| atheism.davidrand.ca: Living Without Religion | |
|---|---|
| > Table of Contents | |
| > > Repertory | en français |
| Previous page | Next page |
| |
Daniel Baril is a longtime secular activist. He was a speaker at the Atheists Without Borders convention in Montreal in October 2010, where he presented a talk entitled Religion: Adaptation or Epiphenomenon?
Author of the following article hosted on this site:
Book:
The Influence of Natural Religion on the Temporal Happiness of Mankind
See also:
Book:
blasphemy (n.)
- impious utterance or action offensive to the divinity or to religion
Blasphemy: A Victimless "Crime"
Strictly speaking, an atheist cannot commit blasphemy, because it is logically impossible to insult a non-existent being. Blasphemy is a victimless "crime", the only victim being "God"—a fictional supernatural entity. Even if such a divinity did exist, why should he, she or it be offended by the words of a mere mortal?
Who is Offended?
Blasphemy is considered a crime in some countries. The real reason for this is that it tends to undermine the authority of religious leaders and institutions. It is they who are offended! And they claim to speak for "God".
The very concept of blasphemy is an offence to modernity, to secularism and to the freedom of conscience and expression of all citizens. Anti-blasphemy laws, if applied, give enormous arbitrary power to religious authorities and are a useful tool for despots.
"To ridicule religion is a virtue. Blasphemy is, more than ever, not only excusable, but necessary."
— Patrick Declerck
Pourquoi nous ne sommes pas chrétiens, Alain JUGNON (ISBN 978-2-35341-051-4)
Campaign for the Repeal of Blasphemy Laws
Blasphemy Legislation in Various Countries
Canada
See article 296 "Blasphemous Libel" of the Canadian Criminal Code.
Afghanistan
Afghan Court Backs Prison Term for Blasphemy , by Abdul Waheed Wafa and Carlotta Gall, 2009-03-11, on the site of the New York Times
Ireland
Russia
Appeal in Defence of Yuri Samudurov and Andrei Erofeiev, 2009-05-27, on the site of ILCAF
Book:
BRADLAUGH, Charles, 1833-1891
Political activist and member of British parliament;
Famous 19th century atheist;
Founder of the National Secular Society in 1866.
Relevant Links
See also:
Breaking The Spell
Religion as a Natural Phenomenon
DENNETT, Daniel Clement
Keywords: philosophy religion
Viking Penguin, New York
2006
ISBN: 0-670-03472-X
A few excerpts:
"Today, when patterns of mutual trust are quite securely established in modern democratic states independently of any shared religious belief, the bristling defenses of religions against corrosive doubt begin to look vestigial, like fossil traces of an earlier epoch. We no longer need God the Policeman to create a climate in which we can make promises and conduct human affairs on their basis, but He lives on in legal oaths—and in the imaginations of many who are terrified of the prospect of abandoning religion"
p. 282-283
"Love is not enough. That's why those who have an unquestioning faith in the correctness of the moral teachings of their religion are a problem: if they themselves haven't conscientiously considered, on their own, whether their pastors or priests or rabbis or imams are worthy of this delegated authority over their own lives, then they are in fact taking a personally immoral stand."
p. 295
"It is time for the reasonable adherents of all faiths to find the courage and stamina to reverse the tradition that honors helpless love of God—in any tradition. Far from being honorable, it is not even excusable. It is shameful. And most shameful are the priests, rabbis, imams, and other experts whose response to the sincere requests from their flock for moral guidance is to conceal their own inability to give reasons for their views about the tough issues by hiding behind some 'inerrant' (read 'above criticism') interpretation of the sacred texts. It is one thing for a well-meaning layperson with a deep allegiance to a religious tradition to delegate authority to his or her religious leaders, but it is quite another for those leaders to pretend to discover (thanks to their expertise) the right answers in their tradition by a process that has to taken on faith and is inaccessible to even the most well-meant criticism.
...We need make no accusations of insincerity or guile, but respecting someone's innocence does not oblige us to respect his belief. Here is what we should say to such a person: There is only one way to respect the substance of any purported God-given moral edict: consider it conscientiously in the full light of reason, using all the evidence at our command. No God that was pleased by displays of unreasoning love would be worthy of worship."p. 298
"Here is a proposal, then: as long as parents don't teach their children anything that is likely to close their minds
[1] through fear or hatred or
[2] by disabling them from inquiry (by denying them an education, for instance, or keeping them entirely isolated from the world)
then they may teach their children whatever religious doctrines they like. It's just an idea, and perhaps there are better ones to consider, but it should appeal to freedom lovers everywhere: the idea of insisting that the devout of all faiths should face the challenge of making sure their creed is worthy enough, attractive and plausible and meaningful enough, to withstand the temptations of its competitors. If you have to hookwink—or blindfold—your children to ensure that they confirm their faith when they are adults, your faith ought to go extinct."p. 328
"People are afraid of being more ignorant than their children -- especially, apparently, their daughters. We are going to have to persuade them that there are few pleasures more honorable and joyful than being instructed by your own children."
p. 339
"...there is no better source of truth on any topic than well-conducted science..."
p. 372
"We may appeal to science to clarify or confirm factual presuppositions of our moral discussions, but it doesn't provide or establish the values that our ethical judgments and arguments are based on. We who put our faith in science should be no more reluctant to acknowledge this than those who put their faith in one religion or another."
p. 376
Review
Book:
Mario Bunge is a renowned philosopher based at McGill University, Montreal
See also:
| XHTML CSS |