Religion And The Need For Blasphemy

[Guest Glaswegian]

In their heart of hearts, believers in monotheistic religions like Christianity, Islam and Judaism harbour a deep hostility towards them. The reason for the believer's secret hatred of monotheistic religion has a great deal to do with its authoritarian nature. Monotheistic religions are clearly authoritarian because their adherents are obliged to believe in them. Thus, anyone who refuses to believe in them is promised the worst fate imaginable - viz. Hell.

 

The obligation to believe in their religion places an enormous psychological strain on monotheists because it requires them to believe in things for which there is no evidence whatsoever (e.g., 'God'); to swallow doctrines which are patently absurd (e.g., 'Virgin Birth'); to regard themselves as abject, pitiful and corrupt (e.g., as 'sinners'); and to embrace a religious system which has inflicted, and continues to inflict, appalling mental, emotional and physical suffering on the human race (e.g., Christianity and Islam). But what is most psychologically grating to the monotheistic believer, what really eats away at him in the innermost core of his being, is that his authoritarian creed obliges him not to think and act for himself (viz. God, the Bible, the Torah, the Pope, the Imam, etc. determine these things for him). Monotheistic religions, then, effectively require their adherents to commit - to a large degree - intellectual and moral suicide. And this is deeply offensive to all self-respecting human beings.

 

Given that the authoritarianism inherent in monotheistic religions has a deleterious effect on the human being's capacity for autonomous moral and intellectual development it is hardly surprising, then, that the adherents of these religions unconsciously loathe them. That the hatred which believers feel towards monotheistic religion tends to exist at a subterranean level within them is largely the result of the severity of the penalties meted out (historically and in the present day) against those who openly condemn and despise such religion. Needless to say, the believer in monotheistic religion experiences a powerful and recurrent need to give expression to his repressed hatred of it in order to maintain a modicum of psychological health, and this need usually manifests itself as an irrational compulsion to commit blasphemy.

 

It will be useful here to distinguish between 'rational blasphemy' and 'irrational blasphemy'. Rational blasphemy is committed as the result of an individual's being fully aware that monotheistic religion is, to put it bluntly, a steaming pile of horse-shit and that it ought to be affirmed as such both publicly and within himself. Irrational blasphemy, on the other hand, 'is blasphemy committed as the psychological result of the [monotheistic believer's] own largely unconscious resistance to, and reaction against, the very religion in which he believes' (Lingwood, 1989 p.15).

 

Committing blasphemy - whether publicly or within his own heart - should be seen as therapeutic for the monotheistic believer because it can function as a powerful device for undoing the psychological and emotional damage inflicted on him by his religion. Thus, with regard to Christian believers, Lingwood writes:

 

'In order to abandon Christianity completely - in order to liberate himself from its oppressive and stultifying influence - it may be necessary for the Christian not only to repudiate Christianity intellectually in the privacy of his own mental consciousness but also to give public expression in words, writing, or signs to his emotional rejection of Christianity and the God of Christianity, i.e., it may be necessary for him to commit blasphemy. Such blasphemy is therapeutic blasphemy' (ibid., p.19).

 

We should suspect that ex-Christians, Muslims, and Jews who are unwilling to express their contempt for the religion which they have abandoned and who instead advocate toleration towards it are still polluted by it. That is, although they now claim to be agnostics - or even atheists - the religious poison which once ran freely and potently in their veins has not been fully cleansed from their nervous system.

 

Ex-religionists who profess that they are atheists or agnostics but who feel the need to defend monotheistic religion in any way are, to some degree, still under its dominance: that is, they remain somewhat fearful of the God they claim no longer to believe in, and their apologetics (or efforts to defuse criticism of monotheism by others) are a covert attempt not to draw His wrath down upon themselves. However, it is possible that their reluctance to go on the offensive against their former religion is simply due to natural moral cowardice.

 

It should be clear from the above that blasphemy is a valuable tool: for by enabling the believer to emerge from the mental enslavement imposed by monotheistic religion it opens the way for him to psychological health, autonomy and maturity.

 

Regards

 

James

 

Reference:

 

Lingwood, D. P. E. (Sangharakshita) 1989, Buddhism and Blasphemy, Glasgow: Windhorse Publications

[Lycorth]

There is a truth to the general thrust of the OP; there is such emphasis placed on conformity and obedience in cults like Xianity that eventually blasphemy or any sort of opposition to the sect's teachings becomes alluring, like the forbidden fruit effect. I used to feel it almost all of my active Xian life, and back then I did get a special thrill out of listening to blasphemous heavy metal music or reading the writings of stolid anti-Xian thinkers or just critics of the cult in general. Conformity is so strongly emphasized that nonconformity takes on a special attraction, and many times, Xianity breeds its own worst enemies.

