race & religion

[Max Sawicky]

>  >>> Max Sawicky writes:
>
>   >>>What's really in question
>  is bigotry towards non-left religious folk (especially white)
>  founded on ignorance of religion.  Bigotry in this context
>  means a belief that religious faith is testament to a person's
>  ignorance, prejudice, or negative social role.  The fact that
>  we single out the religious left for approval is no less
>  prejudiced:  it simply says we accept you if you buy our
>  political views, even though we still think your
>  personal faith is a crock.>>>
>   >>
> I think the use of the term "bigotry" here is very dangerous.  Right-wing
> Catholics use it to equate any criticism of Christianity (such as Terrence
> McNally's newly play, "Corpus Christi") with racism and
> anti-semitism.  Their
> goal is all too evident: to drive any and all anti-religious
> sentiments out of
> the realm of permissible public discourse.  I don't think

Not merely anti-religious sentiments, but also
religious sentiments of which they disapprove,
such as the Scorsese film, "Last Temptation of
Christ."


> "bigotry... means a
> belief that religious faith is testament to a person's ignorance,
> prejudice,
> or negative social role."  To the contrary, I think that those are not
> necessarily unwarranted all conclusions that one might draw
> concerning people
> who still cling to 3,000-year-old sky-god cults or who babble in dead
> languages and engage in wierd cannibalistic rites such as the
> Catholic mass.

I think this last statement proves exactly what it
attempts to disprove.


> Certainly, we wouldn't be so charitable when confronted by some
> fundamentalist
> Shiite militant.  So why should we deal any differently with
> other branches of
> the great Abrahamic tradition?

Religion sliding into overt political acts is
one thing.

We should be consistent on matters of faith,
though not consistent in the manner of your
language about sky-gods etc.

MBS