Time to Break Silence, Ask Tough Questions
about Different Religions. All Religions the Same?
The Power of Silence: No Good Thinking, Mental Blocks.
Breaking the Silence: Vital.

In the 70's and 80's, there was a huge movement to break the silence around rape, battering and incest - in general, to break the silence around the abuse of women, from sexual harassment to the glass ceiling and on.

Before that, there was a push toward breaking the silence around sexuality - silence, shame, secrecy and censorship.

I think I've just recently come upon new areas of silence - to do with religion, most deeply of all, but on a larger level to do with thinking. One isn't supposed to think about the taboos to do with thinking about opinions, religion, culture. One is to accept, if one if a nice liberal person from the West, all kinds of equalities based on ... what? Not good thinking, not any kind of thinking.

These are supposed to be accepted truths.

An accepted truth isn't like a truth easily verified. "It's raining out," says someone. Easy to check. "All opinions, cultures, religions are equal."

Not as easy to establish or disprove.

****

The telling signs that one is dealing with taboos are that people do not generally have any idea that proof might be required, that backing for the position. What is equality when it comes to opinions, cultures, religions? Does it mean one is equally treated in the different cultures? Definitely not. Does it mean that one has the same average life span, the same rights, the same standard of living? Again, no.

So what does it mean? Stunned silence.

It's usually as if one had asked someone to prove that it's warmer in summer than winter, by definition. One isn't supposed to be asked to prove!!

I've come to conclusions, elsewhere, about the equality - or lack thereof, rather - of opinions, cultures and religions.

My point here is different. It's important to break the silence about this current taboo.

****

A question: whom does this taboo protect?

The taboo on rape, battering and incest protected the perpetrators - and also made those uncomfortable with the subjects able to continue to avoid dealing with them. The taboo did not benefit the victims.

This current taboo. Whom does it benefit?

It does not benefit those who can not think, do not think. Those people are similar to ostriches: the head in sand technique has not worked well for ostriches.

So whom does it benefit?

It means people live smaller lives than they need to - can't see and evaluate, can't even acknowledge positive things about a culture and religion - can't openly acknowledge negatives.

The goal isn't to get to any perfect opinion, culture, religion, life - but to the best we can achieve.

Virginia Satir somewhere wrote about 5 freedoms. The one that is going through my mind:

        The freedom to see what is, rather than what was, could be, might be, should be.

When we are blocked from looking openly, when that freedom is denied us, our vision is smaller, our thinking is smaller, our lives are more constrained.

****

Once again, time to break such silences, such taboos.

Instead of being encouraged to ask tough questions, and to try for great answers to tough questions, there is ... avoidance, denial, mental block, inner walls, shock and consternation that anyone might think of asking such questions.

Vital to break the silence.

Elsa

September 26, 2009
copyright © Elsa Schieder 2009, 2011 - all rights reserved

PS. I see I've left one big question unanswered: whom does this taboo protect?

PPS. Another question comes to mind: when did this taboo come into effect?

PPPS. And then, does WHEN the taboo came into effect link with WHOM it protects?

PPPPS. Finally, if one breaks the taboo and dares ask the question - are religions basically the same? - what answer does one come to?

Soon, answers to these questions, issues and controversies.

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- good thinking on comtroversial issues -

And then, since millions hold that all religions are basically the same, what does that mean? Does that mean the ethics, religious beliefs, views on afterlife and beliefs about divine beings are basically the same? Again no. Deities, for example, can be harsh and rigid, gentle and loving. Some people believe in uncaring cosmic forces, others in loving personal guardian angels.

****

I have come to conclusions, elsewhere, about the equality - or lack thereof, rather - of opinions, cultures and religions.

My point here is different. Breaking the silence about this current taboo on evaluating different opinions, cultures and religions is vital.

****

This is a relatively recent taboo, by the way. Just a few decades ago there was massive discussion in the West about religion. In the Catholic church, starting in the 60's, there was a huge exodus of nuns and priests as religious beliefs were questioned. In general, Christian churches experienced an enormous drop in membership - and in what the members believed. Most Protestant denominations have come to allow the ordination of women. Some allow the ordination of gays and lesbians. All have grappled with the issues of male-female equality and heterosexual-homosexual-bisexual equality.

The old religious texts have been questioned. Who wrote them? How much should one accept them and how much were they a reflection of their time, rather than of god?

You could be as critical as you liked. You could trot out long lists of horrors committed by the various branches of Christianity, and the dreadful body shame inculcated in most Christians. You could denounce, decry, denigrate. You could make a movie, like Jesus of Montreal, revisiting old religious stories. You could do a rock music, like Jesus Christ Superstar.

Traditionally religious people mght not like it. Big deal. In much of Europe and large parts of North America, suddenly the churches were standing empty.

And now, just as suddenly, all religions are supposed to be equal. And especially, criticism of any religion is seen as - at best - insensitive. More often, it's taboo.

****

A question: whom does this taboo protect?

