Tom Frame (director of St Mark’s National Theological Centre) has written an opinion piece on the need to respect religious voices. That particular story was preceded the previous day by Jill Rowbotham’s, Agressive Atheism breeds extremism.
Both were opinion pieces, long on waffle. Frame seems to be arguing that if we leave no room for religious discourse in this country, if we continue to secularise or that if there is enforced secularisation, then we risk giving the more extremist elements of religion nowhere to turn and no option but to “dig in” and resort to violence.
I would ask where he sees the enforcement of Secularisation in Australia? Indeed I see no attacks on the rights or privileges of Australians to worship or not if they so choose. Indeed I see the opposite, with the recent Howard government’s blatant support of religious chaplains in state schools and in the funding of private schools to the detriment of the state system.
I agree that hitting religion head on does antagonise and will do little to change the minds of those who adhere to a rigid morality firmly rooted in a 2000 year old harsh Nomadic culture.
Slow and steady wins this race.
No Mr Frame, religion does not need to be respected, tolerated, accepted, yes – but it has to stand up to scrutiny and reason. This is indeed why we no longer stone our children for disobedience; christianity has undergone reformation at the hand of reason and I for one hope this continues to its logical conclusion.
Respect has to be earned.
Rowbotham’s piece quoting comments made by Frame seems to be arguing that religious tension in this country is the result of a coalescing of secularism with a new breed of Atheism. It is interesting that nowhere in the piece is there any justification for its title.
I would argue that there is more tension between Muslims and Christians in Australia than there is between Atheists and Theists and indeed that this is/was the motivation behind most of Howard’s “religious” policies i.e, the maintenance, culturally and religiously of an earlier lighter coloured Australia.
Agressive promotion of any agenda will generate an a potentially extreme opposition. But to effectively label Atheism as the reason for extremist religion, to lead the reader to the idea that Atheism is responsible for terrorism or suicide bombing is intellectually dishonest.
I think the rise in active Athesim is the result of the assault on reason and education seen most blatantly in the US, but also in policies here and in the UK. It is certainly one of the main reasons I became more vocal.
Jill should perhaps take a little look in the other direction, just who is being extreme when there is a fight to promote creationism in schools and a push to return to the good old days when men were men and head of the household and women did as they were told.
You see Jill, the extreme views of the religious right would prefer to see you out of a job as a journalist and either flat on your back in the bedroom or chained to the kitchen sink.
And unlike the Secular party who you label as fringe dwellers, the religious right even in Australia, wield significant clout ( Rudd and Howard didn’t address any atheists in the last election did they?)
Next you’ll be telling us there’s a War on Christmas.
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I’ve read plenty of these sort of editorials, and I always find that the person writing them does the same thing that Jill did.
They ignore the reasons why we are becoming militant. Mainly because they themselves can’t understand our grievances.
Either that or they know it will get a bite and sell more papers
Well written Sean.
I’ve been thinking about writing about Frame’s opinion piece. I don’t think I’ll bother now, as you’ve done such a good job.
Oz,
I appreciate the sentiment mate. That was written early Wednesday morning while I was trying to cure stress related insomnia. I am surprised I was coherent.
His argument we should respect religion lest the religious get annoyed and through a violent tantrum.
I am all for freedom of /from religion but it has to be meritorious and conducive to society’s well being.
I wonder if Frame respects female genital mutilation …circumcision?
Frame’s piece falls down miserably that we respect the “right” of religious individuals to publicly “propagate” their views. Hold them in private yes, propagate in public no.
Good point Plonka.
They ignore the reasons why we are becoming militant. Mainly because they themselves can’t understand our grievances.
It’s more than that. Most of these columns are not written by fundamentalists. They tend to be written by liberal or moderate theists who experience a much greater sense of cognitive dissonance between reality and theology, and have difficulty coming to terms with that.
As Matt Dillahunty of The Atheist Experience often says, these guys are atheists who still want to be part of the theist in-crowd.
Arthur,
Atheists still afraid of pointing out that the emperor has no clothes eh.
It is imperative t'hat we have the opportunity to challenge the theists as one of the few couragous living writers Gore Vidal says "If we do not understand Christianity, then we cannot make much sense of the world we live in, because our society, morally and intellectually for good and ill is the result of that great force" As for the esteemed Tom Frame who I understand is or was a military chaplain can justify the daily slaughter of innocents because they are of a different race and religion. And our daily lives are affected and influenced by these gross superstitions. The misery that goes on in this world as well as the indoctrination of Christian values that are embedded in all our institutions and organizations only serves the status quo and since when did conventional thinking ever improve life for the human race? And yes I am angry about this and will always be in conflict with such a rotten system that does more to keep people in ignorance and slavery than just about any other religion.
I don't think things have got any better in Australia in the 2 years since I wrote this, in fact recently they have got worse with both leaders of government and opposition pandering to the religious despite a change in govt.