August Reflection

For our August Reflection, Dr. Kurt Johnson led a discussion of Algernon Black's musings on religion and the common thread of ethics that underlies them all. Why, Black asked, couldn't we all just accept that everyone has his or her own set of beliefs? Why not just live with that pluralism without trying to convert each other, whether by persuasion or by force?

Certainly, I've always felt this should be possible. The difficulty I have seen is that while some people are able to live with the lack of one definitive answer to "God, the Universe, and Everything," to quote a title by Douglas Adams, others are not, and can't accept that some of us do.

We struggled with that question, and with a related issue, of people feeling that they aren't accepted because of their non-deistic beliefs.

I do wonder why that even comes up in conversation with neighbors. Sure, it's an issue in families, especially in families where some relatives join up with a fundamentalist religion and then set about trying to "save" those who do not. But why is this an issue between neighbors?

Years ago, when I was trying to arrange playdates between Jason and the boy his own age who lived (and still lives) next door to us, the mother asked me in her Lebanese accent whether I "make Shabbos." She seemed disappointed when I said no, but she didn't pursue the issue, maybe because her English just wasn't good enough. Was that the reason the boys never became friends? Not really -- the kid next door was a wild one and I got tired of him beating Jason up. But anyhow, that's the only time religion has ever come to the fore with any of my neighbors.

Kurt told us that it's estimated that about 30% of the world is openminded about religious differences but the rest are not. It also came up that over 50% of Americans still believe the earth was created only around 5,000 years ago. Now that is scary. As someone said, "And these people vote!"

While 30% wouldn't seem to be enough to foster a huge change in consciousness, I think it could be. Margaret Mead said it only takes a small group of dedicated people to bring about change. Thirty percent is a lot more than just a small group. In my lifetime, I'd like to see us achieve that level of awareness, so that the next person's beliefs can be fully respected without being adopted as our own.

Thanks to Ruth P. for hosting this evening. The next Reflection will be in mid-September.