Religion, Politics and the Authoritarian Left
Written by OCAP member Graeme Bacque:
At the International Women's Day march in Toronto on March 10 I became embroiled in a heated debate with a long-time acquaintance over the issue of religious oppression in countries such as Iran. To put it in perspective, this person is a long-time member of the Communist Party of Canada, which has always advanced a position of coerced secularism.
I have no tolerance for religious repression of any kind, be it Witch burnings, the Islamic theocracies that exist in places like Iran and Saudi Arabia, or the Evangelical Christian fervor currently sweeping through the United States. But by the same token, I have no stomach for the kind of compulsory atheism that is the mainstay of much leftist ideology.
The real issue here is freedom of choice. As far as I'm concerned, the proper place for religion is as a cultural prerogative that people should be free to accept or reject in accordance with their own personal needs. Provided no harm is being done to others, the state has no right to decide whether people are entitled to live their lives in accordance with a religious philosophy. Conversely, governments also have no business attempting to force mandatory religious practices upon their citizens.
This right of personal choice does not exist in places like Iran. Nor did it exist in places like the Soviet Union, where religious practices in general were viewed as deviant and those who adhered to a faith were frequently persecuted.
There are many cultures in the world (Indigenous communities being a prime example) in which spiritual practices are so intrinsic to their social fabric that to outlaw religion would mean cultural genocide. This in fact is one of the primary tools that colonizers have used to undermine and ultimately destroy the sovereign nations whose lands we occupy to this day.
The irony here is that another religious doctrine typically served as the pretext for this oppression.
Early Christianity and authoritarian Communism actually had many things in common. Both were violently expansionist in their behavior toward their neighbors; both exhibited zero-tolerance for critical thought, dissident points of view or cultural diversity and both required the establishment of rigid hierarchies that attempted to place themselves firmly beyond reproach.
For all their apparent hostilities toward one another. the Kremlin and the Vatican were in many ways home to kindred spirits. Soviet Russia was swift to annex its neighbors and convert them into repressive clones of its own body politic, in much the same fashion as the Inquisitional philosophy of 'be Christian or be dead' spread quickly from western Europe in a global orgy of Crusades, pogroms, slavery and cultural genocide. Both stood for essentially Eurocentric philosophies that showed no regard for the well-being of the diverse cultures they sought to supplant.
The primary difference between religious theocracy and authoritarian Communism is that in the latter, people were required to focus their worship upon the state apparatus itself as opposed to an abstract, unproven concept of god. In other words, it became the ultimate human ego-cult.
Conversely, over the years faith-based movements have formed the backbones of many powerful social struggles. The civil rights movement in the United States and the Catholicism-rooted liberation theology that helps to sustain numerous revolutionary struggles in Latin America are but two examples. Indigenous communities' resistance the world over is motivated and sustained by the peoples' spiritual ties to their land.
The right to practice a religion needs to be recognized -- but with clear boundaries. The international community must continue to vigorously challenge repression against women in Iran in the name of Islamic fundamentalism, while recognizing that the Islamic faith is an intrinsic part of that culture and people must be free to practice it /*if they choose to do so. */The qualifier is that one person's religious practices ought never infringe upon the entitlement of others to make their own life choices.
The same applies to Christianity in the contemporary world, especially in the Americas. I do not dispute for a moment the right of churches to offer Bible study classes to their members -- but there is no place in the public school system for this kind of curriculum, except perhaps as an elective course of study offered to older students who are in a better position to make an informed decision.
Likewise we need to be vigilant against the Evangelical religious right which seeks to impose a strict Biblical code of law in the United States, while at the same time honoring the many Christians of all denominations (not to mention Muslims, Jews, etc.) who have dedicated their lives to fighting for social justice, and whose faith sustains them in the struggle. We also need to respect the inalienable right that Indigenous people have to live in accordance with their own spiritual traditions without fear of repression.
When it comes down to it, the authoritarian left's belief that the 'quick fix' of banning religion will end repression is ridiculous. What is really needed over the long haul is to stop raising our children to believe they have any business imposing their beliefs upon others, while at the same time respecting their inherent right to adopt whatever philosophy of life works for them. No one is able (or has any right) to make this decision on anyone else's behalf.
