In its 2012 platform on education, the Republican Party of Texas made a
statement that it opposes the teaching of critical thinking skills because it “challeng[es]
the student’s fixed beliefs and undermin[es] parental authority.”[1]
Why would this be? It is because religious fundamentalists, such as those who
hold political sway over the Texas Republicans, believe that unquestioning
faith is a supreme virtue. This is also why many fundamentalist Christians fear
sending their children to non-religious universities. As Republican Rick
Santorum stated “62 percent of children who enter college with a faith
conviction leave without it,” which as it turns out is not a true statistic.[2]
Recall that faith is a belief in something which is not supported by
evidence. Thus, to unquestioningly adhere to beliefs based on no evidence means
that no amount of reason or evidence should be able to change a true believer’s
mind. As I explained in my post regarding blind
faith, humans naturally rationalize their beliefs and ignore evidence which
contradicts them. However, this stubbornness is outright encouraged in
fundamentalist religions, which makes them far more immune to reason than other
ideologues.
Beyond being unreasonable, fundamentalists are also far more likely to
be taken advantage of by politicians and religious authorities. Regarding
politics, people often vote for Republican candidates even when they stand for
policies that go against their best interest. Why? Because the Republicans use
far more religious rhetoric and promote far more socially conservative causes
than do the Democrats.[3]
As for religious authorities, consider televangelists and faith healers who
scam their followers out of millions of dollars, and clergy who successfully
molest children for years without ever being held accountable. Trusting those
who put up a façade of religious purity leaves many strict theists vulnerable
to being hurt and supporting those who do not have humanity’s best interests at
heart.
The Problem with Fundamentalist Beliefs
Religious fundamentalists hold onto beliefs and ideas which were
devised back when humanity knew much less about science, human psychology, and
ethics than we do today. Consider this quote from Abraham Lincoln, the American
President who was so progressive that he freed the slaves “I am not nor ever
have been in favor of making voters or jurors of negroes, nor of qualifying
them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people… while [negroes and
whites] do remain together there must be the position of superior and inferior,
and I as much as any other man am in favor of having the superior position
assigned to the white race.”[4]
Despite being far more enlightened than most men of his day, Abraham Lincoln
was still a racist by our standards. Religious fundamentalists often adhere to
beliefs which were formed far earlier than Lincoln, yet are just as backward as
his historically moderate racism.
Intolerance
Fundamentalists have very concrete ideas about how people ought to
live, and how society should be run. Those who do not fit their mold are
despised as unrepentant sinners and/or agents of evil. Given their conviction,
religious fundamentalists do not keep their disdain to themselves. Often, they
lash out at those who they dislike, leading to much unnecessary suffering. Consider
these examples provided by the ACLU:[5]
- Religiously affiliated schools firing women because they became pregnant while not married.
- Business owners refusing to provide insurance coverage for contraception for their employees.
- Graduate students, training to be social workers, refusing to counsel gay people.
- Pharmacies turning away women seeking to fill birth control prescriptions.
- Bridal salons, photo studios, and reception halls closing their doors to same-sex couples planning their weddings.
For more examples, check out my The
Problem With Religion page.
Misogyny
The vast majority of successful societies throughout human history have
utilized a patriarchal social structure.[6]
As such, the traditional view of women is that they are inferior to men, and
are often treated poorly as a result. This perspective is reinforced by the
world’s major religions, and stridently kept alive by their fundamentalist
adherents. For example:
Christianity:
- In 1 Peter 3:1, wives are told explicitly to “be in subjection to your own husbands.”
- In both the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches, women are not allowed to be ordained as priests.[7]
- Fundamentalist Christians fervently oppose abortions even in cases of rape and incest.[8]
Islam:
- Women are encouraged to cover their bodies lest they tempt men to sin by thinking lustful thoughts, but studies have shown that sexual harassment among conservatively dressed women is commonplace in many Islamic countries.[9]
- Domestic violence is also very common in Islamic countries, as it is fully endorsed in the Quran.[10][11]
Hinduism:
- In Hindu India, it is common to blame victims of rape, and allow rapists to go unpunished.[12]
- In the Vedanta, it is said that only males are allowed to study the Vedas, which is necessary for achieving full realization of one’s soul.[13]
Psychologically Damaging
A recent study including over 8,000 people in 7 countries has found
that religious individuals are more likely to be depressed than those who are
non-religious. On top of that, the most religious tended to be twice as likely
to be depressed.[14]
While it is probable that depressed people may be more likely to seek emotional
benefits from religion, I would argue that for some, religion can do more harm
than good. For example, gay teens are 3.4 times more likely to commit suicide
than their heterosexual counterparts.[15]
The homosexual teen suicide hotline “Trevor Lifeline” reported that nearly
twice as many calls come from Southern US states than from Northeastern ones.[16]
For those who are not familiar, the Southern states are known for their
religious conservatism, and the Northeastern for their secularism. Thus, it is
likely that at least a portion of these gay teens committed suicide because
they felt shame for their innate sexual preference.
