When religion is used as a form of social control (part
of the very definition of religion, differentiating it from mere belief), it
only erects a barrier between a person’s potential and their actions. This
discouragement of critical thinking introduces imbalances to one’s psyche, many
so common as to be a part of popular culture, so that the same mistakes tend to
be made over and over again. In Dallas, I am surrounded by people who experienced
religion as a form of childhood and adolescent socialization. In response to
these shackles to their imagination, they turn to forms of escape in excess:
alcohol, drugs, unprotected sex. For instance, many “rollers” who frequent a
dance club downtown are alumni of a Lutheran Christian high school. A
supervisor, who attends Baptist service and Bible study every Sunday, drinks
heavily when not at work. And the cases of suburban teen pregnancy that I know
arise from precisely this environment. On the other hand, the most content,
well-adjusted families I have encountered do not subscribe to spiritual dogma,
nor do they impose it on their children. Their “belief system” is based around
each person’s ability to figure things out for themselves. They have accepted
that life is change and remain flexible through the inevitable. My close friend
and her husband are raising their son to value the unconditional love of family
as sacred; as she puts it, “Love is my religion.” To tether education to religious
dogma, particularly that of children, weighs down spirits and senses of
possibility with unnecessary baggage that they are subsequently forced to waste
precious time of their adult lives picking through and shedding. Education and
dogma are 100% mutually exclusive. If you do this to your child, you are
modeling fear, which is so great as to eclipse selfless concern for his well-being
and respect for her individuality. This is truly the “missionary position” that
is the scourge of colonialism: convincing others that your beliefs are right
and theirs are wrong because you wouldn’t be able to stand it if yours were
wrong. Ironically, polluting the world with such self-hatred couldn’t be more wrong.
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1 comment:
As one who was previously raised in "the church of thou shalt not" I couldn't agree with you more. No where in the bible does it say this is the only way to believe. I suscribe that the creator that made us gave us the ability to think and decide for ourselves. My personal mission is between the beginning and the end of my life to create and foster a environment of love and understanding of all mankind and to make the journey better for all those involved; to not do so for me, would be as though I never even existed.
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