Respect My Beliefs

Religion, so we have been given to understand over the centuries, is supposed to be about being a guiding way of life, something that assists you in developing into a balanced human being. That, in reality, the largest numbers of murders, mass killings, tortures, and wars in the world were perpetrated in the name of religion is a fact lightly brushed aside – oh, that wasn't religion, that was human failing – human failing, I must say, that religion full exploited – you only need to read certain portions of religious tracts that urge believers to attack/kill/destroy non-believers to realize that.

This aggressive feature of religion is more and more apparent these days. In fact everyone's riding in the same section of the boat. Follow the World News on the shenanigans of the heavy-weight three - Muslims, Hindus, and Christians - and you'll find a significant similarity. They want the general public to respect them and their beliefs, and they are going about earning this respect by demanding bans on everything that upsets their sensitive souls, by rioting, threatening, and killing.

And the explanations for these examples of brazen hooliganism sound strangely enough like an old Nursery complaint regurgitated - it's their fault, they asked for it, they wouldn't listen to me, they wouldn't do as I said, they insisted on following their own way, so, of course, I broke their toys and beat them up

That excuse, in the right families, would have entailed a sharp lecture on self-control from the grown-ups. Since some of us obviously don't seem to have bloomed in such a responsible environment, it seems that our uncontrolled acts of vandalism and bullying are to be regarded with an understanding light. Far from throwing the book at us, the government mollycoddles us and inquires what brand of soothing balm we would prefer.

I have lost count of the times I have read or heard this statement - "It is important to respect all religious beliefs." It has become the peace bleat anthem of all governments and individuals that want to avoid trouble.

But, truly, it is becoming harder and harder to develop any kind of respect for people who talk about their religion in terms of a personal relationship with their god and then use that personal relationship to make a thoroughly public nuisance of themselves.

We have the Hindu Fundamentalist mobs demanding the arrest of the Indian painter M F Husain for the nude Saraswati painting.

We have a Minister of Uttar Pradesh adding his two bits to the uproar over the Danish Cartoons by announcing a reward for the death of the cartoonists.

We have Cardinal Francis Arinze raging against the film 'The Da Vinci Code'.

The common thread of complaint with all these people is 'blasphemy'. A term that Robert Ingersoll explains very well in 'The Gods' - "This crime called blasphemy was invented by priests for the purpose of defending doctrines not able to take care of themselves."

In a sensible world, the calm and curt response to their diatribes would be -

You find the painting offensive, don't buy or see it.

You find the cartoons offensive, don't see them (how many of these protesters have in fact seen them, anyway?).

You find the film offensive, don't go and watch it.

Ask yourself how your religious faith could be so profoundly affected by something that, save for the officious media, you might have never even heard of.

Why is it, given your strong claim of religious faith and religious superiority, that you think that a particular artwork or film has the power to send a staunch individual like yourself into such an offended tizzy?

Why, given your strong faith, does it matter to you what someone else, especially a non-believer, even thinks?

What makes you think that your religion entitles you to decide what other people should think or do?

But, no, we live in an illogical world and the illogical demand respect or blood for their illogic. And since we are kind of leery about giving blood – 'devout cowards', as the cartoonist Art Spiegelman put it - let's examine respect.

Respect, for these people, obviously, is not about Voltaire's maxim – 'I disapprove of what you say, but will defend to the death your right to say it.' – or anything to that tune.

No, respect seems more about – my way or the highway. Or, as Macaulay elegantly put it - 'I am in the right, and you are in the wrong. When you are the stronger, you ought to tolerate me; for it is your duty to tolerate truth. But when I am the stronger I shall persecute you; for it is my duty to persecute error.'

But the problem with any religion is that its adherents all interpret 'the truth' from the personal prism of their own special situation and circumstances. A cursory glance through history texts will tell you that folks from the same religion have even fought and massacred one another over different interpretations.

And on top of it you have individual tastes and likes and dislikes.

So when people start demanding that you respect their religion and refrain from indulging in things that offend them, where does it stop, how many people are you supposed to placate, how many things are you supposed to forsake?

The religious bigots may not like anything I do, so what do I do, stop living? That might appeal to them, but, frankly, the prospect doesn't in the least entice me.

Respect, as my grandmother used to say, is a two way street.

Which means if you don't like your beliefs questioned in public, don't air them in public.

Which means if I must not comment on your religion, you too must not practice it so loudly and send me proselytizing messages in the bargain. This I write as a special note to Pope Benedict XVI, who, according to the Times of India(May 20, 2006), has ordered the Indian government to allow conversions here – 'The bid to curb religious freedom must be rejected as unconstitutional and contrary to the highest ideals of India's founding fathers'. Now I have a pretty good idea what the good Pope's reaction would be if people of other beliefs – Hindus, Muslims, Wiccans, Buddhists, Atheists, etc. - demanded similar proselytizing opportunities in the Vatican. He would slam shut the gates and holler that such blasphemous ideas are contrary to the highest ideals of the Church's founding fathers. Well, that's not particularly fair, is it? If you want to come scratch our back, you need to allow us to come scratch yours too.

Which means if I'm to shut up about my opinions, you need to shut up too about yours.

Which means if I'm not allowed to criticize you for your faith, you're not allowed to beat me up for my non-believer status.

Which means if you really want respect from me, you need to earn it in some other upbeat fashion.