Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

VIEWS The Evil of Religion
Open To Thinking, a recurring column
by Nick Patricca
2013-08-07

This article shared 5158 times since Wed Aug 7, 2013
facebook twitter google +1 reddit email


"Men never commit evil so fully and joyfully as when they do it from religious convictions." Blaise Pascal (19 June 1623—19 August 1662).

We are all acutely aware of the great evil done in the name of God. Every day the media report killings and other atrocities committed in the name of religion. Even when we can attribute many of these evil deeds to evil leaders who cynically and hypocritically preach hatred and violence in the name of their faith in order to achieve power and wealth, there remains the philosophical 'fact' that there is some dynamic in religion that creates and foments evil.

Paul Tillich (Aug. 20, 1886—Oct. 22, 1965), the great German philosopher-theologian, proposed that IDOLATRY is the source of the evils perpetrated by religion. He argues that we chronically anxious humans fear the profound ambiguity at the heart of our existence. We try to overcome this fear by imposing clarity and certainty upon that which is essentially mysterious. Because we lack 'the courage to be,' that is, the courage to engage the mystery of being, to live our lives fully with all the profound risks that such a commitment involves, we take refuge in rationalization and false certitude to justify ourselves and our behavior, to make ourselves feel comfortable and secure—frequently causing, thereby, great injury to the well-being of others.

How do you recognize when a religious tradition has made an IDOL of what it believes? The answer is very simple: it kills people—spiritually, emotionally, intellectually, and physically.

Catholics make an idol of their church when they confuse the institution with the divine will, when they declare that their church alone possesses the truth, that there can be no salvation outside of its jurisdiction (extra ecclesiam nulla salus). Protestants make an idol of Jesus when they preach that faith in Jesus is the only way to God (sola fides) and of the scriptures when they declare them to be the sole source (sola scriptura) of revelation. Jews make an idol of the Torah when they claim that it gives them the divine right to certain pieces of real estate. Muslims make an idol of the Koran when they claim that it gives them the divine right to impose Islam on all non-believers; and they make a fetish of Mohammed when they kill people they judge to have dishonored him.

Stalin and Mao made an idol out of Marxist dialectic when they claimed that history required them to destroy private property and kill millions of peasants in the name of progress. And, Hitler made an idol of racial folk-blood when he made 'Aryans' masters of all other human beings, judges entitled to decide who lives and who dies, killing Jews, gypsies, Poles, homosexuals, communists, and many other groups who did not fit into their pure blood race of supermen.

The Latin 'religio,' from which we receive our English word religion, means 'to bind oneself' to a discipline or 'to connect oneself' to the divine. The Latin 'religio' bears kinship to the Sanskrit root verb that gives us our English word 'yoga' which means to join oneself or yoke oneself to a set of practices spiritual as well as physical. For me this etymological excursion reveals the true meaning and nature of religion.

The rituals, symbols, teachings, and practices (morals and mores) of a religion are the means by which we strive to make ourselves 'awake' to the presence of God in all the aspects of our lives. Religion should be the matrix and means for participating in the life of God. As such, the purpose of religion is not to dissolve the mystery of life but to enable the practitioner to enter more deeply into that mystery. This engagement of the mystery at the heart of our being does not destroy our 'anxiety.' On the contrary, the proper practice of religion enables us to respond constructively to our fear; it enables us to respond creatively to the ambiguity of life.

Religion should help us to act compassionately toward all our fellow creatures—including ourselves.

Nick Patricca is professor emeritus at Loyola University Chicago, president of Chicago Network and playwright emeritus at Victory Gardens Theater.


This article shared 5158 times since Wed Aug 7, 2013
facebook twitter google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

United Church of Hyde Park hosts LGBTQ+ storytelling event
2024-03-25
About 20 people had gathered around four round tables in the community room of the United Church of Hyde Park, 1448 E. 53rd St., on March 23. They were listening quietly to a man tell the story of how, on a ...


Gay News

Bring Chicago Home Campaign releases open endorsement letter from 100+ faith leaders
2024-02-19
--From a press release - CHICAGO — With just over a month before the March 19th primary election, prominent Chicago faith leaders will today release a letter—signed by over 100 religious leaders—endorsing the Bring Chicago Home campaign to restructure the Real ...


