In God We Rust

February 13, 2009 by Scott

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In God We Rust
By Scott Mullin

Storytelling has always played an intricate role in helping us to better understand the human condition. Sharing stories with one another connects us, provokes thought, and offers a perspective on life. For thousands of years, mythology has been integrated into the fabric of a story. Although stories change from culture to culture and evolve from year to year, myths remain their timeless foundation.

Religion is one aspect of mythology. It embodies theology, morality, and tradition. Its stories pertain to the supernatural and are expressed through prayer, rituals, and customs. The goals of religion include explaining the mysteries of the universe, providing ethics instruction, and preparation for the life that comes after you die (i.e. heaven, reincarnation, a Persian palace packed with 72 virgins who have no idea how to please you, or as I would call it, hell). Suffice it to say, religion achieves these goals by instilling its billions of followers with an overwhelming sense or purpose. But what happens when that religious purpose takes away rights, thwarts progress, and restricts freedom of choice?

By now, most everyone is aware that The Mormon Church contributed over 20 million dollars to help Proposition 8 pass in California during the general election last November. In addition to The Latter-Day Taints (yeah, I said Taints), many other religious communities were instrumental to Prop 8’s success. Voters who attended church weekly supported the measure by an astounding 84 percent to 16 percent. By passing Prop 8, religious voters have effectively passed bigotry, discrimination, and permission to treat same-sex couples as second-class citizens. While religious voters cling to outdated fear-based beliefs that justify their relic stance on this issue, the rest of the nation is ready to move forward. According to a recent Pew Research Center poll, more and more people agree that allowing gays and lesbians to legally get married is the right thing to do. Back in 1987 only 27 percent backed gay marriage. Today, that number has increased to over 37 percent. See a trend developing?

Surprising to many, was the devastating effect church-going African Americans had when they elected to oppose same-sex marriage by more than 70 percent. The Washington Post interviewed Jasmine Jones (who is black) on the matter. She said, "I think it's mainly because of the way we were brought up in the church. We don't agree with it. I'm not really the type that I wanted to stop people's rights. But I still have my beliefs, and if I can vote my beliefs that's what I'm going to do. God doesn't approve it, so I don't approve it." Well Jasmine, you did stop people’s rights. In fact, you did more than stop them. You took them away. If you believe (as I do) that you are born gay, you can’t help but notice the irony that took place on Election Day. African Americans turn out in record numbers to elect the first black president of The United States while simultaneously stripping rights from gays and lesbians because (as Jasmine says), “God doesn’t approve it.” Talk about bittersweet chocolate.

Next, we examine the challenge of stem cells. With the dawn of The Obama Era at hand, the future for embryonic stem cell research is looking a bit brighter these days. That doesn’t, however, mean this issue has been put to rest. There are still very powerful religious organizations like The National Right To Life Committee that wield tremendous influence and work hard to keep therapeutic cloning (a.k.a. embryonic stem cell research) controversial. The core view of these religious entities is that human life begins at conception (see also abortion). When you use embryonic stem cells in research, eventually they are destroyed. Knowing that embryonic stem cell research involves this destruction of supposed “living beings”, conservative religious groups reserve it should therefore be illegal.

There is also fear that therapeutic cloning will morph into reproductive cloning. That’s sheer madness. Therapeutic cloning is not about creating whole humans. It’s about creating cells to fix humans. Getting that mixed up is like calling Africa a country. Nobody’s going to want to clone people and use them as an army to oust the Jedi from The Republic. Take it from me. The last thing this galaxy needs is another Scott Mullin. If someone wanted to clone me, you can bet I’d be the first to draw the line and say, “I’ll do it for five grand.” Therapeutic cloning is cutting edge. It makes embryos as a source of stem cells. These specialty stem cells can become any cell in your body. They can be used to repair or replace damaged cells in the treatment of diseases like Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, and more. The possibility of finding cures for these devastating afflictions greatly outweighs the religious reservations of those who would seek to suppress science. I guess you could say the healing power of stem cells make them the Jesus of the 21st Century.

And finally, there’s the hot button issue of abortion. Fun, right? For the purposes of this example, let’s focus on the Bible and more conservative brands of Christianity. The Born-Alive Infants Protection Act, The Partial- Birth Abortion Ban Act, and The Unborn Victims Of Violence Act were all created to appease Conservative Christians. The former president signed these acts into law during his tenure in an attempt to make it more and more difficult for a woman to get an abortion. The religious anti-choice constituency continues to obstruct a woman’s right to choose by requiring parental and spousal notification and consent, forcing counseling with scientific advice, adding waiting periods, increasing abortion clinic restrictions, using intimidation, restricting abortion funding, limiting valid reasons to get an abortion, and placing restrictions on contraception. And you thought jury duty was a pain in the ass. Unfortunately, this list continues to grow (see December ‘08 regulation unveiled by The Department of Health and Human Services under The Bush Administration giving any medical worker the right to refuse to perform any medical service based on their moral and religious sentiments).

Even if the Bible were to clearly denounce abortion (and it doesn’t), it still wouldn’t be an appropriate basis for public policy. It would only be reason for religious believers of the Bible to reject abortion. They could certainly argue against the procedure, but they wouldn’t be able to legislate their religious beliefs because what a woman chooses to do with her own body is her inalienable right. Most Republicans disagree with me, and that strikes me as incredibly hypocritical. They claim to stand for liberty, smaller government, and less restrictions. And yes, at one time, that was true. Unfortunately, what was once the Grand Old Party has been hijacked by religious zealots (and neocons) hell-bent on doing just the opposite. They can’t wait to tell you what to do in the name of God. Here’s a little food for thought. If men were able to get pregnant, abortion would not only be legal, it’d be readily available at countless locations across the nation. You’d be able to get one at any bank, drive thru, or wholesale retailer. Wal-Mart. Saving people money on abortions so they can live better.

Writing our laws based on religious persuasions is dangerous because it blurs the line between the Separation of Church and State. Doing so gives religious doctrine legal authority over everyone regardless of whether or not they subscribe to faith-based beliefs. There are, however, two sides to every coin. Religion has made many wonderful contributions to life. Think about all the good The Salvation Army, American Jewish World Service, and Islamic Relief USA have done in an effort to help others. Feel free to drop by your neighborhood church, temple, or mosque to discover first hand the many ways they serve your community. No doubt, there’s a tremendous upside to God. When religion focuses on peace, love, and understanding (thanks, Elvis Costello), it is awe-inspiring. When it aims to divide, exclude, and oppress, it runs amok.

There is a great paradigm shift happening in our world today. Religion is not immune to this movement. In order for God to stay relevant, she too, will need to evolve. That’s the nature of the world we live in. The only thing constant is change. People are inherently good and fully capable of creating a better world without the help of religion. Albert Einstein said, “A man’s ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties and needs. No religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hopes of reward after death.” If religion refuses to progress with the rest of the world, the rest of the world will progress without religion.

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