There have been many an assault on religion from various quarters.
The primary argument being that it is not rational, it is not scientific
and that it leads to violence and oppressive structures and patterns.
For starters, religion does not deal primarily with areas of science.
And science should know better than to delve into areas where it has no
competence. But that is a philosophical line of defense. I would let
that pass and attempt a historical defense.
Modern world has not seen a greater violence than that brought about by Hitler's attempt at eliminating the Jewish race from Europe. It was an attempt that was markedly modern in its values and methods with one crucial difference. But first the similarities. It was materialist in its knowledge systems, scientific in outlook with it drawing on state of the art of genetics and eugenics for its ideological foundation, statist in its adoption of social engineering as one of its goals. It was modern in its method with design of a bureaucratic machinery that would rival any of the modern bureaucracies and their rational legal frameworks. Now, to the difference. The difference was the value of equality of human beings. He could not conceive of a world where all humans, including Jews, were of equal value. And on equality, I quote Jurgen Habermas. ""Universalistic egalitarianism, from which sprang the ideals of freedom and a collective life in solidarity, the autonomous conduct of life and emancipation, the individual morality of conscience, human rights and democracy, is the direct legacy of the Judaic ethic of justice and the Christian ethic of love. This legacy, substantially unchanged, has been the object of continual critical appropriation and reinterpretation. To this day, there is no alternative to it. And in light of the current challenges of a postnational constellation, we continue to draw on the substance of this heritage. Everything else is just idle postmodern talk."
The Christian influence is not just in Europe. Trace back the origins of the statistic of literacy in Kerala at over 40 percent when national average was approximately 16 as per Census of 1951, you will find additional evidence.
I cannot speak for the contribution of other religions. For I have not had as much of an active engagement with their world views and the comprehensiveness of their impact.
So the next time, someone says that religion's influence has been bad, ask him to get himself a cup of tea and read a little bit of history. Once he is done with that, he can then start on philosophy. And then once he gets his analytical tools and historical background in place, only then, start the conversation with him.
Modern world has not seen a greater violence than that brought about by Hitler's attempt at eliminating the Jewish race from Europe. It was an attempt that was markedly modern in its values and methods with one crucial difference. But first the similarities. It was materialist in its knowledge systems, scientific in outlook with it drawing on state of the art of genetics and eugenics for its ideological foundation, statist in its adoption of social engineering as one of its goals. It was modern in its method with design of a bureaucratic machinery that would rival any of the modern bureaucracies and their rational legal frameworks. Now, to the difference. The difference was the value of equality of human beings. He could not conceive of a world where all humans, including Jews, were of equal value. And on equality, I quote Jurgen Habermas. ""Universalistic egalitarianism, from which sprang the ideals of freedom and a collective life in solidarity, the autonomous conduct of life and emancipation, the individual morality of conscience, human rights and democracy, is the direct legacy of the Judaic ethic of justice and the Christian ethic of love. This legacy, substantially unchanged, has been the object of continual critical appropriation and reinterpretation. To this day, there is no alternative to it. And in light of the current challenges of a postnational constellation, we continue to draw on the substance of this heritage. Everything else is just idle postmodern talk."
The Christian influence is not just in Europe. Trace back the origins of the statistic of literacy in Kerala at over 40 percent when national average was approximately 16 as per Census of 1951, you will find additional evidence.
I cannot speak for the contribution of other religions. For I have not had as much of an active engagement with their world views and the comprehensiveness of their impact.
So the next time, someone says that religion's influence has been bad, ask him to get himself a cup of tea and read a little bit of history. Once he is done with that, he can then start on philosophy. And then once he gets his analytical tools and historical background in place, only then, start the conversation with him.
