The high cost of losing our religion

Sydney Morning Herald ^ | January 19, 2005 | Julia Baird jbaird@smh.com.au

[Cincinatus' Wife]

If church-going women floated into women's liberation groups, she said, a lot of time was spent raising their consciousness about what an oppressive institution it was: "If you started to think about your life as a woman, the first thing you would do is reject Christianity."

IN 1970, a Sydney University student, Irina Dunn, was reading a 19th-century philosophy text on atheism for her English honours course when she stumbled across a phrase: "A man needs God like a fish needs a bicycle."

Being, as she later described herself, "a bit of a smart-arse", she changed the words to "A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle" and graffitied it on two toilet doors: one at Sydney University and another at a wine bar in Woolloomooloo.

From there it was telegraphed almost immediately to the rest of the Western world.

While the American feminist Gloria Steinem has frequently been credited with the now-famous phrase, she last corrected this in a letter to Time magazine in 2000, pointing out that it had in fact been Dunn, "a distinguished Australian educator, journalist and politician".

But what is most fascinating about the origins of this slogan is the anti-religious sentiment it morphed from. The women's liberation movement rebelled against the church as it did against most other male-run institutions, but it was also part of a broader cultural movement in the 1960s which decried organised religion and challenged its authority.

Today, a mere glance at political life reveals the consequences of so many liberals walking away from what was seen to be a hostile and rigid church, instead of staying, and challenging it to change.

Abortion, gay marriage, censorship and sexuality are debates still dominated by religious conservatives, particularly in Sydney.

It was in 1971 that, for the first time, the instruction "if no religion, write 'none"' was printed on the Australian census form. The number leapt from less than 1 per cent to almost 7 per cent, and has mainly increased since, only, surprisingly, sliding backwards from 17 to 16 per cent between 1996 and 2001.

It was a telling development, though, introduced after years of agitation from increasingly assertive atheists and counter-cultural activists who spurned the conservative Christian religion of their parents, and declared themselves morally independent while many explored more mystical, experiential Eastern religions.

Much of what they did and said was a necessary challenge to the blokey, stifling, dictatorial and often boring nature of the church in the 1950s and '60s.

As the self-described "Catholic atheist" Germaine Greer said of the nuns who taught her in the '50s: "I was hungry for something else - spiritual values. Just not their spiritual values."

The symbols of the church were often parodied in an attempt to strip them of their power.

When the feisty libertarian activist Wendy Bacon was called before a magistrate on obscenity charges in 1970 over issues of the University of NSW student journal Tharunka, women dressed in nuns' habits gathered outside the courtroom to hand out the allegedly obscene material. Bacon's habit read: "I have been f---ed by God's steel prick." She was arrested and spent a week in prison.

The historian Manning Clark described it as an apocryphal time: "Restraints on human behaviour were thrown aside. Nothing was sacred, nothing escaped examination. Men and women walked naked on the beaches, the stage and the screen, and they were not ashamed. Men and women no longer conceded to politicians, priests, parsons, professors, or presidents of the Returned Services League the right to draw up codes of behaviour or prescribe what could or could not be read. The people broke the Tablets of the Law. The people killed their gods."

What was the place for those who stayed in the church?

The NSW MLC Meredith Burgmann - then an anti-apartheid and anti-war activist - told the Herald: "When we had activist Christians we were more surprised than anything else. It was almost not an issue. There was an assumption that everyone was an atheist."

If church-going women floated into women's liberation groups, she said, a lot of time was spent raising their consciousness about what an oppressive institution it was: "If you started to think about your life as a woman, the first thing you would do is reject Christianity."

Church attendance began to decline, along with the number of candidates for ministry. In the 1950s, 44 per cent of all Australians attended church at least once a month. According to National Church Life Survey research, this figure fell dramatically in the 1960s, to 30 per cent in 1972.

What is increasingly obvious is that, in the midst of the excitement and turmoil, those driving the social change of the 1970s failed to seriously understand the power of religion as a social force.

