Learning About Religion-Way to Secular Society
And when I say “learning”, I don’t mean about historical failures of churches and religious leaders, that can determine us in atheistic attitudes, but real study of theology, philosophy, history and sociology of religion on a serious and deeper level.
It is true. Religion and “God” in all kind of his presentation can be, and was a dangerous weapon in lunatic mind, as in politics, which is more or less the same. We all have seen it, or witness it in some point. The world is still drowning in it, and will for good. We will never be able to forget or dismiss atrocities that have happened under the flag of church (I am an orthodox Christian so I am not aiming on other religions failures) , but at the same time those same churches are alive and the need for God is the same as ever.
We can discus for ages about do we really need God (not to mention never ending argues about his existence) or why do we need him, but the reality is showing us presence of religion in almost every segment of our lives. And if we are trying to push it out, it seems like it strikes back even harder, and in more dangerous forms.
As I mentioned in one of my old stories, I live in post communist society which, after the break down of Soviet Union and civil war, had some kind of religious renaissance. In ‘90ties people started to visit churches and mosques again, felt free to reconnect with some religious roots through the rituals of their ancestries and study about it at University. And educational system got richer for religion education in elementary and high schools.
Yes, mostly religion became what communism was in the lives of average citizen. New ideology and something to hold on in the new reality after the old one have fallen apart. So, in a way, with politicians that were more or less the same people, communist atheists that became religious over night, we can say that politics, with power that it provides, as strictly secular activity has more impact on religion, than other way around.
I am not implying on that as a good thing. That’s just the way it is.
Few months ago, I was called to talk with a group of teachers from USA, that came to Balkans to observe our education system. They were particularly interested in religion in our school, emphasizing that in American education there is no room for religion in school. Also, they were asking questions about impact of religion in civil war, and the gaps in society that the war provided.
It wouldn’t be true, of course, if I sad that religion had nothing to do with the hostility atmosphere right before war, but in my opinion, that total lack of knowledge what our religion really represents, what it means, and meant in the past, just reinforce it’s negative impact on society. Without deeper education, that is connect with cultural heritage and historical facts without fruitless effort to make things look better, we have mystification of religion, mythomania, superstition and whole bunch of out of control religion groups that hold society in hostage.
People just want God in their life, and superstition and mystification can provide money, and with money…
Few years ago, I watched that creepy Netflix documentary “Our father”, about that lunatic gynecologist, a pioneer of in vitro fertilization, who, fertilized women with his own sperm. The documentary is very disturbing in many ways, but there is one specific thing that disturbed me the most.
Documentary said that the criminal doctor was a member of a fanatic religious group in which members were encouraged to have as many children as possible. When you see the movie, maybe the most horrible thing is the way he communicate with the biological descendants that wanted to confront him. He is cold, with total lack of compassion, and you can say, as he asks those people about they life accomplishes, in some sick kind of way, satisfied with his work.
He is, according to all this, religious lunatic, with system of completely insane believes and yet, the group that probably formed his pathological personality is mentioned in a movie, maybe in two sentences.
No documentary investigation about who they are and why they are still open for the mission of producing brain washed monsters.
So how secular is society so strict about secularity in schools with so powerful religious groups?
Religion, in all it’s worse forms, has more power when we are clueless about it. Talking with students about ancient scripts, believes and philosophy, encouraging them not to agree, or to found something beautiful and comforting in it, can develop their critical thinking in many ways.
And with that, it can reduce the impact of religion as something strange, mystic and powerful that can in the end (and in the lack of knowledge will) become very dark.