Beyond gay teens, religion can also incite shame and guilt for doing or
thinking things which are perfectly healthy (e.g. premarital sex, masturbation,
doubting beliefs, etc.) This shame may also be coupled with the petrifying fear
of spending eternity in hellfire for displeasing God. On top of that,
fundamentalist religions prescribe many unnecessary rules of conduct, dress,
cuisine, ritual, etc. that can be burdensome to the practitioners. Consider the
plight of Islamic women, for example. Living in fear of sexual and physical
abuse certainly isn’t conducive to psychological health.
How Fundamentalist Religion is
Ruining the World
Radical Islam
Radical Islam poses one of the greatest threats to the stability and
safety of our society. In 2011, Sunni Muslim terrorists accounted for 70% of
the all terrorist murders, and over 95% of suicide bombings are conducted by
Muslim extremists.[17]
In addition to the violence perpetrated by Muslim terrorists, one of the major
tenets of fundamentalist Islamic doctrine is that democracy is in contradiction
with the sovereignty of Allah's law.[18]
The Hizb ut-Tahrir Movement in particular has gained significant momentum in much
of Europe.[19]
This sect publicly eschews violence, but regularly holds rallies and protests
accompanied by statements such as “Britain will be an Islamic state by the year
2020!” to promote its goal of overthrowing democratic governments in favor of a
global caliphate.[20]
Degenerating Public Trust in
Science
Darwin’s Theory of Evolution hasn’t set well with religious
fundamentalists since its inception. Today in the United States, 35% of
Americans believe God created humans in their present form around 10,000 years
ago, and 26% believe God guided our evolution.[21]
This has led to many battles in religiously conservative states to include
curricula regarding intelligent design and creationism as well as
anti-evolution messaging in public school science classes.[22][23]
This isn’t a uniquely American problem either, as South Korea nearly passed a
law to drop references to evolution in their public school textbooks.[24]
This isn’t only a Christian problem either, as only 8% of Egyptians, 11% of
Malaysians, 14% of Pakistanis, 16% of Indonesians, and 22% of Turks agree with
Darwin’s theory.[25]
So why does this lack of acceptance in the theory of evolution matter? For
starters, it is how humans came to exist in our present form, and misleading our
children about it robs them of a full understanding of their own humanity. Beyond
this, I personally know a person who went to a Christian college that teaches
creationism in its biology classes, yet has both an accredited nursing and PA
program. This has the potential to endanger public health, as evolution is
central to the study of biology and thus medicine.
In addition to these issues, denying evolution undermines trust in
science. This is why religious individuals are far more likely to deny global
warming than those who are unaffiliated with any religion (Total U.S.
population 47%; Unaffiliated with any church 58%; White mainline Protestants
48%; White, non-Hispanic Catholics 44%; Black Protestants 39%; White
evangelical Protestants 34%).[26]
This matters not only because the vast majority of climate scientists believe
it is a real threat, but also because it has the potential to severely diminish
humanity’s ability to thrive on this planet.[27]
Ruining our Political Systems
In the United States, the Republican Party has recently been taken over
by religious fundamentalists.[28]
This means that half of the world’s richest and most powerful country’s
government is being influenced by people who are both immune to reason and firm
believers in harmful nonsense. This is why in 2011, 1,100 reproductive rights
laws were introduced by state lawmakers during a time when the unemployment
rate was 8.2% and over 400,000 children remained in the US foster care system.[29]
This is also why in 2013, the federal government was shut down in part due to
provisions in the Affordable Care Act, which provided free access to
contraceptives to women.[30]
Finally, it is also why in recent years, we have had one of the least
productive Congresses in US history.[31]
In short, fundamentalist religion is ruining my country, and in effect, making
the entire world much worse off.
Conclusion
Among all topics I’ve covered in my blog, the problem with
fundamentalist religion is one of the most difficult to explain succinctly. There
are simply too many examples, too many angles of approach, and too little room
to fully detail the degree to which fundamentalism is awful for humanity. Ultimately,
the problem is that fundamentalists stubbornly believe in harmful ideas and
feel compelled by their religious fervor to make life miserable for the rest of
us. Given their large numbers and political influence, their negative impact on
humanity will likely be felt long after society fully moves away from such
belief systems.
Resources
Article about how the Republican Party has been poisoned by religious
fundamentalism
http://www.salon.com/2012/08/05/republicans_slouching_toward_theocracy/
Very well done. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI would encourage anyone who finds fundamentalists incomprehensible to look at Bob Altemeyer's work on the psychology of authoritarian followers. I found it most illuminating, if more than a bit disturbing.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Altemeyer