Atheism and Libertarianism

Given the amount of vitriol I send in the direction of religion – and, in particular, Christianity – I sometimes get comments on the blog about my attitude to religion. Most recently, I received an e-mail asking me what my problem with God is, and how I can rationalise that with being Libertarian. So I thought I would make my thoughts on religion perfectly clear for anyone who cannot pick up my position on religion by implication.

First up, it is worth noting that I don’t have a problem with God, much in the same way as I don’t have a problem with Noddy. As far as I am concerned, both are fictional characters. And I only have a limited amount of scorn and derision within me, so I have to focus on being angry with real people, rather than created characters.

No, I do have an issue with religion. To break it down, I think that most religions are so farcical in their claims that it is impossible not to mock. Why talk about “the Lord their God” when “the invisible sky fairy” comes across as so much more accurate a description? Why use the term “believers” when “God-botherers” provokes a far more satisfying reaction? Maybe it is a bit childish and a bit of pointless verbal flashing, but fuck it. I’ve never claimed to be mature. At least not consistently mature, anyway.

But I have slightly more credible reasons for my scorn towards religion. Like the damage religion does to society. It isn’t just the damage that, say, Islam is doing to Iraq or Iran. Look at what the born-again Christian George W Bush has done to the USA. When religion becomes militant, when it seeks to convert others or even whole societies, then it becomes deeply destructive. I have no issue with someone who wants to use religion as a design for life, or as a crutch to help them through a world that is often troubling and uncertain – just so long as they don’t try to convert me or use their ancient, contradictory texts as a blueprint to change society.

And then we have the privileged position religion seems to hold in society. I can call socialism a big pile of wank in front of a socialist and it is game on – the debate/argument begins. It is often fraught, and angry, but the debate happens. Criticise religion in front of many religious types, and you are met with a startled look of indignation and fear. The response isn’t to engage in an argument about the relative merits of atheism against religion. Rather, there is the startled demand to know how I can say such things, and whether or not I know that this is their religion. You can see this mentality emerging when you hear people talking about how “the UK is a Christian country”. It isn’t. It may once have been a Christian country, but it also used to be an absolute monarchy, and it isn’t anymore. We live in a multicultural country with a largely secular government. Religion needs to realise that it is just one view (actually, a number of different views) in a world filled with disparate and exponentially increasing number of beliefs. In the final analysis there is no difference between Islam and being a Jedi, or between being a socialist and a Christian. It may be humbling for someone who holds a religious views to realise this, but unfortunately for them, it also happens to be true.

So, how can I rationalise this disdain for religion with being a Libertarian – particularly when being a Libertarian inherently involves a commitment to freedom of speech. Well, the answer is implicit in the last paragraph, but I’ll spell it out just in case. I believe that everyone has a right to their beliefs, but that doesn’t mean I have to respect those views. Take racism. I find it abhorrent, but I believe that people have a right to hold those beliefs is they are that ignorant. And I see very little difference between my stance on racism and that on religion.

For the religious, remember this: I respect your right to hold religious views, but that doesn’t mean I respect the views you hold. Freedom of speech allows you to be religious, but also allows others to criticise your views. Accept it, get over it.