onlinepastor just said (paraphrasing), 'that liberal idea of religion as a private thing kinda isn't working because there's all these people who feel so passionately about God and religion' and I think she's right. I've come to disdain the knee-jerk reaction that religion must be a private thing. Not because I'm an asshole (though I
am a bit of an asshole) but because an automatic reaction that "religion is private. religion should be private." is, among other things, insufficiently responsive to reality and to a degree quite parochial. Yea, verily,
parochial... naive, even! I don't intend to or even desire to defend the behavior of various proselytizers and their agents. Their record is well-established and hardly needs comment: triumphal extremism in the name of religion damages the fabric of human society.
It is remarkable to me that a significant body of liberals is so
dogmatic on the point that religion is or must be a private matter.
Belief may or may not be private, actually; but religion qua religion is almost
certainly not. The sooner the sacred cow of private religion is sacrificed (presumably to Baal, or perhaps Shub-Niggurath. I guess.), the sooner peace might break out. I believe.
In any case, I find it plainly irresponsible that so many otherwise-open-minded liberals--and I count myself among you!-- make "shut up" the first and final word on religion.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-02-09 05:35 pm (UTC)Also, not sure I said anything about a "big push." This post is much more concerned with the attitude of otherwise-friendly liberals whose behavior in non-public settings (including, I suppose, one-to-one conversations) is to say "keep it private" as in both "keep it out of the government" and "keep it out of all interactions outside of your home" and, to a somewhat lesser but annoying extent "if I am in your home, find a way to keep it more private if you can. Fuck, just keep it to yourself God boy. Shut the fuck up and keep it to yourselllllllf!" The last actually happens rarely.