Just want to say I absolutely appreciate this article. It really says a lot about how dismissive spirituality is to suffering and that they need to do better than just low-key blame their suffering on the victims.
Thank you for reading, James! I do think that, ultimately, many spiritual beliefs are victim-blaming beliefs disguised in the lofty language of enlightenment. It's all fun and games when we're "manifesting success," or wellness, wealth, and peace.
But when I ask Westerners who often practice these manifestation habits how they apply their spiritual logic to the suffering of others far less privileged than they, especially innocents and children, the responses I've heard back are nothing short of stunning to me in their heartlessness:
"Well, there has to be evil in order for us to know good."
"But their soul chose this life, knowing how hard it would be, in order to teach the rest of us compassion."
"They're paying of their karmic debt in this life, giving me an opportunity to accrue good karma by easing their suffering."
It is so rare to find people who think this way, and rarer yet for them to be able to express their point of view so clearly. I'm sitting here at work in a room full of 50 people, and I think I'm the only one who would appreciate this article.
One of the most important ideas that this article and the comments brings to mind is that it SHOULD be okay to hate faiths without hating the people that believe them. Human beings have natural vulnerabilities to this kind of nonsense, and their exposure to it may have left them with almost no choice in the matter. I have to keep this in mind, and I would love to figure out how to educate the world about how these vulnerabilities lead to unreal and harmful beliefs. The more certainty you have that your beliefs are correct, the more you should question them.
On another note, I was raised in the bible belt, and Christianity was normal to me throughout my early life (though I wasn't much of a believer). I am proud to say that over the course of the last dozen years or so, I've come to regard Christianity (and all the popular religions) on par with Scientology and that kind of ilk. Sincerely held beliefs are all gross to me, including right-wing authoritarian control and left-wing cancel culture.
The good that some churches do with regard to helping the poor and downtrodden does not make up for the harm they are doing perpetuating and exploiting people's natural vulnerabilities to coercive control. The largest contributor to world discord is our collective ignorance to how easy it is for all of us to believe anything if it is presented to us the right way.
I can accent the fact that once upon a time Gods might have been imperative for our understanding of the world around us and actually filled a function for us as a species. But that time has long passed. And yet it's still so prevalent. What started off as a necessity, or at least a naturligtvis response to our big questions is now one of himanities biggest draw backs. It makes me sad and frustrated to think how far we might have come without the destructive nature of our religions retarding us so much in the modern day.
You are not alone. I was once a Christian. I know that many would say I must not have been if I can no longer believe in gods.
Shortly after my deconversion, I was in the camp of atheists who were willing to let religious people have their faith. I told myself that if their faith gives them comfort, then it hurts no one.
Now, having heard the awful things people say in the name of religion and the way it's used to explain horrific events, I, too, feel that religion is a cancer. I find no good in it. I echo your "Fuck your religion".
Thank you for this, Doug! 💗 I think faith itself often hurts no one (except perhaps the individual, pending how their faith makes them feel about themselves). Freedom of thought, belief, and speech are paramount values of mine.
It's when beliefs turn into action that I cannot, in good conscience, say that I think everyone should have the right to *practice* their beliefs. Do they believe that rape victims should be stoned? That boys should have their foreskin chopped off? That children should be denied life-saving medicine in an act of faith that God, crystals, or "vibrationally energetic fruits" will heal them? This is where religious freedom falls apart for me. The line is indeed fine.
May I ask what, to you, the difference is between religion and faith? To me, 'religion' is a socially accepted, legally sanctioned (nonprofit status) set of beliefs often founded on spiritual texts. 'Faith' encompasses these but also includes non- or less-organized beliefs, and cults that are not yet sanctioned religions. Some might be described as Eastern/New Agey, using language like Source, Spirit, manifestation, Law of Attraction, karma, Maya, the Universe, Divinity, etc. Others are more shamanistic.
