{"id":425,"date":"2012-01-13T21:00:00","date_gmt":"2012-01-13T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/2012\/01\/reasonable-religion.html"},"modified":"2012-01-13T21:00:00","modified_gmt":"2012-01-13T21:00:00","slug":"reasonable-religion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/2012\/01\/reasonable-religion.html","title":{"rendered":"Reasonable Religion"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Am I anti-religious?<\/p>\n

Many atheists are proudly so.\u00a0 They see all religion as dangerous and harmful and they seek its eradication.\u00a0 That\u2019s not my emphasis.\u00a0 In fact, I generally view liberal religion as my ally. \u00a0(I\u2019m what the other atheists call an accomodationist.)<\/p>\n

In my profile (over there on the right) I state this:<\/p>\n

I believe in the centrality of ceremony and ritual in human life, but I also believe that it must be de-coupled from the supernatural. I believe that the scientific method is the only way to understand ourselves and reality. I believe that dogmatic religion is one of the most destructive forces in the world and that we humans need to create non-theistic alternatives to it.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What I tried to make clear there \u2013 within Blogger\u2019s word limit \u2013 is that my opposition is not to religion, per se, but to its highly dogmatic variety.\u00a0 Inflexible authoritarian doctrines of many kinds (Communism comes to mind) are the enemy of freedom.\u00a0 They bind human possibility and creativity in chains.\u00a0 The religious version values a specific \u2013 and highly questionable \u2013 supernatural authority, which they alone authentically interpret, over reason.<\/p>\n

But not all modern religion is dogmatic.<\/p>\n

Liberal religions, the product of reformative processes, are generally non-dogmatic (or \u201cdogma-lite\u201d).\u00a0 I do not oppose these kinds of religions.\u00a0 To do so would be a waste of time and an insult to people who find in them comfort, solace and inspiration to do good deeds.\u00a0 I appreciate their efforts to reconcile what we have discovered about the world with their various traditions.<\/p>\n

However, appreciation does not indicate agreement.\u00a0 For instance, I appreciate that liberal religious thinkers have made great efforts to reconcile the theory of evolution with their faith narratives.\u00a0 I do not, however, agree with the reasoning that gets them there.<\/p>\n

The Clergy Letter Project<\/a>, for example, is a laudable effort by Michael Zimmerman to round up support by liberal clergy for the teaching of evolution in public schools.\u00a0 He\u2019s collected well over 12,000 signatures.\u00a0 This is a significant example of a non-dogmatic, much-appreciated liberal religious position.<\/p>\n

But do I agree with the reasoning of Zimmerman and the 12,000 who signed on?<\/p>\n

Here is what Zimmerman recently wrote on HuffPost<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\u2026evolutionary theory has absolutely nothing to do with religion and it certainly makes no statements about the viability of atheism. As I\u2019ve said so many times before, the very existence of The Clergy Letter Project<\/a> demonstrates that thousands of religious leaders have absolutely no trouble embracing evolution while remaining true to their faith. Yes, one narrow view of religion\u2026has a problem with modern science, but we should recognize it for the narrow perspective that it is.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Even with my appreciation for their goal of battling creationism, I can\u2019t get on board with this assertion.\u00a0 Evolutionary theory may not have anything specifically to say about atheism, but fundamentalists are not entirely wrong about the challenge it presents to the faithful.\u00a0 The more one truly grasps evolution, the less one needs to posit a supernatural source of creation.\u00a0 Correcting my own understanding of evolution certainly put the last nail in the coffin of my faith.<\/p>\n

I work in the Jewish community and it is filled with liberally religious people.\u00a0 I also participate in all kinds of \u201cinter-faith\u201d activities (though I\u2019d prefer another term for them) with churches and other groups.\u00a0 I admire all of the many good deeds done by liberally religious people.\u00a0 They perform acts of righteousness for others regardless of creed.\u00a0 I do not aim to eradicate their religious faith.\u00a0 It\u2019s simply not part of my agenda.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless,\u00a0I\u2019m also interested in what is true and I think that they believe some things that are not. \u00a0So when they make assertions about God, I feel free to challenge them. \u00a0And\u00a0I will continue to debate and critique their reasoning and their supernatural pronouncements.<\/p>\n

In sharp contrast to their dogmatic, fundamentalist counterparts, they rarely take offense and usually enjoy the debate.\u00a0 And\u00a0at the end of the day, they not only do not seek to impose their world view on me, they usually thank me for clarifying mine. \u00a0More than once I have even been invited to speak in their congregations.<\/p>\n

It was a series of religious reformations that ultimately gave birth to Humanistic Judaism.\u00a0 We promote a lifestyle of gathering and celebrating, on Shabbat, holidays or for life cycle events, that evolved in a theistic context among faithful Jews.\u00a0 We may break faith with those Jews of the past, but we do not pretend that our needs for identity or community have been eradicated by our liberation from their supernatural concerns.<\/p>\n

I do hope for the day when liberal religious leaders will transform their traditions even more than they have already done.\u00a0 The key to this is patience and engagement.\u00a0 Appreciating them as I do empowers me to challenge them as well.\u00a0 In sharp contrast to how that debate plays out with dogmatic believers, ours is a healthy dialogue among allies.<\/p>\n

So no, I am not anti-religious.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Am I anti-religious? Many atheists are proudly so.\u00a0 They see all religion as dangerous and harmful and they seek its eradication.\u00a0 That\u2019s not my emphasis.\u00a0 In fact, I generally view liberal religion as my ally. \u00a0(I\u2019m what the other atheists call an accomodationist.) In my profile (over there on the right) I state this: I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2281,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[6,10,11,12,24,25,31,39],"class_list":["post-425","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blogentries","tag-atheism","tag-church-and-state","tag-evolution-and-creationism","tag-fundamentalist-christianity","tag-liberal-judaism","tag-liberal-religions-and-theologies","tag-orthodox-judaism","tag-secular-humanistic-judaism"],"yoast_head":"\nReasonable Religion<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Am I anti-religious? 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