Many scorned those who tried to reform the church and argued it should be rejected entirely. Comments such as those of the theologian Mary Daly were typical: "For women to seek ordination in the Christian church is as destructive as it would be for black people to seek to become leaders in the Ku Klux Klan."

Their rationale was understandable, but intellectually, this was a major stuff-up. It's not a question of what they believed, but one of whether they recognised the importance of reforming the church.

Now we are reaping the legacy of their mistakes, with the conservative wings of the evangelical and pentecostal churches gaining in size and influence, and the more progressive wings of Protestantism, like the Uniting Church, seriously diminishing in stature and voice. Weekly attendance of Uniting Church congregations plunged by 22 per cent between 1991 and 2001.

The last election placed religion on the political agenda in an unprecedented way in Australia: health, education, sexuality and morality. When Parliament resumes, we can expect heated debates about the abortion drug RU486, as well as further arguments about gay marriage now Britain has led the way.

It would be simplistic to blame a swag of 1960s activists alone for the resurgence and dominance of conservative religion in political life today. Especially when journalists have so often been dismissive of religion, and tardy to understand its potency and personal sway. Groups like Family First and Hillsong tend to be prodded and dissected after their power is revealed, not before.

But I cannot help but wonder if the "smart-arses" of the boomer activists and intellectuals had tackled the corruption and decay in the churches as well as the state, instead of simply turning on their heels, if many politicians would be singing from a different hymn sheet today.

[jb6]

Such "strong words" are simply a wretched expression of powerlessness

No, it implies having lived there and seen how the Turks lord over those around them. I had enough German friends and Germans with whom I had work contact on a regular basis to hear quite a few horror stories. The reality it:

But here is the drink you'll be getting soon enough.

[jb6]

Just keep in mind, you're Gondor.

[Atlantic Bridge]

Oh and one of the things I just "loved" was when the Turks started crap with us in German clubs, we, the American GIs got banned not the Turks.

Is this the reason why you hate Germany, the EU and Europe that much?

BTW - if somebody started to crap with me I used to flatten him. After having done that you earned usually that much respect that the barkeeper give you your beers for free. It pays off to be not a sissy.

The majority of Germany's immigration is Turks, Kurds and Bosnian Muslims.

This is wrong. The majority of current immigration into Germany are former Russians with German heritage (so called "Aussiedler"). Under Katharina II many Germans went to Russia. Now they are flowing back.

[Atlantic Bridge]

History doesn't lie.

Examples please.

[TomSmedley]

Most Turks in Germany are assimilated, peaceful and decent people. I employ some in my own business and I know what I am talking about.

I am taking private lessons in Turkish from a charming young couple here on a student visa. I intend to compare Atatürk's "Six Day Speech" to similar masterworks by Christian historical figures (Augustine, Calvin, Luther, Rushdoony) in a doctoral dissertation. The Turks I've met have been great people, with a talent for friendship. Just remember to take your shoes off at the door!

[GarySpFc]

There was a self-consciousness in the 60's and 70's among Christians based on their moral commitments. The challenge that religion had become stuffy and status quo was valid. Christians knew it and were embarrassed. Matters spun out of control. Radicals and extremists took over the field and spouted their aantiestablishment tirades. The church was nonplussed.

I disagree. Every time Satan comes up with a new lie it takes time for the church to recognize, define, find ways to bring the lie into the light, and develop solid responses. Evolution is but one such lie, and Creationism was a failed response by the church to the public. However, the new response is Intelligent Design in nature, and it is obvious to everyone except the committed atheist who is determined to eradicate God from his/her conscious. The public has grasped the concept, and that is why evolution as a theory is on its death bed.

The moral bankruptcy of the "God is Dead" has been obvious for some time. Christian theologians have been bringing the lie into the light, and in the last few years they have been able to articulate better responses. These responses and how to articulate them take time to filter down from out seminaries.

[GarySpFc]

All this "Eurabia" propaganda is BS. It is correct that we Europeans have a problem with young muslims on our continent since they are usually undereducated and unemployed. This is the reason why they get aggressive - just as some minorities in the US (do you remember the Los Angeles riots in 1992?).

