together in a vicious cycle of domestic abuse, then the kid would have had double the amount of adult guidance when growing up. If only the kid was Catholic and was desperate to embark on a condom stealing 'mission' to Africa, then he would shun the life of crime and devote his energies to learning a new language. If only he was afraid of divine retribution for losing his virginity before marriage, then he would have ensured that he and his girlfriend remained firmly within the boundaries of fellatio and anal sex, so the kid he didn't want and can't afford would never have been born.

See? It can do good. So, accordingly I have decided that I need to join a church, perhaps getting to know the enemy a second time will be better for me than Arkansas was. I need a church that throws the bible right out of the window and treats women, gays and blacks (no curse of ham nonsense for me thank you very much) as fellow human beings. Fortunately my own Anglican church provides just that.

Perhaps it is worth another look. Because if the post-Christian world of Europe has taught us anything, it is that without employing dogma and fairy tales it is very hard to control people.