Ciannait Khan | Contributing Writer
Studies done in 2012 showed that Ireland was abandoning religion faster than almost any other country in the world. In 2006, 69 per cent of Irish people described themselves as religious, a number which had dropped to 47 per cent merely six years later. For those of us who grew up here, such statistics are superfluous. It doesn’t take an expert in Irish sociology to notice, or understand, the downward trajectory that religion has taken here in recent decades. One glance at Father Ted and its incredible resonance with the Irish people sums it up quite nicely.
The mistakes made by corrupt organisations and corrupt people do nothing to diminish the desire that human beings have to seek answers to divine questions.
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Bemoaning religion has become highly fashionable. In Ireland particularly, we have some terrifyingly good reasons to criticise the Catholic Church, but there is a similar level of scepticism often aired about religious teachings in general. I’ve heard people dismiss the Bible as a book of fables, with Jesus an imaginary character akin to Santa Claus. Like many young teenagers, I went through a hardcore atheist phase during which I worshipped the Flying Spaghetti Monster and brushed religion aside as a cult for the deluded. While many adopt more moderate views as they get older, it remains the case that most young people don’t take religion very seriously.
Something about this casual dismissal of religion doesn’t sit well with me. Like most others in my generation, I’m resentful about how religion was forced upon us in school. I’m angry about what the Church has done, and strongly oppose many of the stances it continues to hold. But religion, in some form, is almost a constant throughout human history, and has had the ability to mobilise and inspire people like little else can. That’s because religion has always served an important function by giving meaning to life. The mistakes made by corrupt organisations and corrupt people do nothing to diminish the desire that human beings have to seek answers to divine questions.
A society that is completely without religion may certainly be possible, and maybe even desirable, but if we are going to move beyond religion it must be for the right reasons. Such a major societal development should evolve organically, rather than as a habitual reaction out of anger and resentment. Although we’re on the right track, the sharp and drastic turn we’ve taken against religion is largely a red herring. The transition won’t be as simple as a seamless decline in religiosity until it completely falls off our radar. We must consciously decide that we no longer need religion, and understand what has actually changed to make this so. If religion has been the opium of the masses, it is worth considering what the new opium might be.
In line with Marx’s view, the fact that Ireland is experiencing more wealth than ever before could be one reason that we no longer need religion. Basic needs such as food, shelter and education are taken care of for most, and thus we no longer need to look to a god to reassure us that life is worth living. But if we, meaning particularly the younger generations who may not have experienced much hardship yet, are going to declare that we have no need of religion, we must stick to our guns through good times and bad. Finding meaning in life may not be difficult when everything is going well, but it might be quite another story in the depths of despair, such as for those facing a war or an epidemic.
But religion is no trivial matter. We shouldn’t confuse our anger towards religious institutions and fallible individuals with our feelings towards religion itself.
It is also possible that we, as a population, have simply become too “rational” to believe in afterlifes and omnipotent deities. But while scientific advancement and education are likely a factor in religion’s decline, we shouldn’t look upon people from the past as primitive fools incapable of exercising their faculty of reason. Humans always have, and always will, behave irrationally in seeking to satisfy their emotions and desires, and one of those desires is often to find a source of greater meaning. Even with the decline of religion, our conversations are still rife with semi-spiritual ideas about what is ‘meant to be’ and various ‘signs’ pointing to something or other.
Our dismissal of religion is often far too superficial. How many of us who object to religion have actually studied the sacred texts before deciding that we disagree with them? Or can say for certain whether Jesus, or any other prophets, were real people, or what historical evidence exists concerning those debates? Fewer still have read up on the philosophy of religion in an attempt to understand the ‘big’ arguments for and against god’s existence. Before we move on, we must lay these issues to rest, rather than remaining blissfully ignorant of them.
It’s easy to think of our society as finally being ‘done’ with religion, with a strictly atheistic population being the inevitable and desired end. But religion is no trivial matter. We shouldn’t confuse our anger towards religious institutions and fallible individuals with our feelings towards religion itself. Before we accept this major societal change, we must be sure we have good reason to do so, and I don’t believe we’ve given religion quite enough thought just yet.
Photo by Lucian Venutian