Gay News

VIEWS Mike Johnson: The smiling face of Christian tyranny
2024-02-14
Mike Johnson wants to rewrite the constitution to make the United States a Christian nation. James Michael Johnson, Republican from Louisiana's Fourth District, is the 56th speaker of the United States House of Representatives. He was ...


Gay News

VIEWS Parents, not legislators, should be making decisions about medical options for children
2024-02-06
By Jeffery M. Leving - No matter the medical issue, when it comes to kids, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said something last December that every lawmaker in the country should realize when it comes to medical decisions for children. "Were House ...


Gay News

WORLD Marriage in Greece, UK politics, cruise death, HRC grants
2024-02-02
The Holy Synod of the Church of Greece unanimously agreed at a recent meeting that it is "strongly opposed" to the Greek government's promised bill on same-sex marriage and adoption, Balkan Insight reported. The conservative New ...


Gay News

Ohio man sentenced for firebombing pro-LGBTQ+ church
2024-01-30
On Jan. 29, 2024, Ohio resident Aimenn D. Penny was sentenced to 216 months (18 years) in prison followed by three years of supervised release for attempting to burn down a pro-LGBTQ+ church, according to a ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Sundance items, Green Day, 'Wednesday,' Queerties, 'The Wiz'
2024-01-26
At the Sundance Film Festival, Jodie Foster told Variety that the $1.4-billion success of Barbie helps confirm that Hollywood no longer views women directors as too much of a risk. She said, "With a big success ...


Gay News

VIEWS Is the Pope Catholic? Francis faces opposition in steps toward LGBTQ+ inclusivity
2024-01-02
The recent change in Vatican policy allowing priests to bless same-gender couples has provoked an unprecedented backlash against Pope Francis and his openness to LGBTQ+ people—a backlash that some fear might devolve into a schism in ...


Gay News

WORLD Brianna Ghey, archbishops, HIV, George Michael, Albanian women
2023-12-29
A boy and a girl, each 16, were found guilty of murdering a transgender teenager in northwest England earlier this year in a knife attack, per a Yahoo! News item that cited the AP. Brianna Ghey, ...


Gay News

Catholic Church allows priests to bless same-sex couples but reaffirms disapproval of gay marriage
2023-12-22
LGBTQ+ couples can now receive blessings from priests, but the Catholic Church maintained its strict ban on gay marriage, according to a Vatican document approved by Pope Francis Dec. 18. This historic change in doctrine marks ...


Gay News

Greek government vows to back marriage equality
2023-12-22
Despite opposition from the Church of Greece and within the ruling New Democracy, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' government said it will eventually move to legalize same-sex marriage, The National Herald reported. However, no timetable was ...


Gay News

Dignity/Chicago welcomes new rule on church blessings for same-sex marriages
2023-12-18
--From a press release - Dignity/Chicago, the advocacy organization for LGBTQI Catholics and friends, welcomed the news that the Vatican's doctrinal office has officially declared it possible for Catholic priests to bless same-sex unions and ...


Gay News

New Ways Ministry: Pope's blessings approval is Christmas gift to LGBTQ+ Catholics
2023-12-18
--From a press release - MOUNT RAINIER, Maryland—Statement by Francis DeBernardo, Executive Director, New Ways Ministry: Pope Francis gave LGBTQ+ Catholics an early Christmas gift this year by approving blessings for same-gender couples. The Vatican ...


Gay News

Pope Francis changes policy, allowing priests to bless same-sex unions; GLAAD responds
2023-12-18
--From a press release - GLAAD: "By removing barriers to priests blessing LGBTQ couples, the Pope accurately recognizes that LGBTQ people and our relationships are worthy of the same affirmation and support in the Church, and this strengthens couples in their ...


Gay News

THEATER 'Dial M' director speaks about stage magic and perils of the closet
2023-12-15
A good thriller is always in style for the right audience—but it's paying dividends for Northlight Theatre, which recently opened Dial M for Murder, helmed by queer director Georgette Verdin, to great reviews. ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.