Religious Shame

Way back in November, I wrote a piece called "Religion, A Threat to Human Dignity and Freedom?" (I had hoped the title would encourage some discussion with people who are inclined to answer "no", but no one bit). In it I talked about how I was disappointed with the mildness of one prominent atheist's objection to religion. Dan Barker, known for his de-conversion from passionate preacher to atheist speaker and author, said that he felt no need to act against religious belief except in those cases in which the constitutional separation of church and state was being violated. I explained why I thought Dan didn't go far enough in his condemnation of religion. This produced a nice outline that could be considered the start of big essay or small book. The concept of shame emerged as a central theme, and I wanted to explore it further. The following is what I've come up with so far...

ITS A SHAME WHEN a so-called man of god convinces followers to fear and prepare for the second coming of Christ on a specific date...and that day comes as go as any other.

ITS A SHAME BECAUSE, 1) Its embarrassing. Its embarrassing that the lives of these people could be so easily hijacked by an incredible, ill-supported claim, which reveals the flaws and weaknesses of the human intellect and character. 2) The followers were victimized, in a sense, by an individual as well as a hostile, viral claim. ...mentally taken hostage, or "mind raped", if you will.

ITS A SHAME WHEN one's duty to the church results in less money, time, and joy for his/herself.

ITS A SHAME BECAUSE it can be difficult enough to get ahead in life financially, to find time for oneself, and to obtain contentment and joy without a church drawing on one's money and time like some sort of blood sucking parasite. Freedom is a rarity when one is busy surviving and fulfilling their duties to family/friends. Religions expect of adherents a whole host of time and money consuming activities, all of which are needless burdens and additional barriers to physical/intellectual freedom and possible happiness.

ITS A SHAME WHEN a person is overcome with guilt and sadness after feeling, thinking, or doing anything that is truly harmless but which is considered an evil sin by their church.

ITS A SHAME BECAUSE, in these instances, someone feels guilt when they could be feeling contentment, happiness, or pleasure instead. Their guilt and sadness would not be felt if the controlling doctrine of the church did not exist. It is needless pain and a further barrier to joy.

IT IS A SHAME WHEN a person abandons their life, their friends, family, job, hobbies, etc.. so that they can live a "pure" life dedicated fully to God.

ITS A SHAME BECAUSE all the joy, comfort, and security granted by those relationships are lost. And it is a shame because, again, a life was given over to the "will" of a mere idea or allegiance to a cult/church leader. An individual was lost and a religious clone was gained, intellectually speaking.

IT IS A SHAME WHEN a person is shunned or cast out by friends and family because he/she disobeyed the dictates of a religion.

IT IS A SHAME BECAUSE social ties are a primary source of health and joy...a source which is lost in these cases.

ITS A SHAME WHEN a person is given admiration and trust because he/she is a "man/woman of God" when in fact this person is either 1) consciously taking advantage of people, or 2) seriously flawed in character and genuinely unworthy of trust. Time and time again, sinister or unworthy characters hide behind a cloak of holiness, a cloak which is easily obtained through church titles and membership. Fooling others is easy in these cases-an untrustworthy individual must simply speak and act as he/she is shown to act, in accordance with the teachings of the church.

ITS A SHAME BECAUSE nonsense (religious doctrine and tradition) once again trumps reason. In this case, its when one tries to determine the character/intent of a person. And, of course, people can easily be victimized by the person they have blind faith in.

ITS A SHAME WHEN people are conned out of their money by others who are claiming to do the Lord's work.

ITS A SHAME BECAUSE people were fooled...they were led to believe a lie. They were so thoroughly convinced that they gave large percentages of their hard-earned income to scam artists. Its a shame because they let their emotions get away from them and rule their decisions.

In the end, its a shame that mental viruses continue to be so successful enslaving so many minds, in the process doing tremendous damage to individuals as well as the ideals of personhood and freedom.

I'm sure there are more ways in which religion conceives shame; but all that I've listed above should keep me busy researching specific examples and stories for some time.