"Religious” versus Religious
The Actions of Religious Followers Need Careful Scrutiny
News stories at the beginning of 2007 concentrated on the execution of Saddam Hussein but some of the lesser known stories in the opening week of the year have also focused on the actions of religious individuals. On the 5th of January the BBC reported two such newsworthy stories.
The first detailed the compensation payment offered by the Catholic Church in Washington for systematic abuse. In one of the largest such scandals in the world, the Church in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles agreed, just last month, to pay $60 million (£30 million) to settle dozens of allegations. The latest offer, of $48 million (£24.7 million) from Washington, highlights a problem which a report commissioned by the Church said had affected more than 4,000 Roman Catholic priests in the US who had faced sexual abuse allegations in the last 50 years. And these allegations, whether true or false, could impact on literally hundreds of thousands of individuals.
A second story, appearing on the same day, told of a British Muslim who had been found guilty of soliciting murder during a London protest in February 2006 against cartoons satirising the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). The 27 year old was convicted after the court heard how he told a crowd of hundreds to "Bomb, bomb Denmark, bomb, bomb USA." Despite his claims that the chants were “just slogans”, Umran Javed now faces up to life in prison when he is sentenced in April.
Both of these reports highlight not only the issue of freedom of speech and freedom of speech in religion but also the greater problem surrounding how religious should act. With the essence of religions concentrating on peace, justice, equality and fairness, how can religious people, some of them in such positions of authority, act against this?
When it comes down to it, whether you believe in God or not, people are just people and can ignore God, His teachings or be overtaken by what is happening around them. However good their intentions may be, it is easy to succumb to peer pressure or get sucked into the heat of the moment. Whether those people regret their decisions afterwards is another matter.
But what’s important is that we don’t use these examples to paint the whole religions with abuse or murder. Just because some people choose to go against what their religions teach isn’t the fault of God or the religions, it’s the choice of the individuals themselves.
These people need to be dealt fairly and justly by the law, their actions need to be separated from their religions and we need to understand that religion is an easy breeding ground for all wicked behaviour. It is something involved in so much good work around the world that it is the perfect opportunity for some to reach groups they wouldn’t otherwise be able to reach and exploit their position of trust.
