Catholic fundamentalists will not be happy, not happy at all. Extremists like David Quinn, John Waters, Mary Kenny and staff at the Irish Catholic will be fuming after watching Richard Dawkins on the Late Late Show.
Here’s an edited sample of part of the interview.
Where does god fit into things?
God has little to do anymore…we don’t need god anymore to explain anything and that pretty much means we don’t need god at all.
But most people believe in god.
Yes, it’s great consolation but it doesn’t mean he’s there, there’s no evidence whatsoever.
So what’s the Vatican – Toy town?
Yes, a gigantic very expensive, very rich waste of time.
Many would disagree.
They’re misguided.
Do you see god as believable as the Easter Bunny?
Pretty much, yes. The evidence for either is equally sparse.
Personally, I prefer the comparison between god and Santa Claus. Millions of humans have an absolute belief in Santa. They believe because parents and other figures of authority go to great lengths to instill the truth of Santa.
This belief from authority is reinforced by society in general and in particular by the media. All of society conspires in this harmless and happy indoctrination and the humans who believe have no reason whatsoever to doubt such widespread ‘evidence’.
When the Santa believers reach a certain age, however, they are informed that Santa doesn’t exist, that it’s all just a bit of fun to make Christmas extra magical for the believers. As the former Santa believers join the world of reality they are invited to continue promoting the myth so that the believers can continue to enjoy that extra magic.
This temporary and happy indoctrination of children is exactly the same as the more sinister religious indoctrination that most children are forced to endure with one crucial difference – as they grow up the indoctrination continues, they’re never told the truth.
As they mature from children to vulnerable and impressionable young adults they are subjected to massive propaganda and lies from a whole range of forces – Parents, teachers, priests, the media and society in general.
To question the unquestioned myths is dangerous and almost always brings down punishment of some sort. It is only when these children become independent adults that they are permitted to express their own views.
Unfortunately, by then it is too late for many of them, the damage is done.
So what does this have to do with corruption in Ireland? 🙂
And how does your thesis hold true for the very many people who only come to faith in adulthood?
The great Zeus, from time to time, allows me to stray from the corruption thing.
My post concerned the indoctrination of children – But to answer your question.
Practically all humans are indoctrinated into some religion or other in childhood and that indoctrination can, for various reasons, reactivate or even become extreme in adulthood.
There is also a natural (evolutionary) tendency in all humans to be religious probably because of our brain type.
And what of Muslims who become Christians? Or Christians who become Buddhists? Or worst of all, secular humanists who betray themselves in scientology?
I think your theory might reduce religious affiliation to absurdity. Which is probably what you are hoping for, but lacking in explanatory power… Bishop Dawkins would be ill-amused. 😉
The explanations are missing in religion. All of them are based on unquestioned belief which by definition means theres no evidence. Of course its absurd! Tubridy wasnt impressed either to have the santy story ruined!
Not quite sure what you mean Kevin.
My original point is clear – Religious indoctrination of children is wrong. Indeed I agree with Dawkins in his claim that it amounts to child abuse.
I’m baffled by your comment about reducing religious affiliation to absurdity and so on.
Perhaps this will help – I believe that all religious belief is evolutionary and that the phenomenon evolved because of our brain type.
Humans could not have survived without some mechanism to provide ‘answers’ to all the amazing but frightening events of existence. Over millions of years the religious gene or god gene became hardwired in the human brain.
Enlightenment, principally through science, has been making strong challenges to that religious gene for about two or three centuries, a very short period historically speaking.
It is that challenge to the evolutionary religious gene that is the cause of so much religious conflict today.
The incredible mish mash of believers, the incredible number of different gods, the huge movement of believers moving back and forth between such religions as Christianity, Islam and Scientology and sometimes onward over the edge, is all part of the human (brain) conflict between a god gene that was once very useful and necessary but which is increasingly (Thank Zeus) seen as unnecessary