Your European view is so typical of why our forefathers left their homes and came to America. In attributing your social problems to lack of education you show the bankruptcy of your views. America listened to that liberal mantra, and spent at least a trillion dollars attempting to solves our social problems with money. The result was a total failure. You cannot solve moral problems with money.

[Atlantic Bridge]

Your European view is so typical of why our forefathers left their homes and came to America. In attributing your social problems to lack of education you show the bankruptcy of your views. America listened to that liberal mantra, and spent at least a trillion dollars attempting to solves our social problems with money. The result was a total failure. You cannot solve moral problems with money.

Is there a relation to the discussed issue? Have I said that we should spend a trillon dollars on Turks in Europe? BTW - Your forefathers came to America because they did not get the chance of education and freedom in Europe. Why should it be that bad to give those things to immigrants in Germany? You cannot balance your lack of arguments with emotional stammering.

[GarySpFc]

The majority of current immigration into Germany are former Russians with German heritage (so called "Aussiedler"). Under Katharina II many Germans went to Russia. Now they are flowing back.

Volga Germans.

[Atlantic Bridge]

Volga Germans.

Exactly.

[GarySpFc]

Is there a relation to the discussed issue? Have I said that we should spend a trillon dollars on Turks in Europe? BTW - Your forefathers came to America because they did not get the chance of education and freedom in Europe. Why should it be that bad to give those things to immigrants in Germany? You cannot balance your lack of arguments with emotional stammering.

My point has gone completely over your head. Europe is spiritually dead, and does not realize they have a serious clash of cultures developing. You simply cannot reconcile Christian and Muslim values. As a theologian I have studied both, and Europe does not recognize their is a vast gulf between the two, which will become more evident over time.

[Atlantic Bridge]

Europe is spiritually dead.

Just tell this to our Pope Benedict or to the Poles.

As a theologian I have studied both.

Which church are you belonging to?

[GarySpFc]

I am a member of the church of Christ, but I have studied all of the theology for all of the major denominations. BTW, one of my best friends held the St. Thomas Aquinas Chair at Harvard. I have also worked on two major Bible translations. Even Pope Benedict believes Europe has a major spiritual problem. Here is but one article you might read, which shows Europe's moral bankruptcy.

Prophet of Decline An interview with Oriana Fallaci.

[GarySpFc]

Please read the complete article at the link.

Pope Benedict XVI: Enemy of Jihad

In choosing Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger to succeed Pope John Paul II as Pope Benedict XVI, the Catholic Church has cast a vote for the survival of Europe and the West. “Europe will be Islamic by the end of the century,” historian Bernard Lewis predicted not long ago; however, judging from the writings of the new Pope, he is not likely to be sanguine about this transition. For one thing, the new Pope seems to be aware of the grave danger Europeans face: he has called upon Europe to recover its Christian roots “if it truly wants to survive.”

For while his predecessor kissed the Qur’an and pursued a consistent line of conciliation toward the Islamic world, despite numerous provocations and attacks against Catholics in Muslim countries, the new Pope Benedict XVI, while no less charitable, has been a bit more forthcoming about the reality of how Islam challenges the Catholic Church, Christianity, and even the post-Christian West. He has spoken up for the rights of converts from Islam to Christianity, who live under a death sentence in Islamic countries and increasingly live in fear even in the West. He has even spoken approvingly of Christians proselytizing Muslims — a practice that enrages Muslims and is against the law in many Islamic countries.

The new Pope has criticized Europe’s reluctance to acknowledge its Christian roots for fear of offending Islam’s rapidly growing and increasingly influential presence in European countries — a presence which, as historian Bat Ye’or demonstrates in her book Eurabia, has been actively encouraged and facilitated by European leaders for over three decades. “What offends Islam,” said Cardinal Ratzinger, “is the lack of reference to God, the arrogance of reason, which provokes fundamentalism.” He has criticized multiculturalism, “which is so constantly and passionately encouraged and supported,” because it “sometimes amounts to an abandonment and disavowal of what is our own.”