 

You don't tend to get this with polytheistic religions or freethinking philosophies. There is little or no dogma, only guidelines and the like, and the believer is free to choose his or her own level of devotion to their sect's particular idea. In this way, those paths are very much more in tune with the human spirit, which craves the freedom to change and improve things, and as such they will certainly outlive Xianity, though there will always be some small sect of humanity who will yearn for dogmas and elders to guide their spiritual lives.

[cathuria]

Interesting notion -- and I really get a kick out of the idea of "therapeutic blasphemy"

 

I suspect that an important factor in this urge to blaspheme must also be the complete lack of real morality in the judeochristian traditions. It is ironic that so many Christians think that atheists cannot possibly be ethical when their religion fails to teach anything like real ethics.

 

"Be good or else God will torture you forever" cannot actually build moral fiber in growing children. Christian kids are almost never given any real reason to be good beyond fear. Is it any wonder that there is a strong tradition of rebellion in the ranks?

This, combined with authoritarian oppression, may help to explain why societies that are the most strongly Christian also have the higher crime rates.

 

Perhaps... with the right encouragement, it might also lead to a higher rate of apostasy.

[Antlerman]

We should suspect that ex-Christians, Muslims, and Jews who are unwilling to express their contempt for the religion which they have abandoned and who instead advocate toleration towards it are still polluted by it. That is, although they now claim to be agnostics - or even atheists - the religious poison which once ran freely and potently in their veins has not been fully cleansed from their nervous system.

 

Ex-religionists who profess that they are atheists or agnostics but who feel the need to defend monotheistic religion in any way are, to some degree, still under its dominance: that is, they remain somewhat fearful of the God they claim no longer to believe in, and their apologetics (or efforts to defuse criticism of monotheism by others) are a covert attempt not to draw His wrath down upon themselves. However, it is possible that their reluctance to go on the offensive against their former religion is simply due to natural moral cowardice.

 

It should be clear from the above that blasphemy is a valuable tool: for by enabling the believer to emerge from the mental enslavement imposed by monotheistic religion it opens the way for him to psychological health, autonomy and maturity.

 

Regards

 

James

 

There are some valid points you are making in referencing "therapeutic blasphemy", but I am getting the impression you feel that the end goal of deconversion is a hatred of their former religion, or that this hatred is evidence of a genuine deconversion? Have you taken into account that the "therapeutic blasphemy", or expressing anger, is only a part of the healing process, and not the end?

 

The grieving process goes through stages and anger is only one of them. In the end, I would hope that ExChristians such as me are able to move beyond the anger and to find the good that does exist in religion. I feel myself moving beyond anger and into understanding. This allows me to feel peace towards others and the world. But it does not mean I accept or approve of all aspects of religion, or that my deconversion is not genuine. To conclude that based on my not railing constantly against Christians, or by my seeking to see the good that in fact can exist within it, that this indicates I haven't let go, is rather judgmental and short sighted as to the process of healing.

 

Those who speak in terms of black and white, either as absolutely true or absolutely false, are in the same place just on the opposite side of the issue. They are still fundamenalists at heart, just opposite causes. "Therapeutic Blasphemy" is a sign of someone feeling confident in themselves to defy that which once controlled them. That can be a good thing as part of the healing processes. But to me if you stay there, you are stuck and not growing.

[Manta]

Allow me to place an anicdote into this discussion:

 

In my student house lives four Christians (Anglicans) and myself. This is about one of these, a girl I shall not name for the sake of her own privacy.

 

Recently she has found that she is absolutley fascinated by firstly, sexy women and secondly a mascochistic 'need' if you will, or rather, a need for another to diominate her (Don't worry, I'm not going to go into any more detail). In my eyes, these are perfectly normal things to be interested in, but not in hers. She will try to reason with herself, she will ask other christians for their opinion already knowing their answers (That they are both morally wrong) but yet time and time again she finds herself entertaining her own fantasies mentally and later getting depressed about it. The thing being, she is as happy as I ever see her when she is indulging herself and also (paradoxically) when she is 'high on Christiantity' so to speak. It's also worth noting that she suffers from depression from time to time.

 

Make of this what you will, but here's what I think (This is also drawing conclusions of what else I've noticed). She needs the structure that Christianity gives her, she was always the lone one at school and thus being in the Christian Union gives her a social life. She is VERY influenced by what others think, I've even got her to admit that had she been raised under another religion, she'd have belived that. However, the structure she 'chose' is only a loose approximation to what she wants in that it denies her of the 'blasphemy' she actually needs to genuinely cure her depression.

[jrmarlin]

Glaswegian, that is a very interesting and enlightening take on blasphemy. I have to say it makes perfect sense. I can see the hatred between religions et. al. and you as well as your source appear to be right on the money. Something to definitely ponder!

[willybilly30]

i find blasphemy fun for some reason.

its kinda like if you won a million dollars and told your boss off i guess.

at first i used it to release my mind now its just entertainment.

plus for some reason i got a demon fetish i dont know why but iv always secretly liked the devil better than jesus. satans fun jesus is all rules and boredom