Does tolerance disarm religious liberals?

[Green Gaia]

Interesting online interview on uuworld.org with Sam Harris, author of The End of Faith.

This interview is an addition to the article, Secularism and tolerance after 9/11, in the current issue of UUWorld which references Mr. Harris' book.

Excerpt:

Does Harris’s criticism extend to Unitarian Universalism? Since he doesn’t mention our denomination in his book, I called him to find out. His initial response was comforting. “If I could wave a magic wand and make everyone a Unitarian Universalist,” he began, “I’d be tempted to do so, because I doubt that people would then fly planes into buildings, blow up children at street corners, or bend U.S. foreign policy to conform with biblical prophecy.”

He also acknowledges that on a purely pragmatic basis our being part of what is loosely called the faith community may be a strength, since “to the extent that UUs are extending a universal respect to all of the diverse faiths, you may be able to take part in the [interfaith] dialogue.” However, he adds, “we can talk about ethics and spirituality without ever referencing our ancient faith-based traditions. We have to grow out of the religion business and talk about what is true ethically and spiritually.” To do less is “morally and intellectually suspect.”

As for the common UU notion that all faiths share an ethical core, he says: “Religious liberals tend to believe . . . that if only you consulted the holy books more closely, if you read the Qur’an or the Bible as they should be read, that you would come out with a moderate theology. They believe that people like Osama bin Laden and Pat Robertson have distorted their respective religions. I don’t think there is a shred of evidence for that.”

“Insofar as you’re reluctant to criticize irrationality and sectarianism,” he adds, “you’re not offering what wisdom and rationality you could offer. No one is winning any points for holding their tongue, and to the extent that you are reluctant to offer a religious counterpoint, you are conceding the field to the dogmatists. Your position is that all religious traditions can be seen in a universalist light, that we should emphasize the common virtues of peace and justice and fair play. But there is a limit to that kind of discourse because there are beliefs that lead people to blow themselves up in public and those that don’t, and that distinction is becoming extraordinarily relevant.”

Thoughts?



p.s. Does anyone else's UUWorld magazines end up mostly highlighted, underlined and bookmarked on every other page?

 

[lilithu]

Interesting online interview on uuworld.org with Sam Harris, author of The End of Faith.

This interview is an addition to the article, Secularism and tolerance after 9/11, in the current issue of UUWorld which references Mr. Harris' book.

Excerpt:Thoughts?

Agreed. Tolerance only goes so far as something isn't harmful. When we refuse to criticize things that are harmful we lose our prophetic voice. Then "tolerance" becomes less about love and more about spiritual laziness.

But the thing is that since 9/11, many people in the West aren't just criticizing religious extremism in all its forms, they're criticising Islam. That's just wrong. When someone decides to "not tolerate" something, he'd better make sure he has the right reasons. Otherwise, he's just adding to the hate in the world.

 

[dbakerman76]

I think one of the tools we need to develop more as religious liberals is the ability to express our views constructively when we see religion that is doing more harm than good.
I think far too many of us are just plain dismissive of fundamentalists of all stripes without ever really trying to understand what brought them to those fundamentalist beliefs.