Religion, authority and reason: A Reflection

Image courtesy Al Jazeera

Religion and authority

BISHOP DULEEP DE CHICKERA-08/21/2018

Three recent pronouncements caught the attention of the media and dominated conversations.

Advisors to President Trump quoted the Bible in defence of the separation of children from parents; as if being refugees disqualifies them from the joy and security of being family.  In Sri Lanka a Buddhist Prelate all too hastily suggested that an authoritarian style of governance was necessary to save the dominant community; and President Sirisena, while asserting the independence of the Sangha in pursuing the middle path, declared that Buddhism has no Pope.

They were all heard because sacred books, religious leaders and national leaders speak from positions of authority.

Unreasonable pronouncements 

The Trump argument that, the physical separation of refugee families ordered by the US government is justified because the Bible endorses political authority, is both misleading and dangerous. Misleading, because the Bible does not arbitrarily endorse all political authority; and dangerous, because it is this type of argument that easily validates the type of governance referred to in the Prelates pronouncement.

President Sirisena’s comment is partly true.  Most time-tested religions, Buddhism and Christianity included place higher value on personal accountability than external regulation.  The President, however, needs no reminder that the unfortunate and deliberate politicisation of Buddhism, by representatives of the people, has ironically conferred a degree of infallibility on some who spread division and hatred.

This superficial mix of religion and authority is nevertheless educative. It is a reminder that unchecked power, in whatever form, inevitably undermines human freedom.

Reason and religion

No sooner said, it was abundantly clear that both Trump and the Prelate had drifted from the respective teachings of the “Man for others” and the “Enlightened One”.

There is no need for counter texts to drive this home. The universal human attribute of reason is quick to contest these positions. Ask a child, and she will testify to this inner energy that is triggered when humans are hurt or excluded. In such instances, reason unflinchingly reminds those in authority that their credibility stands under public scrutiny.

This is not all. Reason also requires the wise, contextual, interpretation of the text, by an integrated and humble religious leadership, answerable to a community of adherents. To the extent that this happens, glimpses of the truth are discerned, human kind stands to benefit, and reason has done its work.

Religion and Secularism

Unbridled religious zeal tends to consider secularism as enemy number one. But reasonable religion or religion with reason disagrees. It recognises that much in secularism has grown out of impatience and even disgust with the arbitrary nature of religion; self-seeking hierarchies and the exclusive interpretation of selective texts, and is grateful for those aspects of secularism that expose the abuse of religious authority for personal and institutional gain.

My yellow-robed Buddhist brother down the road regularly reminds me that the Dhamma and the Gospel are for all. Consequently, no human authority has the right to control accessibility to these free universal gifts or define another’s identity-based on the degree of acceptance of these gifts. How true of my own tradition; I tell myself as I nod in agreement.

Reasonable religion, therefore, considers secularism a close cousin. If only we dare to listen, the best in secularism is always around to challenge the worst and stimulate the best in the religious.

Fundamentalism

The real enemy of reasonable religion is religious fundamentalism; a brand of the religious that claims the last word on every topic and in every conversation. More seriously, fundamentalism is the obliteration of reason coupled with arrogant disrespect for the other; person or position. It does not understand or feel the need for introspection, dialogue or consensus. It claims to know it all and declare it all. That some lap it up without question and go on to advocate its cause indicates the power that religious indoctrination has over humans.

Respect for reason

Religion that respects reason, on the other hand, is always tentative. It refuses to be categorical and allows for vulnerable humans to pursue their fullest human stature through curiosity, exploration, dialogue and discourse. Reasonable religion in one’s neighbour of a different faith down the road is easier to live with than ones’ own fundamentalist relative in the sitting room.

Conclusion

The best way to deal with religious authoritarianism and its affiliate fundamentalism is to stimulate the innate gift of reason so that it reawakens and nourishes the best in religion. Secularism, intellectual humility, the human discourse and the critical scientific method, assist us in this task.

With Peace and Blessings to all!