Last night I saw Julia Sweeney's Letting Go of God at the Sander's theatre. It was a great show. I won't go into too many details, but just to let you know, it's a longer version of the monologue that appeared in This American Life last year. Here's a review of the NYC performance in the NY Times.
There are a couple of things that I found interesting:
- Beginning from a person of moderate faith, she started questioned everything she had always assumed in an attempt to reconnect with her faith. Her investigation and critique of faith is likely than the confrontational approach employed by some, such as Richard Dawkins.
- Most people are stuck and never critically analyze their own belief system. At every point of crisis in her life, she tells us that the same story was being replayed over and over again - she had to learn to accept what reality was, despite her own wishes. That is how she matured intellectually.
- As I've stated before the myth that morality and society require religion is the main argument that theists use to justify religion. Yes we atheists tend to view this type of morality as childish, but most religious people use this primitive logic in evaluating the merits of religion. It is important that we atheists address this issue in order to be accepted into society. But we must be careful how we approach this issue. I know what your thinking "if God is the only thing preventing you from murdering people, what does this say about your morality" but try using this argument against religious people and it backfires. Instead of being condescending, we need to point out evidence that supports the idea that atheists can be just as moral as religious people.
- She compares God to a boyfriend, then a husband, and finally as someone she separated from. How to let God go? It was her respect in God and religion that led her to a deeper investigation. Her devotion to God led her to realize that she could not live with God.
- Letting go of religion really opened Sweeney's eyes to the plight of others around her. She also developed an intense appreciation of the world we live in analogous to what I've written about scientists. And she experienced a true existential awakening that I'm sure many of you have also felt.
So that's it. If you can't see her, get the CD (not on amazon yet) ... or go check out her blog.
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I know what your thinking "if God is the only thing preventing you from murdering people, what does this say about your morality" but try using this argument against religious people and it backfires.
Unsurprisingly... religious people aren't likely to react well to being told "you can't be moral even if you think you are" any more than athiests....
Instead of being condescending, we need to point out evidence that supports the idea that atheists can be just as moral as religious people.
And, indeed, there are lots of religious people who do accept this idea. Not the loudest ones, not the ones that get the most press, and not the ones dominating the religious side of the debate, but there are lots of people out there.
Atheist philosopher to debate morality
It's sad that people can still believe that morality requires religion, and sadder that people like Bruce A. Little continue to spread that slander.
Some people take this analogy to extremes:
Woman becomes consecrated virgin in rare Catholic ritual
That would require an interesting definition of "lots":
Atheists identified as America�s most distrusted minority, according to new U of M study
You can watch Sweeney perform an excerpt at http://www.ted.com/tedtalks/