What these all have in common, to my view, is faith: a belief in unproven ideas, unbacked by empirical evidence, and often riddled with thought-stopping clichés and spiritual bypassing somersaults. Not usually dangerous in and of themselves but a slippery slope to parental negligence, emotional abuse, and, simply, a callous, oblivious worldview.
That's why I use the term 'faith' far more than 'religion.' It unites the common denominators of religion and spirituality, which teach love and compassion on the surface and exhibit cruelty and insensitivity in practice. (Again, to my view.)
Thank you for your response. Before addressing what you said, I want to go back to my statement that I find no good in religion. I'd like to modify that statement by saying the good I do find in religion is it seems to prevent some (not enough) people from acting on terrible impulses.
So, I realize I did conflate religion and faith, and your blog was centered on faith. Probably because of my experiences, the word "faith" makes me think of religion.
I would assert that you are splitting hairs when you say religion is a legally sanctioned set of beliefs and is apart from the other belief systems you noted. To me, it's a religion whenever you put into action beliefs that are based on faith, whether that is sanctioned or socially acceptable. I wouldn't say the Quiverfull (is that how you spell that?) movement is socially acceptable, but I would argue it's based on a religious belief. Consequently, I find it difficult to distinguish faith from religion.
You do make me think, however. I'm seeing your point of view, especially when you take into account spirituality. Regardless, the conclusion is the same, and I agree with your last two paragraphs, though I might argue not all faiths teach love and compassion. I'm thinking specifically of the Westboro Baptist Church.
Damn, you made my brain hurt trying to put my views into text!
How would you relate the in vogue term "sincerely held beliefs" to faith or religion?
"Sincerely held beliefs," to me, feels a way of saying that we need to respect people's irrationality and illogic, because their beliefs are sincerely held. I think it would encompass both religion and spirituality.
This rules. I hate that no one talks about the religious aspect of the Israel / Palestinian conflict. It's the source of its intractability. Christopher Hitchens said that the parties of God were on both sides were those who are solely responsible for the continuation of the conflict. They doom the children in every generation to fight the same battles rather than resolve the conflict.
YESSSS. I haven't read nearly as much Hitchens as I know I'd love, but I will.
To my (admittedly limited) perspective, religion is the ultimate source of intractability in the Israel-Palestine conflict. The willful omission of this has me thinking we're spinning in useless circles. I do understand why people don't want to acknowledge it--far too many will use this religious acknowledgement to incite violence and hatred toward Jewish and Muslim people. Yet by ignoring or minimizing it, I observe we prolong the problem.
It may be an unsolvable one. What are we really saying: that Jews and Muslims should abandon their long-held cultural beliefs if the want peace? Essentially, yes. And I know how extremely unlikely that is to happen. Like you point out, when God is on your side, there can be no compromise.
The belief in an eternal reward or punishment makes our brief lives on Earth pale by comparison. This is what secularists, progressive believers, and the liberal media often don't understand about fundamentalism. They want real-life solutions to problems of faith-based origin. Ignoring faith ignores any possible chance at peace.
On an entirely different note, I just went to Not-a-Con, which was the first annual social gathering of skeptics from the Skeptics Guide to the Universe podcast. There were about 200 of us there, and I've never experienced anything like it. Imagine being amongst a group of strangers that are all there to meet and mingle, and 100% of them have the same opinion of religion, pseudoscience, fake medicine, and all of that other nonsense. I really can't wait until next year to go back and meet more people in real life that share my intellectual humility. Do any of you have similar groups?
Just want to say I absolutely appreciate this article. It really says a lot about how dismissive spirituality is to suffering and that they need to do better than just low-key blame their suffering on the victims.
Thank you for reading, James! I do think that, ultimately, many spiritual beliefs are victim-blaming beliefs disguised in the lofty language of enlightenment. It's all fun and games when we're "manifesting success," or wellness, wealth, and peace.
