Just Imagine -- No God, No Religion

Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins ask us to imagine a world without religion, a world without God, a world where reason reigns supreme. They point to Europe, where secularism has taken root. Though I kind of doubt that most Europeans are secularists because of a choice of reason over religion, but rather because they no longer find religion compelling, the question is whether religion is the root of all evil in the world.

John Lennon sang of a world without heaven, without religion, without nations and borders, a world where we simply live for today. In such a world there would be peace. There is something compelling about this vision, but does it work?

Imagine there's no Heaven

It's easy if you try

No hell below us Above us only sky

Imagine all the people Living for today

Imagine there's no countries

It isn't hard to do

Nothing to kill or die for

And no religion too

Imagine all the people

Living life in peace

The nations/countries that have sought to be completely secular/atheistic by design have less than stellar reputations. Most that have been officially atheist/secular have tried to stamp out religion, often without much success. Consider Revolutionary France and its Cult of Reason -- Notre Dame Cathedral became the Temple of Reason and violence reigned.

I was struck by what Mark Juergensmeyer, one of the leading analysts of religious violence said this morning in a conversation at our interfaith breakfast at the University Religious Center in Santa Barbara. He noted that "religiously inspired violence" is a relatively new phenomenon. What he has noticed is that religion hasn't become politicized, but politics has become religionized. Apocalyptic images have merged with political movements, giving religious credibility to political movements. He pointed out that in its origins the Palestinian resistance was secular not religious, with Hamas emerging as a force in the late 1980s.

So maybe we need to look at other triggers for the violence rather than within the religions themselves. Maybe it's secularism that's the culprit. But shifting the blame might be too easy. Mark Juergensmeyer thought that rooting the modern world's problems with violence in religion, with secularism as the cure is simply silly. I believe in reason, but reason has not proven to be enough for most people, including me. My imagination wants more than what reason provides me. Love you see, must be more than simply a biological urge that encourages procreation.