Wayne Besen - Author, Activist, Columnist, Public Speaker

Monday, December 29, 2008

(Weekly Column)

If 2008 taught the world one lesson, it is that religious people are not morally superior to those who are non-religious. Indeed, faith often shelters the shameless and provides cover for the most corrupt among us.

Sanctimony was the sanctuary of Bernard Madoff, the con artist who bilked fellow Jewish people who never imagined this man of piety would mastermind a Ponzi scheme. A New York Times article summed it up: "...Jews all over the country are already sending up something of a communal cry over a cost they say goes beyond the financial to the theological and personal."

The article quoted Rabbi David Wolpe of Sinai Temple in Los Angles who said, "I'd like to believe someone raised in our community, imbued with Jewish values, would be better than this."

Apparently, the rabbi has a short memory. In 2006, corrupt lobbyist Jack Abramoff disgraced the Jewish community. When he wasn't stealing from Indian tribes and polluting Washington, he could be found in synagogues extolling his Jewish family values.

Many in the Jewish community seem shocked by recent events. They have the same befuddled looks on their faces as Christians ripped off by televangelist Jim Bakker. Or, the wide-eyed puritans in the pews who were stunned that Revs. Jimmy Swaggart and Ted Haggard had a proclivity for prostitutes.

This is not to say that religious people are necessarily more corrupt. But, the myth that faith makes one less fallible and more pure must be punctured. This fable comes at a great cost to the holy who keep getting hosed. Charlatans are acutely aware that when religious institutions confer credibility, it is easier to con the credulous. Needless to say, churches, temples and mosques are often a refuge for reprobates. As escaped slave turned abolitionist Frederick Douglas noted in his tome "Autobiography," the most devout Christians made the most brutal slave owners.

Clearly, there are many people of faith who live exemplary lives of upstanding morality. It is the assumption, however, that attending temple makes one less likely to succumb to temptation that is dangerous. Madoff would still have fooled many of America's wisest investors had he not immersed himself in the Jewish community. But, without this powerful veneer of morality, perhaps investors would have looked closer at his scam.

In 1997, James Hedges, founder of LJH Global Investments, met with Madoff to discuss investing money for wealthy clients. He says that there were red flags for those who bothered to look.

"His whole tone during the meeting was curt, truncated, and he volunteered nothing," Hedges told Barron's. "It was an extraction process to get him to answer anything. "...What it told me was that it was a fraud."

A separate New York Times article discussed religious extremism among students in the nation of Jordan. Frustrated with dishonest "secular" politicians, these students wrongly assume that religious leaders are less corrupt and mindlessly regurgitate the slogan, "Islam is the answer." They ignore the endemic corruption among Shiite leaders in Iran, the barbarism of Al Qaeda and the suffocating repression in Sunni Saudi Arabia.

Honesty is the answer -- not Islam, Judaism or Christianity. If people of faith happen to be honest, it is really beside the point, not a prerequisite for morality.

The largest problem with religious leaders is that they have trouble apologizing for their sins -- because they are supposedly speaking for God. So, if they apologize, it is akin to God having been wrong.

One example of such spiritual arrogance is Saddleback pastor Rick Warren, who clearly and unquestionably compared homosexuality to incest and pedophilia. As a result, gay activists accurately called him anti-gay. Now that his reputation has taken a hit, he put out a new video denying that he verbally assaulted gays. Wouldn't a true moral leader simply say, "I'm sorry," rather than offering slick PR from the pulpit?

San Francisco State University's Family Acceptance Project released a study this week that found that young gay people who are rejected by their parents after coming out were more likely to attempt suicide, experience depression and use drugs than those whose parents were accepting. Will a single religious leader, including Warren, reconsider the harm they are doing to gay youth?

The U.S. has spent more than $200 million on abstinence-only programs, which promote ignorance over education in schools. A new study, reported in Pediatrics, shows that such programs are a fraud, with teenagers who pledged to avoid sex until marriage as likely to have sex as other students. The teens that took virginity pledges were also less likely to use birth control pills or condoms than those making no promise. Will a single religious "leader" have the morality to give up their dogma to prevent the deaths of teens that are having unsafe sex?

This New Year, let's vow to judge people by their good principles and not their piety. As we learned in 2008 -- they are not necessarily the same thing.

23 Comments:

Wayne,
As usual a very meaningful article. Beside religious leaders not apologizing for their sins, they deny them, cover them up, or blame others for the 'issue of the day' I recently wrote an article Is The Religous Right on the Decline (AmericaForPurchase.com) outlining the plans of the religious right. Of course they continue to use the gay/abortion issue but many people are finally during a deaf ear.
I always appreciate you sharing your thoughtful insight.
All the Best!
posted by TexasCowboy, at 12/30/2008 1:08 PM

This, of course, is nothing new. Religious and clerical hypocrisy has been acknowledged for millenia. Even Jesus called them vipers and white-washed tombs (clean and bright on the outside, but a stinking, rotting corpse within). When artists in the Middle Ages and Renaissance depicted scenes of hell, they usually included popes and cardinals among the hordes of sinners consigned to the flames.
posted by Anonymous, at 12/30/2008 2:38 PM

The sexual abuse scandals of the catholic church are nothing new. Karen liebreich's "Fallen order" is an excellent history of a similar scandal occurring in romy nearly 400 years ago
posted by Unknown, at 12/30/2008 3:36 PM

Great article, Wayne! Of course, whether an individual believes in the supernatural or doesn't is no indication of their morality or lack thereof.
posted by Chris L., at 12/30/2008 5:00 PM

I disagree with this. It is not enough to say religion isn't necessarily associated with morality. We should acknowledge that it is a primary source of immorality.

To say religion has no effect on morality either way is to pretend like dogmas don't exist or that religious books are all blank. They are not.