But when I ask Westerners who often practice these manifestation habits how they apply their spiritual logic to the suffering of others far less privileged than they, especially innocents and children, the responses I've heard back are nothing short of stunning to me in their heartlessness:
"Well, there has to be evil in order for us to know good."
"But their soul chose this life, knowing how hard it would be, in order to teach the rest of us compassion."
"They're paying of their karmic debt in this life, giving me an opportunity to accrue good karma by easing their suffering."
I am chilled and astonished, truly.
It is so rare to find people who think this way, and rarer yet for them to be able to express their point of view so clearly. I'm sitting here at work in a room full of 50 people, and I think I'm the only one who would appreciate this article.
One of the most important ideas that this article and the comments brings to mind is that it SHOULD be okay to hate faiths without hating the people that believe them. Human beings have natural vulnerabilities to this kind of nonsense, and their exposure to it may have left them with almost no choice in the matter. I have to keep this in mind, and I would love to figure out how to educate the world about how these vulnerabilities lead to unreal and harmful beliefs. The more certainty you have that your beliefs are correct, the more you should question them.
On another note, I was raised in the bible belt, and Christianity was normal to me throughout my early life (though I wasn't much of a believer). I am proud to say that over the course of the last dozen years or so, I've come to regard Christianity (and all the popular religions) on par with Scientology and that kind of ilk. Sincerely held beliefs are all gross to me, including right-wing authoritarian control and left-wing cancel culture.
The good that some churches do with regard to helping the poor and downtrodden does not make up for the harm they are doing perpetuating and exploiting people's natural vulnerabilities to coercive control. The largest contributor to world discord is our collective ignorance to how easy it is for all of us to believe anything if it is presented to us the right way.
TL;DR: Don't hate the prayer, hate the faith.
I so resonate with this and agree with you! Thank you for your thoughtful response.
Tell a man that god exists and he will believe you without question. Tell him paint is wet and he will have to touch it to make sure.
We are so fucking brilliant and so fucking stupid.
So. Well. Said. We are so fucking brilliant and so fucking stupid. 😂
I think we become stupid when our sense of meaning is threatened, or the cultural fabric that helps facilitate our survival.
I can accent the fact that once upon a time Gods might have been imperative for our understanding of the world around us and actually filled a function for us as a species. But that time has long passed. And yet it's still so prevalent. What started off as a necessity, or at least a naturligtvis response to our big questions is now one of himanities biggest draw backs. It makes me sad and frustrated to think how far we might have come without the destructive nature of our religions retarding us so much in the modern day.
Accept*
Natural*
Humanities*
My auto-correct is working against me and sometimes not working at all.
You are not alone. I was once a Christian. I know that many would say I must not have been if I can no longer believe in gods.
Shortly after my deconversion, I was in the camp of atheists who were willing to let religious people have their faith. I told myself that if their faith gives them comfort, then it hurts no one.
Now, having heard the awful things people say in the name of religion and the way it's used to explain horrific events, I, too, feel that religion is a cancer. I find no good in it. I echo your "Fuck your religion".
Or Fuck your faith, even.
Thank you for this, Doug! 💗 I think faith itself often hurts no one (except perhaps the individual, pending how their faith makes them feel about themselves). Freedom of thought, belief, and speech are paramount values of mine.
It's when beliefs turn into action that I cannot, in good conscience, say that I think everyone should have the right to *practice* their beliefs. Do they believe that rape victims should be stoned? That boys should have their foreskin chopped off? That children should be denied life-saving medicine in an act of faith that God, crystals, or "vibrationally energetic fruits" will heal them? This is where religious freedom falls apart for me. The line is indeed fine.
May I ask what, to you, the difference is between religion and faith? To me, 'religion' is a socially accepted, legally sanctioned (nonprofit status) set of beliefs often founded on spiritual texts. 'Faith' encompasses these but also includes non- or less-organized beliefs, and cults that are not yet sanctioned religions. Some might be described as Eastern/New Agey, using language like Source, Spirit, manifestation, Law of Attraction, karma, Maya, the Universe, Divinity, etc. Others are more shamanistic.
