In The Scotsman today: JOYCE McMillan (9 May) pointed out the simplistic error of the likes of Richard Dawkins in citing every misdeed by a religious person as evidence that “religion causes conflict wherever it goes”. “Religion” is a broad category, ranging from murderous Islamist terrorist cells to pacifist Quaker meetings. Anyone seeking to generalise about “religion” faces considerable challenges. However, she went on to make a similar error herself, assuming that terrorism is the natural result of “a system which offers little hope or dignity to most of its citizens”. Prof Dawkins and Ms McMillan should both be more cautious of bending the complexities of the world to fit their preconceived theories. Some terrorist groups are ultimately motivated by deprivation and oppression, but for others their interpretation of Islam is genuinely central. There are plenty of terrorists from privileged and wealthy backgrounds. Trying to assess “religion” is futile, but assessing the foundational documents of religions and the examples of their key figures is not. We should endeavour to engage with and rigorously critique the actual beliefs of dangerous groups, instead of pretending that we know their minds better than they do. Richard Lucas scotsman/news/opinion/letters/identity-crises-1-3405370
Posted on: Sat, 10 May 2014 06:18:39 +0000