Friday, June 10, 2005

Hot dogma

Someone asked me whether I could teach in a religious school considering that I am an athiest. Would that change the way I teach? Could I just ignore the superstition? I try to teach questioning and critical analysis. Once you see how usefull this practice is, how could you not apply it to other subjects, including religion.

I've asked the following question to people I know who have faith in religion (the brand doesn't matter), "Would you convert to (insert their religious practice here) if you were born into another faith?". Usually they dismiss the question without any thought. I try to badger them with "Have you looked into all the religions? Why do you dismiss those and not your own? Do you know how your/their holy texts came about? Do you look at the historical context of the begining of your/their religion?, etc. etc.".

However, my grandfather replied that he would follow the religion he was born into. I found this an amazing statement. He had no problem with it. He said that everyone had to believe in some higher being. When I explained to him I didn't, he could not comprehend that. When I asked him if he could question his beliefs, he replied no, he believed what he was told. I asked him if he still believed in the Easter bunny or tooth fairy. Of course not. I asked him why he couldn't apply the same questioning. Silence. I left it there and changed topics.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've just been reading essays by Richard Dawkins (A Devil's Chaplain)- and I agree with you completely.


Amanda

'Door said...

I should get hold of that book and read it.

elaine said...

I still believe in Santa... but this is because when I stop believing I will cease to get my christmas stocking stuffed. I think I can go on believing in Santa for a very long time.

My belief in god (if ever I had one) had no such fringe benefits.

How was the weekend away?

'Door said...

The weekend away was relaxing. To top it off, I came back to watch the footy on sunday and beating Richmond is always a pleasure.