Female Genital Mutilation: Change through Understanding

Arrogant Religions' Danger to Humanity

By Gil Villagrán, MSW San Jose, Feb. 2009
gvillagran [at] casa.sjsu.edu

The problem with arrogant religions is that they command believers, their flock, to believe absolutely, without doubt, question or the possibility of other belief. Statements as "our god is the only true god, and all who do not believe are heretics, pagans, infidels or devil-worshippers, condemned to eternal damnation," identifies arrogant religions. 
 Self-centered certainty is the absolute belief that there is only one truth, now and forever for all people, and that truth is our belief. Such religions condemn non-believers, or believers of slightly dissimilar worship. 


Religious absolutism often becomes brutal, even bizarre, as the practice of genital mutilation of children based upon a covenant with god. If god created us in his image, why is the slicing of babies' genitals required? 


Religions are often deadly, reaching genocidal dimensions, with clerics torturing and burning heretics during the inquisitions and witch trials, Crusader wars to liberate the so-called holy land by killing hundreds of thousands of "non-believer" Muslims, and vice versa, the killing by Muslims of "non-believer" Christians. Curiously, both agreed to kill the Jews who also claimed that god gave them the region as their exclusive holy land.

Truth be told, each side suffered from too much self-delusional root-bound belief, which continues to this day. 
 Many religions believe they have a monopoly on god, wisdom and morality, as if god selected one tribe of humans to love at the exclusion of all other humans on one Earth. Such a god seems quite petty and arbitrary--more human than divine. Worshipping such a god is naive and self-serving, as worshipping a monarch who claims to be god or at least conveniently divinely selected. In prior times all monarchs claimed divine selection, supported by their court clerics in secular agreement for the state to collect taxes for armies, jails; and cathedrals temples or mosques exclusively for the court selected clerics. 


Most modern societies no longer consider kings or queens, priests, nuns, bishops, or other clerics as divinely selected. Yet some religions continue to believe in the divinity and infallibility of their highest priests, popes, reincarnated lamas, or ayatollahs. Clerics may be inspired (with spirit) by personal experience or brain chemistry-caused visions (delusions or illusions), sometimes derived from fungi or cacti eaten while wondering in the wilderness. We may judge a person by their words, but better to judge them by their words and actions.


War and religion are a deadly mixture. Religious holy wars are the hottest, seeking total annihilation of enemies. Most wars between competing nations fights over disputed territory or foolishly--over national honor, while some wars are outright invasions for land, resources or slaves. Wars for national expansion end when one nation steals some or a lot of territory. Wars for slaves end when enough slaves are kidnapped. Wars for markets end when trade begins to take place without killing all the enemies, who can be transformed into customers. 
But religious wars begin and end with total de-humanization of an enemy defined as less than human because they do not believe in the true god, thus they are defined as heretics-already on their way to eternal damnation. Clerics can whip up the vilest hatreds-commanding and bribing god-fearing true believers to kill for god and offering great rewards-eternal life in heaven, some offering 72 virgins. It is convenient to make such a promise, payable after death, without secular cost to the religious institution. 


Martin Luther King's life-long non-violent quest for social justice 
indicates his character, as well as that of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Mahatma Gandhi, the Dalai Lama and Mother Theresa. I consider these leaders for peace to be compassionate religious leaders for the rights for all humans, not just members of their religion. The universality of their belief and their work is what makes them transcendent spiritual teachers. I know of no instance when they preached "death to the infidels" instead of "love one another."
 How are we to judge ministers, priests, clerics, popes and ayatollahs? Judge them by their words and actions. For your sanity, world peace and human survival, do not blindly follow any religion so arrogant as to claim absolute righteousness. 
Religion, for the most part, is an illusion with tragically real consequences.

The author is very brave;
to be pursuing this issue in Egypt;
where assassination of dissenters can happen.