/*Graeme Bacque
March 12, 2007*/
At the International Women's Day march in Toronto on March 10 I became embroiled in a heated debate with a long-time acquaintance over the issue of religious oppression in countries such as Iran. To put it in perspective, this person is a long-time member of the Communist Party of Canada, which has always advanced a position of coerced secularism.
I have no tolerance for religious repression of any kind, be it Witch burnings, the Islamic theocracies that exist in places like Iran and Saudi Arabia, or the Evangelical Christian fervor currently sweeping through the United States. But by the same token, I have no stomach for the kind of compulsory atheism that is the mainstay of much leftist ideology.
The real issue here is freedom of choice. As far as I'm concerned, the proper place for religion is as a cultural prerogative that people should be free to accept or reject in accordance with their own personal needs. Provided no harm is being done to others, the state has no right to decide whether people are entitled to live their lives in accordance with a religious philosophy. Conversely, governments also have no business attempting to force mandatory religious practices upon their citizens.
This right of personal choice does not exist in places like Iran. Nor did it exist in places like the Soviet Union, where religious practices in general were viewed as deviant and those who adhered to a faith were frequently persecuted.
There are many cultures in the world (Indigenous communities being a prime example) in which spiritual practices are so intrinsic to their social fabric that to outlaw religion would mean cultural genocide. This in fact is one of the primary tools that colonizers have used to undermine and ultimately destroy the sovereign nations whose lands we occupy to this day.
The irony here is that another religious doctrine typically served as the pretext for this oppression.
Early Christianity and authoritarian Communism actually had many things in common. Both were violently expansionist in their behavior toward their neighbors; both exhibited zero-tolerance for critical thought, dissident points of view or cultural diversity and both required the establishment of rigid hierarchies that attempted to place themselves firmly beyond reproach.
For all their apparent hostilities toward one another. the Kremlin and the Vatican were in many ways home to kindred spirits. Soviet Russia was swift to annex its neighbors and convert them into repressive clones of its own body politic, in much the same fashion as the Inquisitional philosophy of 'be Christian or be dead' spread quickly from western Europe in a global orgy of Crusades, pogroms, slavery and cultural genocide. Both stood for essentially Eurocentric philosophies that showed no regard for the well-being of the diverse cultures they sought to supplant.
The primary difference between religious theocracy and authoritarian Communism is that in the latter, people were required to focus their worship upon the state apparatus itself as opposed to an abstract, unproven concept of god. In other words, it became the ultimate human ego-cult.
Conversely, over the years faith-based movements have formed the backbones of many powerful social struggles. The civil rights movement in the United States and the Catholicism-rooted liberation theology that helps to sustain numerous revolutionary struggles in Latin America are but two examples. Indigenous communities' resistance the world over is motivated and sustained by the peoples' spiritual ties to their land.
The right to practice a religion needs to be recognized -- but with clear boundaries. The international community must continue to vigorously challenge repression against women in Iran in the name of Islamic fundamentalism, while recognizing that the Islamic faith is an intrinsic part of that culture and people must be free to practice it /*if they choose to do so. */The qualifier is that one person's religious practices ought never infringe upon the entitlement of others to make their own life choices.
The same applies to Christianity in the contemporary world, especially in the Americas. I do not dispute for a moment the right of churches to offer Bible study classes to their members -- but there is no place in the public school system for this kind of curriculum, except perhaps as an elective course of study offered to older students who are in a better position to make an informed decision.
Likewise we need to be vigilant against the Evangelical religious right which seeks to impose a strict Biblical code of law in the United States, while at the same time honoring the many Christians of all denominations (not to mention Muslims, Jews, etc.) who have dedicated their lives to fighting for social justice, and whose faith sustains them in the struggle. We also need to respect the inalienable right that Indigenous people have to live in accordance with their own spiritual traditions without fear of repression.
When it comes down to it, the authoritarian left's belief that the 'quick fix' of banning religion will end repression is ridiculous. What is really needed over the long haul is to stop raising our children to believe they have any business imposing their beliefs upon others, while at the same time respecting their inherent right to adopt whatever philosophy of life works for them. No one is able (or has any right) to make this decision on anyone else's behalf.
/*Graeme Bacque
March 12, 2007*/
posted by miked at 10:06 a.m.
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