Religious Privilege and Why I Criticise
My number two biggest gripe about religion, number one being that the religious try to shove their silly beliefs down everyone else’s throats, is that the religious think they are somehow privileged and that their needs and wants should always be attended to at the expense of others who do not adhere to their beliefs. A great example of this sort of selfish behavior can be found in a lawsuit currently underway in the UK.
An Orthodox Jewish couple is suing the management of their vacation home over light sensors that were installed in the hallway. Their complaint? Orthodox Jews aren’t allowed to use electrical devices, including lights, on Jewish holidays. Because of this, they are now unable to enter or exit their vacation home on the Sabbath. In other words, the management company is infringing the couples’ religious rights.
The problem, though, is that they are not the only people who use the facilities. I don’t know if it’s an apartment building or a condo or what, but the hallways are shared with the residents of 35 other apartments. And they, apparently, aren’t happy about the suit.
One of [the other residents], who did not wish to be named but attended a management meeting last week with the couple, said: “For some time there has been discussions around here about the lights being on all day, which is crazy.
“Light sensors mean the lights only come on when you require them to be on, which is common sense.
“This couple are observant Jews. They have a religious problem with this.
“It has gone further than it should have done, I think they have jumped the gun.
“They did come to a meeting and put their point of view forward.
“The general view was that despite any differences the matter should be resolved as quickly as we can.
“It just seems to have been blown out of all proportion.”
So here we have a case of two followers of one particular religion trying to claim special privilege, because their religion requires it, at the expense and inconvenience of others. This sort of behavior is downright maddening.
I was recently asked why I criticise religion so often. A simple answer is, because I can. Religious belief is no different than any other belief. The idea that it should be immune from criticism, an idea that is all too prevalent in the world, is just absurd. In a free country, anything you have a right to believe, others should have the right to criticise. Whether or not a majority of the citizenry agree with the criticism is irrelevant. Religious belief is no more special than political belief, or the belief that the boogeyman lives under the bed. But that’s the easy answer.
The truth is, if the religious would just keep to themselves, there’d be no reason to criticise them so often. But they just can’t do that, can they? Because they believe homosexuality is a sin and that marriage is a religious institution, then homosexuals shouldn’t be allowed to marry. Because they believe that a book is morally reprehensible, or somehow against the tenants of their Bronze Age mythologies, then no one else should be allowed to read that book at the public library. And they repeatedly behave as this Jewish couple, trying to assert special privileges, expecting the rest of society to bend over backwards to accomodate their belief system.
Yeah, it’s because of people like this Jewish couple that I criticise, and will continue to criticise, religion. Oh, and because of the religiously motivated terrorists, too. And the people who pray for their imaginary friend to heal their sick children instead of taking them to hospital where they, you know, wouldn’t actually die. And the people who refuse to give their child a blood transfusion because it’s against their religion. And the people who so vehemently preach one thing while doing another. And… you get the picture.
I criticise religion because it deserves crticism. The days of being silent while religiously-blinded zealots try to send us back to the Bronze Age are over. More and more people are speaking out. And I’m one of them. We do so because we are tired of what people do in the name of religion. And we realize that the world would be a much better place without it. Not perfect, but definitely better.