"Much
of what people do is done in the name of God. Irishmen blow each other up in
his name. Arabs blow themselves up in his name. Imams and ayatollahs oppress
women in his name. Celibate popes and priests mess up people's sex lives in his
name. Jewish shohets cut live animals' throats in his name. The achievements of
religion in past history - bloody crusades, torturing inquisitions,
mass-murdering conquistadors, culture-destroying missionaries, legally enforced
resistance to each new piece of scientific truth until the last possible moment
- are even more impressive. And what has it all been in aid of? I believe it is
becoming increasingly clear that the answer is absolutely nothing at all. There
is no reason for believing that any sort of gods exist and quite good reason
for believing that they do not exist and never have. It has all been a gigantic
waste of time and a waste of life. It would be a joke of cosmic proportions if
it weren't so tragic."
Dr
Richard Dawkins who held the Charles Simonyi Professorship in the Public
Understanding of Science at Oxford University
write
a short piece of text outlining your views on religion as a worthwhile human
activity. Do you agree with Dawkins? If so, why? Or is religion worthwhile? If
it is worthwhile in what ways does it benefit individuals and/or the world
and/or you?
The
majority of contemporary war and unrest stems from the extremist religious views
of some, as it has done in the past. However, I agree with Emily Allen and
Morag Cooper; to quote Morag ‘it
really annoys me when people say religion causes war. War is caused by human
greed, demands for power and land, calling it a holy war will recruit much
needed volunteers but if this excuse was not used, another would be found.’
To overlook religion would be to overlook a quintessential
part of our history and identity. Modern society originates from the principles
of some form of religion or faith. Coming from a Christian education, our
school days were deeply embedded in the Christian faith. I attended school in
Brunei for a short time during primary school and was lucky to be surrounded by
a different religion and culture to my own. As small children we are very
accepting of our surroundings; this acceptance, respect and interest in other
faiths and religions has followed me into adulthood.
As we
move into the 21st century it may be that we in Scotland move
towards a secular society. (As shown in the stats from the Scottish 2001 and
2011 census from Graeme Nixon’s lecture today- Will Scotland continue to move
down this route? Will the Jedi Knights increase??). As we travel further into
this age of technological advancement etc., we may find ourselves either
affirming and strengthening our religious beliefs, or disregarding them
entirely. Either way there is everything to gain from understanding, respecting
and experiencing other religions, faiths and philosophies.