Reflections on the skeptic and atheist movements

[guillaumeb]

45. Another nuanced reply.

But let me add another perspective. While it is true that, as you well said:
"Religion causes a huge amount of grief and hurt for a lot of people, some of us who have been harmed by religion come to places like this to let off some steam since speaking of these things in our communities will bring yet more grief and hurt. "

Religion, and faith in general, can also be a source of comfort and provides a guideline for behavior that many people find useful. Religion provided comfort for the slaves in the American South, and religion was the inspiration for many of the Abolitionists who fought the horror of slavery. Religion also was the inspiration for many war resisters, including the Berrigan brothers and Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker movement.

We can all recognize that religious belief, like any belief system, can be interpreted in different ways, and religious institutions, like any institutions, can do much harm when led by unscrupulous individuals. And especially in a small town, religion is an identifier for people, an expression of group identity. Someone who does not share that group identity can be treated as an outsider. But that same thing can happen when a majority of people in an area are from one ethnic group, or share a common language. My family is from a very small town in an area where the vast majority of people speak French as the primary language and have French surnames. The small number of English speakers undoubtedly felt that they were "outsiders" in some circumstances.


And your comments about anger as an outlet and a relief from pressure are also true. Anger is a legitimate and probably necessary response. I could not and would not criticize the anger, but my feelings are that at a certain point we must also recognize what we have in common.