A question that is often debated is: Would the world be better or worse without religion. I would like to unpick that a little. For many people, faith gives them comfort in times of great distress. I don’t think that can be refuted.
It’s sometimes also argued it makes them better citizens, more humane and responsive to the needs of others. I think that is doubtful. For a variety of reasons, people come in a wide spectrum of good and bad. It does not seem unduly affected by which religion they espouse or if they reject the lot.
But if we restrict the debate to Organised Religion, and the discussion becomes, would the world (i.e. the people of the world) be better off without it, I think it becomes rather clearer.
My own approach is entirely pragmatic. So let’s look at the evidence. There are some pretty sweeping generalisations here and you may disagree with some or all of them. But I think they are a bit more than personal prejudices, and are a reasonably objective look at the world.
So firstly, would you say that Muslims are more devote than Hindus?
In my opinion, unquestionably so. That is not to say there are not devout Hindus or secular Muslims. But looking at the overall sweep of the two, it seems clear to me that Muslims are the more attached to their faith. Now, compare India with Pakistan, which is the more stable, liberal and prosperous? There are other Muslims countries that are prosperous, mainly because Westerners discovered and exploited oil in their lands. But there are no comparable non-Muslim countries to easily compare them with.
Secondly, would you say Muslims are more devout than Christians?
Again I think indisputably, they are. Islam permeates every aspect of their lives. It could just be a coincidence that Muslim countries are, without exception, in the Third World. Muslims countries with liberal democracies, equality of the sexes, toleration of minority groups including Gays and respect for free speech are vanishingly rare. I actually don’t know of any.
Any sign of a pattern emerging here?
Lastly, let’s bring this right back home. Would you say Roman Catholics are more devout than Protestants?
I would say they are. When the Pope dies (or resigns) millions mourn, often in a most incontinent way. When a new Pope is elected there are paroxysms of joy throughout the Catholic world. When an Anglican Archbishop resigns and a new one is appointed it barely creates a ripple, even amongst the most faithful. Church attendance is generally much higher in Catholic congregations (although somewhat dented recently by recent disclosures of child abuse and the organised cover-ups by the Church establishment). In many communities the Priest hold positions of authority and power in the community, never really equalled in the Protestant church.
Now let’s take a look at their territories in Europe. The Southern European countries are overwhelmingly Catholic and the Northern ones mostly Protestant. Which group are the most prosperous, liberal, wealthiest, least corrupt and have a long standing democratic heritage?
When I look at this picture it seems abundantly clear the less Organised Religion you have the better your society will be. By ‘better’ I mean wealthier, more liberal, less corrupt and more tolerant and more democratic.
You may well point out that “correlation is not causation” a well known principle. And it is true, it is not. But it is suggestive of a connection. Organised Religion may not directly cause any of the problems I have pointed out. But the links are so strong (I believe) if you do not accept they are largely caused by the “Religion Effect” I think you have to demonstrate an alternative explanation of the very strong correlation.
As a footnote, I did say I was dealing in pretty sweeping generalities. There will be exceptions, possibly many exceptions. But I submit, not enough to undermine the general thrust of the argument.
The other point often raised in any discussion of Religion versus Secularism is the famous Atheist State – The Soviet Union. An avowedly atheist state that was at least as murderous as a religious regime and on a much greater scale than any of them. It subjugated it’s people, kept them in poverty and murdered, tortured and oppressed anybody who dared oppose it in the smallest way.
It was a new phenomenon: The Godless Religious State. In everything but name Communism was (and still is) a religion. It has its prophet (Karl Marx) and his holy book (Das Kapital) it had its Saints (Trotsky, Lenin etc) its Popes, its Cardinals, its Bishops, and its Priests right down to the lay helpers of all classes. Its word was holy, could not be questioned and must be obeyed. It was the source of all goodness and devils (capitalists) lay in wait for anybody who strayed from the true path. The worse crime was Heresy. And many died for it.
Stalin was at a Catholic Seminary for trainee priests. He would have observed the ways of the Church and learned the power of their systems. So it’s not surprising he adopted so many of their methods.
But notwithstanding all of the above, there is one central distinguishing feature that shows the religious character of Communism. Faith. For most religions Faith is something that requires belief without evidence.
Communism took that a stage further. It demanded Faith in the face of clear evidence against its teachings. Communism clearly did not work. But, above all - a Communist had to believe. One day in some ill defined future, everything would come right. Heaven was right there waiting – only this time it was on Earth.
So far from being secular, the Soviet Union was right up there with the greatest Theocracies. Even compared to Iran, the secular power of the Communist Pope to control the minds and bodies of his devotees was far greater.
Of course Communism finally imploded but while it existed it matched the "more religion equals worse society" hypothesis rather well. It has changed now of course, but the Russian people have never been very keen on a good society or individual happiness (except for a very few). So they are busy re-forging their chains by reinstating the prestige, wealth and power of the Orthodox Church. Like Stalin, Putin also knows a good thing when he sees it.
Still, as is often said, a change is a good as a rest. I wish them joy of it.
No comments:
Post a Comment