He contrasts the modern-day resurgence of Islam with the enervation of Europe. In old Europe, he has said, “we are moving toward a dictatorship of relativism which does not recognize anything as definitive and has as its highest value one’s own ego and one's own desires.” Islam, on the other hand, is anything but relativistic: “The rebirth of Islam is due in part to the new material richness acquired by Muslim countries, but mainly to the knowledge that it is able to offer a valid spiritual foundation for the life of its people, a foundation that seems to have escaped from the hands of old Europe.”

:::snip::::

Europe, the new Pope has written, “appears to be at the start of its decline and fall.” It may be too late, as Bat Ye’or believes, to arrest that decline and fall. However, the first thing a physician does when he treats a disease is identify the problem. No healing can proceed from a misdiagnosis. It is heartening to see that Pope Benedict XVI has already, in various speeches and writings before his accession to the papacy, dared to speak more clearly about the threat that Islam poses to Western civilization than his predecessor — for all his many and remarkable gifts — ever quite managed to do.

[x5452]

The Pope and Russian Orthodox church are already cooperating on promoting church vlaues due to their sad state of declient across Europe.

[Atlantic Bridge]

This is all nothing new. It was always the intention of Benedict XVI and John Paul II to anchor Christianity in the European constitution. This is one of the reasons why Benedict wants to keep Turkey out of the union since both laicism and islam are antithetic to references of Christianity. BTW - Israel would have the same problem like Turkey with the church if they ever wanted to enter the EU (which was already in the discussion). Furthermore we do not have to argue about the fact that Islamic fundamentalism is a horrible ideology that has to be battled against with all means. This is not the question.

The thing is that both popes - John Paul as well as Benedict searched the contact with Islam and its representants. The reason for this is simple. We only can put them the good news of our belief across if we talk with them and if we keep the contact.

Those religious questions have nothing to do with everyday life in western Europe. We have religious liberty. It is the free decision of our citizens in which religion or god they believe in or not. I do not mind if somebody prays to his toilet although as a Christ I would appreciate if all people would find to the truth I found. We Christians in Europe invite everybody to share our cognitions, but we do not force anybody to do so. Enforced churchgoing is useless and I feel it as a insult of my God.

Some of the Turks ("fearsome" 2.4% of our population - source CIA-factbook) in Germany visit their small mosques for their friday prayer. They attack nobody, they force nobody and they arrange themselves with German everyday life since they are no fundamentalists. They have their own religion but they force nobody to adopt their beliefs. Just like we Christians do. It is a simple fact that a multiethnic population makes life more interesting. Now we have not only Bratwurst and Beer but also Doener and Ouzo.

Of course you always have to deal with some fanatics. Take a look on this:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1560820/posts?page=26#26

As you see - we will survive the Turkish invasion.

Love it or hate it. I could not imagine a better place for me than in "Eurarabia".

[Atlantic Bridge]

I am a member of the church of Christ, but I have studied all of the theology for all of the major denominations. BTW, one of my best friends held the St. Thomas Aquinas Chair at Harvard. I have also worked on two major Bible translations. Even Pope Benedict believes Europe has a major spiritual problem. Here is but one article you might read, which shows Europe's moral bankruptcy. Prophet of Decline An interview with Oriana Fallaci.

Well I never studied theology, but I read Bible as well as the Koran and the Hadiths. Since I studied mathematics, engineering, architecture and fine arts I expect facts if somebody wants to change my opinion. If those facts are conclusive I am intelligent enough to adopt a new point of view. If you have studied theology you will probably heared about Sokrates too: "I know that I know nothing." - but I know enough that I do not swallow every propaganda pie.

I can not follow you in your argumentation since you fail to produce convincing facts to your thesis that Europe will be islamized. Emotional articles are simply no proof. Sorry. Since I live in Europe and God gave me two bright eyes I can judge the situation much better than you.

Therefore my -really friendly- advice to you: Be careful to spread information that you can not validate by yourself.

[Clemenza]

In Washington State, 28% of the population is "non-religious" making them the largest "religious grouping" in the state.