The taboo on rape, battering and incest protected the perpetrators. It also shielded the people uncomfortable with the subjects: they were able to continue to avoid dealing with them. The taboo did not benefit the victims.

This current taboo. Whom does it benefit?

It doesn't benefit those who don't think, won't think. Those people - without being aware of it because one doesn't recognize one's own inner blocks - are similar to ostriches: the head in sand technique has not worked well for ostriches.

It means people live smaller lives than they need to - can't see and evaluate, can't even acknowledge positive things about a culture and religion - and certainly can't openly acknowledge negatives. Breaking the silence would mean breaking inner barriers.

The goal isn't to get to any perfect opinion, culture, religion, life - but to the best we can achieve.

Virginia Satir somewhere wrote about 5 freedoms. Here's the one going through my mind:

The freedom to see and hear what is, rather than what was, could be, might be, should be.

When we are blocked from looking openly, when that freedom is denied us, our vision is smaller, our thinking is smaller, our lives are more constrained.

Once again, time to break the silence, the taboo.

****

I still haven't answered: whom does the taboo benefit?

One, there is something the West needs to address: the current inner legacy of the massive past injustices committed by the West - grabbing land, imposing religion, enslaving, massacring, and so on.

In fact, to recognize that these things are wrong means to recognize there are objective standards, standards for all - not that all cultures are equal (or these things would not be injustices, just little cultural variations).

Because many of these injustices were done in the name of religious or cultural superiority, many in the West are now at the other extreme: unwilling to judge any culture, religion, etc.

But the taboo doesn't truly protect good liberal Westerners - it just keeps them stuck.

Instead of being encouraged to ask tough questions, and to try for great answers to tough questions, there is ... avoidance, denial, mental block, inner walls, shock and consternation that anyone might think of asking such questions.

Vital to break the silence.

****

The taboo protects those whose religions and cultures and opinions most fail to meet human rights standards. Often cultures and religions which repress, say, women, homosexuals, etc, do not want objective standards applied. A favorite tactic: don't you dare judge. This is our culture and religion. We know what's right. And who are you to judge anyway? Look at all the evil you have done!

Some of these cultures work on intimidation. Right now I'm thinking especially of parts of the Muslim religion, where threats and violence are widely used to scare and silence - including other Muslims.

The threats and violence are combined with insistence on their right not to have their culture evaluated by outside standards - while they are evaluating other cultures (or how could they judge that what the West has done is wrong?).

Breaking the silence can become something scary.

****

I wonder how much common Western insistence that all religions are basically the same comes from fear of repeating past injustices - and how much comes from fear of violence?

****

One way or another, time for breaking the silence.

****

And then the optimist in me asks: when will we reach the tipping point in this particular silence - for I look back at success in breaking the silence around other taboo topics.

What did it take? Again and again, a group togetherness on the need to break the silence. So, individuals spoke out - but then the views "caught on" so to speak, like a virus, only in this case like a breath of fresh air that can sweep through a house when a window is finally opened.

Time for that new breath of fresh air.

Elsa

September 26, 2009
copyright © Elsa Schieder 2009, 2011 - all rights reserved

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Breaking the Silence: From Rape to Religion.
All Religions The Same?
Time to Ask Tough Questions about Different Religions.
Time to Break Silence.

BREAKING THE SILENCE ON ALL RELIGIONS EQUAL.
BREAKING THE SILENCE ON THE THREATS THAT KEEP PEOPLE SILENT.
BREAKING THE SILENCE ON BAD THINKING.
THE POWER OF SILENCE: FEW PEOPLE THINK BEYOND WHAT THEY HEAR OVER AND OVER.
THE POWER OF SILENCE: SELF-SILENCING,
VITAL: ASK TOUGH QUESTIONS, GET GREAT ANSWERS.

The Idea Emporium:
BREAKING THE SILENCE
on All Religions Are Equal.

Breaking the silence is such a popular Western topic: yes, we need to be open, transparent, we need to break the silence on incest, sexual abuse, rape. We need to be able to talk about alcoholism, cancer, and anything and everything.

Yet few people are breaking the silence on different religions. One is not supposed to ask tough questions, like how do they differ? One is to accept, for example, Islam religion of peace. One does not have to accept anything positive about the dominant Western religion - Christianity. It is somewhat taboo, at present, to discuss the likely validity of different religious beliefs.

Is it the power of silence one sees when one stumbles upon the taboos to evaluate different opinions, cultures and religion? Or is it something else?

That I'm not sure of. I'm sure that breaking the silence is necessary.

Elsa
Sept 26, 2009

Breaking The Silence on All Religions The Same.
Time to Break Silence,
Ask Tough Questions about Different Religions.
Power of Silence: No Good Thinking.

BREAKING THE SILENCE on ALL RELIGIONS THE SAME, ALLCULTURES EQUAL, ALL OPINIONS EQUAL.
BREAKING THE SILENCE ON GOOD THINKING FORBIDDEN.
INSTEAD, BREAK THE SILENCE, AND BREAK THE SILENCE AGAIN AND AGAIN.

 

 

 

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