DoubleVision: two troubles with religions
[ by Charles Cameron — religious violence and sexual abuse scandals from a perspective grounded in comparative religion ]
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Two images from my feed a couple of days ago, similar enough that they make a (visual) DoubleQuote:
The Atlantic, Abolish the Priesthood
WaPo, Sri Lankan government blocks social media and imposes curfew following deadly blasts
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The first image above comes from an article in the Atlantic about child sexual abuse by members of the Catholic priesthood and accompanying cover-ups by the church hierarchy.
The Atlantic, Abolish the Priesthood
The abuses are horrific.They are horrific, horrific.
My grouse here is that articles such as this focus on the Catholic Church, although Billy Graham’s grandson claims the situation is similar if not worse among Protestants; sexual abuse of spiritual authority and cover-ups are also found in so-called “sects” such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses, and in other religions altogether:
Vice, Billy Graham’s Grandson Says Protestants Abuse Kids Just Like Catholics The Atlantic, A Secret Database of Child Abuse Tricycle, a Buddhist magazine, Sex in the Sangha … Again
And if that’s not enough — consider this list of non-religiously specific sources of sexual abuse the Feeney Law Firm, LLC encounters in its practice:
Feeny Law Firm, Sexual Abuse and Assault Lawsuits
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The second image above is from a Washington Post piece of April 22nd, about “the aftermath of suicide attacks that killed hundreds of people” in churches and hotels across the island. The coordinated attacks were claimed by ISIS, but appear to have been locally planned and executed.
Executed: what a word!
My plea here is simple: that extremists should cease targeting followers of other religions in the names of their own various religions.
As I’ve noted before, attacks here in the US and abroad have included:
The Gurdwara (Sikh temple), Oak Creek, WI, 2012 Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, NC, 2015 The Tree of Life and New Light synagogues in Pittsburgh, PA, 2018 The Al Noor and Linwood Mosques in Christchurch, NZ, 2019
and violent extremists can be found claiming affiliation to these religions:
Judaism Christianity Islam Hinduism Buddhism
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Violence in the name of religion — whether personal violence as in sexual abuse or political violence as in the case of terrorism — is both human and deeply abhorrent. Understanding how widespread the human urge to violence in fact is will tend to put our recriminations against any particular religion into a clearer perspective. Religions, too, can benefit greatly from acknowledging, and not hiding, the shameful skeletons in their various closets.
As David Ronfeldt would say: Onwards!
