Journeyman
Established Member
- Joined
- 16 Apr 2014
- Messages
- 6,295
From widespread experience over 25 years, you're absolutely right - a lot of progressive Christianity is really good stuff, with a lot of campaigning for social justice. A classic example was various groups pressuring governments to write off third-world debt. This had a massive impact for good on millions of people, and it was local churches out there campaigning and building up momentum. I also know someone who has benefitted massively from the accommodation the YMCA provide to vulnerable homeless people.I would suggest one problem is that religion and faith covers a very broad range of beliefs:
- At one end of the scale you have the more progressive Christian churches that contain many thoughtful individuals, and which often do a lot of good in terms of campaigning on issues like poverty. Those churches and individuals happen to believe something about the nature of the Universe and its implications for how we should live our lives that most atheists would disagree with, but that shouldn't be any more than a respectful difference of beliefs.
- At the other end of the scale you have the right-wing USA mega-churches that have turned Christian faith into a vehicle for supporting Donald Trump, so-called gun-rights, and pushing out swathes of disinformation about science and outright falsehoods about current events. Add to that newer churches outside the traditional denominational organisations in both the UK and the US that seem to have turned faith into a business designed to line the pockets of their self-appointed leaders, and which often preach fairly intolerant messages towards - for example - gays.
I imagine there is a similar spectrum in the Muslim world, though I have less knowledge of that. Realistically, the two ends of the spectrum are very different. One end I would argue really does deserve condemnation (not because of their faith, but because of their unethical practices and pushing out of fake news etc.); the other end of the spectrum does deserve a lot more respect than it tends to be given.
Unfortunately, and understandably, it's often difficult for people outside of any movement to distinguish between often vast differences within that movement - and the result is that people at the more thoughtful/progressive end of religious belief get tarred with a brush that they don't really deserve.
But yes...unfortunately I also got involved with the people you mention in the second category there. While these churches will often present themselves as cutting-edge, radical, exciting, passionate etc., with slick music, big dramatic meetings, and big promises that God will work miracles, they're often hotbeds of extraordinarily hateful and bigoted opinion, and it's there that you'll find homophobia and other prejudice by the bucketload.