It’s coming up to Christmas, a time of year that always gets me thinking and puzzling about superstition. We are often told it is right to respect other’s beliefs but this is a position that baffles me, even frightens me.
I never know how to tell which beliefs are supposed to be respected and which scorned. I have a hint that it’s to do with how deeply held the belief is. For example you’re not supposed to disabuse children of their belief in Santa Clause until they’re old enough to realise they’ve been lied to and can happily replace Santa with the Tooth Fairy, all the while being indoctrinated with Jesus, or whichever mythical being is the flavour of their culture.
My working definition of “belief” is the acceptance of the truth of a proposition in the absence of supporting evidence. I think the superstitious, the religious, atheists and scientists alike can recognise this definition although it will evoke different emotional responses.
To me, “believing” something is merely dignifying ignorance. To spread belief is to spread ignorance. Spreading ignorance is an evil and corrupting thing to do.
There has been so much fuss about Catholic priests sexually abusing children. Why does the world stay silent on the insidious child abuse they commit every day – attempting to deprive children of their reasoning power and win their commitment to superstition?
Why are we supposed to respect this evil? The doctrine of respects is just another tool put in place by the custodians of superstition, whose power would be eroded if only people would ask a few simple questions. Like “why?”
