Is religion a force for good?
A lot of Christians lament the waning influence of religion in North America and other Western societies. But that trend is decidedly not the case in most of the rest of the world, and it is changing here as well. Sure, it's easy to find examples of cities eager to remove vestiges of Christianity from public life. Prayers at city council meetings are mostly a thing of the past. Images of the Christ child in public Christmas displays (excuse me, I meant to say “seasonal celebrations") are also disappearing.
But any sense that religion can be removed from public life is rapidly running its course.
At the end of November, Canadians (and the rest of the world) were treated to a debate featuring former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who is fully persuaded that religion is responsible for a lot of the good that happens in this world. Since leaving politics he established a foundation that works “to promote respect and understanding between the major religions and to show how faith is a powerful force for good in the world."
His opponent was none other than public intellectual Christopher Hitchens, author of God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything and a host of other screeds. The world's most famous aggressive atheist squared off with Blair in a public debate at Roy Thompson Hall in Toronto.
There is no doubt that the prominence of the debaters grabbed the attention of many. But the topic is clearly a matter of significant interest. And importance. The event turned out to be the hottest ticket in town, selling out in record time. It was also streamed live online to viewers around the world.
Blair made the case that faith is a primary motivator in the lives of countless people throughout human history who “serve and love God by serving and loving human beings." He acknowledged that bad things have been done “in the name of religion," but insisted that the alternative was worse. “In a world without religion, the religious fanatics may be gone, but I ask you, would fanaticism be gone?" Blair then pointed to the atheistic regimes of Hitler, Stalin and Pol Pot as the outcome of the vision of a world without religion.
Counter-case
Hitchens presented a powerful counter-case, citing instance after instance of religious complicity in atrocity. “Religion forces nice people to do bad things," he said. “The parties of God have a veto on peace in the Middle East," he declared. “The cure for poverty is the empowerment of women, but clergy stand in the way of women. The charitable work of religions do not outweigh the harms they cause," he said. “Every form of faith is an assault against reason."
Hitchens, who is suffering from an untreatable throat cancer, performed courageously and more graciously than his scathing reputation. He certainly would have disappointed any religionists inclined to believe the thundering hoof beats of imminent mortality might turn his mind toward God. He was incisive and persuasive, observing that it isn't just the followers of religion that cause problems in the world; it's the “holy texts themselves."
But if Blair struggled with that one, Hitchens tempered his desire for “a greater outbreak of secularism" by conceding that a world without religion isn't likely to be any better than a world with it. He also appreciated religions' desire for humility and acknowledged a sense of something beyond the material–the reality of the numinous, the transcendent, the ecstatic–that made human beings something more than primates.
The live audience of 2,800 mostly urban Canadians was strongly skewed to the Hitchens camp. Just before the event, one listener predicted Blair was about to be “hitch-slapped." A poll of the audience prior to the debate indicated that 25 per cent favoured the statement that religion is a force for good in the world, 55 per cent were opposed, and 20 per cent undecided. After the debate, the numbers had shifted to 32 per cent in favour, 68 per cent opposed.
Meanwhile, religious devotion is a dominant fact of life in countries and cultures throughout the world. Even in our time, secularism is waning. Even in our country, religion (not necessarily Christianity) is resurgent. How we come to terms with that is one of the great questions of our era. Stay tuned.
Dear Readers:
ChristianWeek relies on your generous support. please take a minute and donate to help give voice to stories that inform, encourage and inspire.
Donations of $20 or more will receive a charitable receipt.Thank you, from Christianweek.
