BrianJarrett.com

One of the thing that scares me the most about religious fundamentalism is that ignorance is not only tolerated but encouraged.  The message is to stop thinking and just believe.  Reason, logic, and critical thinking are discouraged, even considered a sin in some cases.

Never is this “tune in and turn off” message more clearly stated than on the back of a t-shirt I saw some teenager wearing about a year or so ago:

The Simple Life: eat, sleep, pray.

Now this is actually considered virtuous by these people.  In this equation there is no thinking, no discovering the world around us, no attempt to learn how the world really works.  There is no attempt to realize our place on the planet, the solar system, and the galaxy.

This mantra is isolationist, disassociating the adherent from not only the rest of secular society but from the world itself. It’s the mantra of cults.  And what’s even more amazing is that some parent thought sending their teenager to a place that adopts a creedo such as this was a good idea.

I wonder sometimes what kids are “learning” in places like this.  Are they sitting around a campfire while an “elder” tells them stories about a 6000 year old Earth where Jesus walked around with dinosaurs and talking snakes tricked gullible women into eating magical fruit?  Are they listening to stories about a world-wide deluge, about an angry god who would slaughter virtually all life on the planet, and about how this god loves them?

Maybe I’m reading more into this than I should but with the inroads fundamentalists have made into out schools, our government, and our society I think this is the time to be very aware of its existence and it pervasiveness, and the potential harm it can do.  All one has to do is take a peek into history to see thousands and thousands of victims.

Most people are religious, I understand that.  It has a place in our society, regardless of my like or dislike.  Where we go wrong is teaching our children fundamentalism, extremeism, and intolerance.  Reactionary mantras like this have no place in modern society.