Sunteți pe pagina 1din 2

Hey SSA.

I'm most likely coming to UWF next spring and when I researched the place a bit I came across this
"union" (Bear with me, my vocabulary could be bigger).
Since I'm most probably going to be engaged in debate with those of you still attending next year, I thought
I might share a bit of my pocket philosophy (Danish term, don't know how well that expression translated)

So here goes:
As this union is based around the idea of upholding your secular state, I see a couple of questions arising.
When it comes to the question concerning the role that religion should play in society, one must get their
goals straight.
Some questions presents themselves rather quickly in my opinion, but are perhaps not given their deserved
attention.

How do we find the balancing point between wanting to break people free from religious thinking, by
what some would call missionary-esque work, and being respectful of freedom of religion?

When listening to for instance the debate between Hitchens/Fry and Onaiyekan/Widdecombe on the
question Is the Catholic Church a source for good in the world? from a free-thinker/agnostic/atheist
(what-ever label you put on yourself) perspective, it is easy to get carried away by both Fry and Hitchens
public speaking skills. I suspect you might have an idea about their views on the matter ;)

If we wish to answer the above question, we should discuss the relationship between the religious
individual and their organizations.
Should theism be fought to the same degree no matter where you are, on a global scale?
Should you find yourself in the middle of Namibia, Rwanda, poor areas of the US (Ive been led to believe
that there are quite a few), would you take a stand against religion and perhaps try to be a voice of
enlightenment?
I would make the following hypothesis as a healthy discussion might entail:

In order to benefit from breaking with a theistic worldview you have to have sufficient resources to live
a educationally and materialistically fulfilling life.

Try to put yourself into the mind of a 26 year old African woman. (Pick for instance one of the previously
mentioned countries) .
You are now in a situation where: Mosquitos kill you. A cold might kill you. Wound infections might kill you.
AIDS might kill you. Etc.
Put on top of this; High child mortality rates, low educational levels, no materialistic things, 15-18 hour
work day and a life expectancy of maybe 40.
Could it be said that religion makes very much sense if you were in this situation? Having a Earthly life
giving as little meaning as that might, wouldnt religion give you a reason to keep going?

It is very easy sitting in the developed and enlightened world (as for instance here in Scandinavia where we
are all pretty spoiled. (How does a minimum wage around 28$ and a 38 hour workweek with 5 weeks paid
vacation sound?))
We are able to give our life meaning through some of the following:
Free education in whatever field you desire, branding ourselves on social media, spend resources on our
hobbies, ranting philosophy on the internet, etc.
I will rephrase the question to something, which perhaps will be more understandable:

In which instances are our mental/physical resources so superior that fighting religion is an immoral
action?
Just a little rant. Maybe some of these questions will spawn some discussion in your group.

S-ar putea să vă placă și