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Giving Up Religion for Lent
Rev. Dr. William E. Alberts, Counterpunch, USA, 25 February 2014
Lent, which begins on Ash Wednesday, March 5, is the 40-day period when
Christians fast and pray and do penance in preparation for Easter. It is
commonly perceived as a time of giving up what they normally enjoy eating,
drinking, inhaling and/or doing-with a worthy charitable cause benefiting
from this abstinence. The sacrifice, penance and almsgiving are said to aid
reflection on the suffering, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus on behalf
of the salvation of believers. A spiritual marathon of self-denial,
reflection and repentance-the emphasis on individual redemption more than on
social reformation. Upon reflection, I believe Lent is a good time to give
up religion.
What I mean is the kind of religion that stunts a person's emotional,
intellectual and multicultural growth. That stresses believing over
thinking, certainty over inquiry, conformity over diversity, exceptionalism
over egalitarianism, individual salvation over social justice. Religion
that emphasizes rightness of belief over the right to believe as one
chooses. That is about being right, not doing the right thing. That values
uniqueness of faith, not faith in everyone's uniqueness. That is about
Christianizing, not humanizing. About evangelizing, not ending inequalities.
Lent is an exceptionally good time to give up the kind of religion that
represses and straightjackets sexuality, and wars against what is natural
and human and varied. Religion that alienates individuals from themselves
for their assumed "unnatural" and "disordered" sexual orientation, and
marginalizes them-and their loved ones-from society.
Like The United Methodist Church's homosexual witch-hunts against Methodist
ministers for performing same-sex marriages. And the Roman Catholic Church's
"cleansing" of its body by ousting gay employees from Catholic institutions
across the country for marrying their same-sex partners in states where such
marriages are now legal. (See "Another Methodist clergyman faces charges for
gay wedding," by Rachel Zoll, Associated Press, The Boston Globe, Jan. 18,
2013; and "Gay Marriages Confront Catholic School Rules," by Michael
Paulson, The New York Times, Jan. 23, 2014; and "Bias alleged over same-sex
marriage: Catholic school rescinded job offer, man says," by Milton J.
Valencia, The Boston Globe, Jan. 30, 2014).
Pope Francis can say about homosexuals in the Catholic Church, "Who am I to
judge?" He sounds accepting. But he appears to be putting a friendly mask
over a straight-laced institutional face.
One might think that religion especially would inspire people to affirm the
sacredness and rights of other human beings. Ironically, the opposite is
true. Conservative, Biblically-limited, Christian groups in 10
Republican-controlled states are reported to be seeking to use the
Constitution's Freedom of Religion guarantee to discriminate against
same-sex couples. An example is Arizona. The Religious Freedom Restoration
Act, passed by that state's legislators, and not yet signed by Republican
Gov. Jan Brewer, would allow public business owners to use their
Bible-based, anti-homosexual religious beliefs to justify refusing to
provide services for same-sex wedding couples-services like photography,
wedding cakes, reception halls, limousines, honeymoon sites, etc. (See,
"Arizona 'religious freedom' bill: Attack on gays or shield for some
Christians?," by Patrik Jonsson, The Christian Science Monitor, Feb. 21,
2014)
"Religious Freedom Restoration Act?" Or "restoration" of the "freedom" to
deny freedom to those Americans considered to be The Other? Sarah
Warbelow, state legislative director for Arizona's Human Rights Campaign, is
reported to have said about this attempt to use religion to legalize
discrimination: "This is not about the freedom of individuals to practice
their religion, this is about a license to discriminate against
individuals." ("Religious Right Cheers a Bill Allowing Refusal to Serve
Gays," by Michael Paulson and Fernanda Santos, The New York Times, Feb. 22,
2014)
The power and inclusiveness of love cannot be confined to the "straight and
narrow." Love transcends sexual, national, religious, racial, political and
class borders. Lent is a good time for Christians to discover a god big
enough to embrace the inherent worth and rights of all of human
beings-equally!
Lent is a logical time to give up the kind of religion that ignores so much
that is human. That leads people to individually look to heaven for
salvation, rather than to earth in solidarity with others for justice. To
look prayerfully upward rather than around them for the causes of and
solutions to social conflicts. Religion that dumbs down its god to fit the
assumed infallible "Good Book," which is used by theological doctrinaires
and evangelists to claim irrefutable authority to power over people-instead
of empowering them.
. [shortened] .
People are better prepared to love their neighbors as themselves if their
religion and political ideology help them to become more human, rather than
more "exceptional"-and thus more entitled. Beyond our theologies and
ideologies is the shared human need to be loved, and to love. Therein is our
common ground: our humanness. Every child, everywhere, reveals this precious
insight to us. Religion and politics should be judged by the extent to which
they teach and enable people to love themselves and to make room for and to
value and love other persons for themselves.
The Golden Rule is a basic teaching of most religions, inspired by the
widely held belief that "God is love." Surely, any god worthy of worshiping
must be big enough to love all people equally, and to inspire them to do
unto and love all other persons as they themselves would want to be honored
and loved. Not that one needs to believe in "God" to be legitimate and
authentic and worthy and honored and loved. Our humanness makes all of us
entitled. And our humanity enables us to transcend religious, political,
racial, national and sexual orientation differences and make room for and
honor each other. Lent should be about love in action.
. Rev. William E. Alberts, Ph.D., a former hospital chaplain at
Boston Medical Center, is a diplomate in the College of Pastoral Supervision
and Psychotherapy. Both a Unitarian Universalist and United Methodist
minister, he has written research reports, essays and articles on racism,
war, politics, religion and pastoral care. His book, A Hospital Chaplain at
the Crossroads of Humanity, "demonstrates what top-notch pastoral care looks
like, feels like, maybe even smells like," states the review in the Journal
of Pastoral Care and Counseling. It is available on Amazon.com. His e-mail
address is [email protected]
From: http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/02/25/giving-up-religion-for-lent/
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