As an agnostic humanist and mostly probably atheist, there are a lot of things about religion that I think are worth questioning. If there is anything I believe firmly, it is that everything is worth questioning, including religious beliefs and practices. That doesn’t mean that I dismiss all religions or religious people as being worthless and wrong. But it does mean that I judge individuals by their own beliefs, actions and values and not by those of others who carry the same label.

In in the introduction to his book Parenting Beyond Belief, Dale McGowan (who also blogs at The Meming of Life) writes about religious and secular co-existence. His clear explanation is today’s quotable:

In the Preface to this book, I said that I had “set religion aside.” Actually, that’s a bit like saying someone who rides a bike to worh has set traffic aside. I’m still in it, still surrounded by it, and I always will be. Religion, for better or worse, is likely to be a permanent part of the human world. Our job as secular parents is not to work toward a religion-free world, but to help our kids learn to happily and peacefully co-exist with religion.

Co-existence does not mean silent acceptance of all consequences of religious belief. To the contrary: Silence and inaction in the face of dangerous immorality is itself immoral. We have to engage religious people and institutions in just the way we wish to be engaged ourselves, as co-participants in the world. We should reasonably but loudly protest the intolerance, ignorance, and fear that is born of religion while at the same time reasonably and loudly applauding religious people and instititutions whenever charity, tolerance, empathy, honesty, and any of our other shared values are in evidence. An important part of this is recognizing that not all expressions of religion and not all religious people are alike. Be sure to help kids recognize that the loudest, most ignorant, and most intolerant religious adherents – whether raving radical muslim clerics or raving radical Christian televangelists – do not represent all believers, nor even the majority. Though institutional religion itself is an unfortunate thing, the majority of individual believers are decent and thoughtful people with whom we have more in common than not. Saying that to yourself once in a while, and to your kids, can move the dialogue further forward than just about anything else.

The vision we should encourage in our children is not a world free of religion but one in which no idea or action is granted immunity from discussion and critique – including, of course, our own.

I thought this quote was particularly pertinent in light of all of the recent discussion about Mosques at Ground Zero. I also think it is relevant when we are condemning stoning someone to death, circumcising infants, or teaching children that evolution is “just a theory.” These acts, which could all be considered immoral (although not equally so) and which are all done in the name of religion, are all worth condemning. But it doesn’t mean that every Muslim, Jew or Christian is an immoral person or is guilty of immoral acts. Just as not everyone who worships or practices a religion is a terrorist. In fact, I think a Mosque at Ground Zero would create a unique opportunity for a group of Muslims to condemn and distance themselves from the horrible acts committed on 9/11 while promoting greater tolerance and co-existence with other religious cultures.

I believe that religion is dangerous when its followers, either by force or by choice, do not question the beliefs and rules that are handed down. Our world is evolving and religion, if it is to survive, needs to evolve too.  That will only happen if people with different beliefs can sit together and learn about each others’ beliefs and remain open to a critique of their own beliefs. It will only happen if we can learn to see individuals as individuals, instead of assuming the best or the worst about someone, based on the actions of the best of worst people of the same faith.

For that reason, I am very supportive of the Ethics and Religious Culture curriculum that was introduced in the Province of Quebec a few years ago and that replaces the previous option of either Protestant or Catholic moral and religious education. The new curriculum is a non-confessional program that is used all the way through elementary school and high school and that allows children to:

acquire or consolidate, if applicable, an understanding of how all individuals are equal in terms of right and dignity

learn to reflect on issues

explore, depending on his/her age, different ways in which Québec’s religious heritage is present in his/her immediate or broader environment

learn about elements of other religious traditions present in Québec

grow and develop in a society in which different values and beliefs coexist

Children that have been through that program, whether Catholic or Protestant, Jewish or Muslim, Atheist or Buddhist, Pagan or Kuksu, or just entirely unsure, should be more prepared for peaceful co-existence than those who only learn one world view.

Parents who want to teach their children about co-existence can:

• use the materials on from the Ethics and Religious Culture curriculum
• read books such as Dale McGowan’s Parenting Beyond Belief and the companion practical manual Raising Freethinkers
• read blogs such as  The Meming of Life and Raising Three Thinkers
• make friends with people from different religious backgrounds and share traditions with each other
• visit museums, read books, and participate in cultural events that teach about diversity

I’m sure there is more that they can do. I’m sure that there is more that they should do. But mostly, I think that people need to refrain from making assumptions about someone’s character or motives based on their religion alone. If we treated people like people and modeled that for our children rather than spewing intolerant remarks at the dinner table or on the evening news, that would be a step in the right direction.

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