“Religion’s greatest trick wasn’t convincing some people that there is a God and that He was all-powerful, it was convincing everyone else that you couldn’t ridicule the idea.”- Ricky Gervais
At the very heart of religious dogmatism and fundamentalism is the archaic notion that religious people hold regarding their beliefs being above scrutiny and scepticism. Belief and faith, for a rational mind like mine, are in fact under the lens more often than other matters. As Richard Dawkins describes in his book the God delusion, Faith, by definition, believes in things without evidence, which is a dangerous
proposition for the world in the 21st century. Once you allow people to hold beliefs and notions that are above criticism and scepticism, it more often than not results in a sort of rigidity in their psyche that any logic or reason-based explanation to the fallacy of those beliefs are brushed under the carpet as being offensive. It is not the religious believers who are at fault but the non-believers, (or apostates) who invariably tend to mild down on their censure of religion. The conscious endeavour of rational people not to offend believers for their anti-scientific beliefs, prejudices and notions has resulted in breeding fanaticism. “That’s offensive”, these two words put together have muzzled liberals and seculars to express scientific facts running contrary to the entrenched beliefs of the believers.
Being Offended is the principal defence behind which ludicrous beliefs of the people survive. If I were to claim today that my grandfather could lift a cow when he was alive and that he could jump across
rivers at the drop of a hat, I would be called a lunatic and a man of questionable integrity, but replace my grandfather with a mythological God and everyone enthusiastically accepts it to be literally true. They wouldn’t accept any scientific explanation to the implausibility of such an event ever having occurred. What I find to be the most fascinating thing about science is the ability of the observer or experimenter to shield outcomes from processes and experiments irrespective of his prejudices, faith and beliefs.
The prime reason why people have such beliefs is childhood indoctrination. Impressionable minds would believe in flying monsters if taught from early childhood. It is my dream and wishes that children should never be exposed to religious dogma and superstition until they have lived long enough to develop rational thinking. All children are born cynics and sceptics with an aptitude for critical thinking and interminable questioning. I believe if someone could be indoctrinated on superstitions, dogmas and prejudices, they certainly can be “indoctrinated” on universal human values of integrity, compassion, love, ethics, morals and kindness. The trick is to catch them young.
The spirit of enquiry is curtailed in a child from infancy and the civil society has allowed religious dogmatism and indoctrination to continue relentlessly throughout the modern world. It is time that we rise to challenge ridiculous dogmas and outrageous claims of the believers.
You know what brings the death of a society, when being called an intellectual becomes an expletive.
-Sunny Gusain