What these all have in common, to my view, is faith: a belief in unproven ideas, unbacked by empirical evidence, and often riddled with thought-stopping clichés and spiritual bypassing somersaults. Not usually dangerous in and of themselves but a slippery slope to parental negligence, emotional abuse, and, simply, a callous, oblivious worldview.
That's why I use the term 'faith' far more than 'religion.' It unites the common denominators of religion and spirituality, which teach love and compassion on the surface and exhibit cruelty and insensitivity in practice. (Again, to my view.)
Thank you for your response. Before addressing what you said, I want to go back to my statement that I find no good in religion. I'd like to modify that statement by saying the good I do find in religion is it seems to prevent some (not enough) people from acting on terrible impulses.
So, I realize I did conflate religion and faith, and your blog was centered on faith. Probably because of my experiences, the word "faith" makes me think of religion.
I would assert that you are splitting hairs when you say religion is a legally sanctioned set of beliefs and is apart from the other belief systems you noted. To me, it's a religion whenever you put into action beliefs that are based on faith, whether that is sanctioned or socially acceptable. I wouldn't say the Quiverfull (is that how you spell that?) movement is socially acceptable, but I would argue it's based on a religious belief. Consequently, I find it difficult to distinguish faith from religion.
You do make me think, however. I'm seeing your point of view, especially when you take into account spirituality. Regardless, the conclusion is the same, and I agree with your last two paragraphs, though I might argue not all faiths teach love and compassion. I'm thinking specifically of the Westboro Baptist Church.
Damn, you made my brain hurt trying to put my views into text!
How would you relate the in vogue term "sincerely held beliefs" to faith or religion?
"Sincerely held beliefs," to me, feels a way of saying that we need to respect people's irrationality and illogic, because their beliefs are sincerely held. I think it would encompass both religion and spirituality.
I agree, though I feel it's particularly a claim of Christian privilege.
Thank you, Alice, for writing and sharing this. ❤️
Thank you, Bjarke! 💗
This rules. I hate that no one talks about the religious aspect of the Israel / Palestinian conflict. It's the source of its intractability. Christopher Hitchens said that the parties of God were on both sides were those who are solely responsible for the continuation of the conflict. They doom the children in every generation to fight the same battles rather than resolve the conflict.
When God is on your side, there can be no compromise
YESSSS. I haven't read nearly as much Hitchens as I know I'd love, but I will.
To my (admittedly limited) perspective, religion is the ultimate source of intractability in the Israel-Palestine conflict. The willful omission of this has me thinking we're spinning in useless circles. I do understand why people don't want to acknowledge it--far too many will use this religious acknowledgement to incite violence and hatred toward Jewish and Muslim people. Yet by ignoring or minimizing it, I observe we prolong the problem.
It may be an unsolvable one. What are we really saying: that Jews and Muslims should abandon their long-held cultural beliefs if the want peace? Essentially, yes. And I know how extremely unlikely that is to happen. Like you point out, when God is on your side, there can be no compromise.
The belief in an eternal reward or punishment makes our brief lives on Earth pale by comparison. This is what secularists, progressive believers, and the liberal media often don't understand about fundamentalism. They want real-life solutions to problems of faith-based origin. Ignoring faith ignores any possible chance at peace.
On an entirely different note, I just went to Not-a-Con, which was the first annual social gathering of skeptics from the Skeptics Guide to the Universe podcast. There were about 200 of us there, and I've never experienced anything like it. Imagine being amongst a group of strangers that are all there to meet and mingle, and 100% of them have the same opinion of religion, pseudoscience, fake medicine, and all of that other nonsense. I really can't wait until next year to go back and meet more people in real life that share my intellectual humility. Do any of you have similar groups?
This is wonderfully written Alice. Thank you for what you do for those of us with real hearts rather than faith.