Religion & Violence

October 25, 2008 · Filed Under Baum's Blog 

Sometimes people do really stupid and horrible and atrocious stuff in the name of religion. Like pro-life Christians who kill doctors who perform abortions, or the so-called religious Jew who killed Israel’s Prime Minister, Yitzhak Rabin, in 1995.

While those are extreme examples, a recent article (well not that recent, but I just got around to reading it) on msnbc suggests that for some of Israel’s ultra-Orthodox “the rule of law sometimes takes a back seat to the rule of God.” It’s frightening. The article describes Orthodox men throwing stones at women for wearing inappropriate clothing (like a red shirt, God forbid!); some of these ultra-Orthodox men even attack stores that sell MP4 players, out of fear that the devices would be used by devout Jews to access pornography.

Let me get this straight. Instead of trusting that their fellow “devout” Jews will make the “right decision” and refrain from accessing pornographic material, they destroy the outlets that sell technology which could possibly be used for such things (not to mention that it can also be used for good things like education and connecting to others!).

That’s what I call unbelievable. It seems to me that when there’s a will, there’s a way (even for finding porn) and if someone wants it, they’re going to find it. Despite that, some think torching the store is the right solution.

Please don’t get me wrong. There are plenty of wonderful religious people (including Orthodox Jews) in the world. I recognize that a small minority is violent. For that minority, it frightens me that people are using my religion for destructive ends.

Karl Marx has described religion as the “opiate of the masses” and indeed it can (but does not always) inspire complacency – allowing people to leave their destiny up to divinity. Even more disturbing, though, is that religion can be dangerous – and allows people to do crazy things in the name of religion. I don’t accept those who use religion in such destructive and narrow-minded ways. I reject a Judaism (or any religion) that gives people an excuse to say “I did it for God” or “it’s God’s will.” I prefer a Judaism that is combined with humanism – a Judaism that sees religion as a tool for positive change and as a framework within which to explore – a Judaism that also considers science, and reason, and modernity – a Judaism where individual responsibility is central.

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3 Responses to “Religion & Violence”

  1. DMS Says:
    October 25th, 2008 at 9:10 pm

    People are trained to use religion to avoid the responsibility of thinking for themselves. Their simple minded answers for everything is “because the bible tells us so.” When is that going to become taboo? When is it going to be humiliating for people to say that? If they say voodoo dolls contain evil spirits they are shunned and relegated to the extremes of society. If they say that food fell from the sky for 40 years or that someone built a boat and put 1.5 million pairs of living things on it for a year, we say they are good folk. They should be relegated with the voodoo dolls.

  2. Godwrestler Says:
    November 24th, 2008 at 2:18 am

    I am reminded of those Orthodox (not all of them of course) who so stridently supported Prop 8 in CA alongside the Roman Catholic Church and the Latter Day Saints, which I find disgusting, to put it mildly.

    I am happy, however, to see the plight of those Jews by Choice who converted by nonOrthodox rabbis who could not make aliyah has changed. Apparently, some members of the Knesset had enough of the Chief Rabbinate’s hold over these matters, and have put in place a way for religious nonOrthodox and those converted by the Society for Humanistic Judaism to make aliyah and be recognised as Jews. It’s about damn time.

    To me, godliness is more important than a specific concept of God, but I do not dismiss the mystical/spiritual life either. It has touched me too deeply. It does seem, however, that much we call “miraculous” has a natural cause. Take spontaneous healings from prayer: isn’t prayer intended thought?

    I hope to counter the abuse of religion by becoming a maggid, Jewish storyteller, and, also a rabbi.

  3. Godwrestler Says:
    November 24th, 2008 at 2:30 am

    wanted to add: I was dumbfounded to find out that the Academy for Jewish Religion in NY and the one in LA, Hebrew College (all transdenominational) and Reconstructionist Rabbinical College do not allow rabbinical students in interfaith relationships/marriages. And these are liberals who celebrate their inclusion of gay/lesbian students/rabbis, as do I, but not the other. Talk about denying the reality of Judaism in the 21st century–we celebrate interfaith couples but no way is the rabbi going to be in one. Pure lunacy!!

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