Religious Intolerance
I'm not a tolerant person when it comes to intolerance -- especially when it comes wafting in on the malodor of organized religion. I've also grown accustomed to intolerance -- be it triggered by religion, race or perceived class -- and at times, my reaction to it can be, has been, muted. I haven't been desensitized to it, so much as I've come to realize that raising a voice of protest would either result in a shameful defense of excuses or worse, an angry retort by the offensive party. I realize ignoring it only makes me a part of the problem, so here I am, doing something -- even if it's only a post -- and hopefully a little change for the good will be the consequence.
Yesterday, my wife and I attended a hindu ceremony at my grandmother's house. It was a blessing of sorts -- the usual prayers and offerings to our gods, wrapped in singing, ritual and food. Everything was going well, and as much as I have no patience for organized religion, I was there for my grandmother. My wife is catholic, but so reformed, that she would be ostracized from the church if she was important enough to be singled out in the flock. She was very curious about the ceremony, as she always is, asking questions that I was doing my best to make-up answers for. She was especially appreciative of the tolerance that the pandit was preaching.
It is ironic that while these holier-than-thou types preach lessons of tolerance and reason to the unlearned masses, they seem incapable of the practice themselves. Towards the end of the ceremony, the rancor flowed. The pandit declared that the many invading armies that scorched mother India, destroyed religious texts, temples -- but never mind, hinduism prevailed through art. He railed against the whites with their arrogance to learn hinduism and teach it to those born into the religion. (My wife's Italian/British.) He continued his diatribe by declaring that christians chant "oh lord, oh lord" in their churches, and muslims cry, "allah ho akbar" in their mosques -- but they don't know their lord. Stick to hinduism of course, learn from a born hindu, and you will know your god. Ignorant old man.
Like I said before, I'm not a fan of organized religion -- and the pandit's poison only reinforced my resolve. Regardless of my personal feelings towards organized religion however, it was my religion this learned man was misusing. It was embarrassing listening to him. It made me uneasy. Likewise, while my wife isn't a devout catholic, she felt attacked. One of my uncle's commented, "pandit is getting too aggressive in his old age." I don't think age had anything to do with it. Intolerance has a whole lot to do with it, and it has been around in the religious context for as long as religion has been around. Belief has a way of providing a false sense of moral superiority over others that makes it easy for -- and allows intolerance to be practiced and justified. It allows for one group of people to easily dismiss and reduce another group. It desensitizes people to others.
Although I don't buy into the dogma, it was nonetheless an embarrassment to have to have found it in my religion, in my little part of the world.
Yesterday, my wife and I attended a hindu ceremony at my grandmother's house. It was a blessing of sorts -- the usual prayers and offerings to our gods, wrapped in singing, ritual and food. Everything was going well, and as much as I have no patience for organized religion, I was there for my grandmother. My wife is catholic, but so reformed, that she would be ostracized from the church if she was important enough to be singled out in the flock. She was very curious about the ceremony, as she always is, asking questions that I was doing my best to make-up answers for. She was especially appreciative of the tolerance that the pandit was preaching.
It is ironic that while these holier-than-thou types preach lessons of tolerance and reason to the unlearned masses, they seem incapable of the practice themselves. Towards the end of the ceremony, the rancor flowed. The pandit declared that the many invading armies that scorched mother India, destroyed religious texts, temples -- but never mind, hinduism prevailed through art. He railed against the whites with their arrogance to learn hinduism and teach it to those born into the religion. (My wife's Italian/British.) He continued his diatribe by declaring that christians chant "oh lord, oh lord" in their churches, and muslims cry, "allah ho akbar" in their mosques -- but they don't know their lord. Stick to hinduism of course, learn from a born hindu, and you will know your god. Ignorant old man.
Like I said before, I'm not a fan of organized religion -- and the pandit's poison only reinforced my resolve. Regardless of my personal feelings towards organized religion however, it was my religion this learned man was misusing. It was embarrassing listening to him. It made me uneasy. Likewise, while my wife isn't a devout catholic, she felt attacked. One of my uncle's commented, "pandit is getting too aggressive in his old age." I don't think age had anything to do with it. Intolerance has a whole lot to do with it, and it has been around in the religious context for as long as religion has been around. Belief has a way of providing a false sense of moral superiority over others that makes it easy for -- and allows intolerance to be practiced and justified. It allows for one group of people to easily dismiss and reduce another group. It desensitizes people to others.
Although I don't buy into the dogma, it was nonetheless an embarrassment to have to have found it in my religion, in my little part of the world.
I am sorry to hear that what should have been a lovely experience wasn't. I got into a huge argument last week with an idiot in our community who concluded by telling me I was going "to burn in the fires of hell as a blasphemer". I started laughing at him.
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