Religions are based on dogma, beliefs and values that are codified. In all three Abrahamic religions, homophobia, sexism, racism and violence against outsiders are all encouraged in some way, explicitly written about favorably in the Bible and the Quran.

Religious people are more likely to be homophobic. Period. That's because their religions say to kill us, or that we are otherwise sinners.

And again, moderates are only moderate to the extent that they have learned to ignore or abandon significant portions of their traditions and sacred texts.
posted by Ryan Grant Long, at 12/30/2008 5:47 PM

Of course religion doesn't mean morality. All educated people know that. The problem is, as it always has been, that pharisees and hipocrits use religion as a cover for their greed and hatred.
It's also too bad that so many gay folk have a seething hatred for all christians. They're letting hurt and anger blind them to the millions who are on our side, and who would be powerful allies.
posted by Anonymous, at 12/30/2008 10:16 PM

Will:

I have a seething hatred for anyone who worships a book that says to kill me.

Common sense really.

Actually I think it's the other way around, it's too bad so many gay folk pussyfoot around religion and don't realize how fucked up it is, and stand up to it.

Atheists make much better allies to gay equality than theists, and the best part is that an atheist can stand up for gay rights adamantly, without any second-guessing or struggling to "reconcile" with ancient scripture.

...

Well at least I know where to get cheap world of warcraft gold now.
posted by Ryan Grant Long, at 12/31/2008 12:50 AM

Wayne is right. Religious people are not morally superior to those who are non-religious. We are all broken, sinful folks no matter if you are a Muslim, Bahai, Jewish, Christian, Wiccan...or whatever. As I practice my faith, I feel forgiven by God but I am still a wretch like everyone else who walks this planet. As the Old Testament states, "the heart is desparately wicked, who can really understand it?" Religion or humanism can help someone find meaning in life. But the human heart remains sinful and deceitful.
posted by Jeff Winter, at 12/31/2008 9:34 AM

Jeff-- Speak for yourself. I have a much better opinion of me and those i love than you apparently do. one of the biggest problems with religion is that it fosters attitudes like yours.

when someone tells you that you are dirty, sick, unclean, and especially, sinful and in need to salvation (which they offer, of course, usually with a prominent price tag-- your soul AND your wallet) it is the biggest mistake in the world to assume that 1) it's true, and 2) that they are telling you for your benefit, and not for their own. The concept of sin, especially YOUR sin, becomes the expression of their will and their way of seeing the world. And if it is making you unhappy, or interfering with your life, making yhou feel bad aobut yourself merely for existing, then that is probably a good test of its truth value. unfortunately, you pay the price with happiness in your life, while they reap the benefits-- or, validation--and the "glory".

I'm not perfect, but i think that i am a pretty decent example of a human being. More people should be like me, less like, say, Bill clinton, or rick Warren, or Larry craig. the owrld owuld be better off.

sinful and broken? I don't hurt anyone, I make an effort to be kind, I am a contributing, tax-paying, law-abiding, productive member of my ocmmunity.

sounds like you have been reading too many ex-gay tracts.
posted by Unknown, at 12/31/2008 12:02 PM

Eshto,
Liberal christians don't 'worship a book that says to kill me'. They follow an ethical system more kind, fair, and beautiful than the joke of Western philosophy, and the free thinkers' taste for mental masturbation. But I don't mean to make this a competition between the two. They both have strenghts and weaknesses.
I would reserve my hatred for those who've done me actual harm, or for those who hate me. Did liberal christians snap off your car antenna? Dude, get some perspective.
posted by Anonymous, at 12/31/2008 1:05 PM

Yes, Jeff, speak for yourself. If your religion has convinced you that you're a "wretch," then that's your business. Personally, I think I'm anything but a "wretch," and I expect that most people here might think the same thing about themselves. I urge you to turn away from these things which are convincing you that you are no good without, of course, doing what THEY tell you to do. How convenient.

On another note, I can't believe that we actually have to debate this bullshit in the year 2009. We have before us a string of ridiculous, childish religious fables coupled with a anti-humanistic belief system...what a toxic concoction. It has ALREADY been revealed as a HOAX, as a outrageously INCORRECT way of explaining the world around us. Science pushed it off the table so utterly and completely that some seem to have missed it. Don't allow other people to control you through these foolish MEMES.
posted by Chris L., at 12/31/2008 1:55 PM

Liberal christians are even worse than fundamentalists. They legitimize retarded, delusional beliefs and pretend that they are not at fault for "conservative" religionists' continued reign of stupidity in the world.

All delusion is bad delusion. All irrationality is bad irrationality.

Look, "liberal" christian gays: if you want to be masochistic and hate yourself by espousing idiotic beliefs used daily to harm you, go ahead. But do NOT drag us sane gays down with you.
posted by Unknown, at 12/31/2008 2:23 PM

The funny thing is that if you read the teachings of Jesus, minus the fables and the stupidity (think the "Jefferson Bible"), the man actually made a lot of sense! The ONLY condemning and judging he did was condemning religious leaders like the Pope, Rick Warren, and all the others!! His truth is not found in a religion or in a church building. The man taught love and taking care of the poor. The ones who pray publicly and call his name are rank posers. They're so incredibly counterfeit that it staggers the mind.
posted by Chris L., at 12/31/2008 2:58 PM

That all "religions" tell you how to live, what to believe and how you should feel about yourself convinces me even more that they are all CULTS, all of them and dangerous ones at that. They should be banned. Imagine how wonderful life would be without them!
posted by Anonymous, at 12/31/2008 3:40 PM

As a non-theist, I would have a better feeling toward the "liberal" or "mainstream" Christian churches (though I'm not sure if those are the exact same things) and their ministers if more of them would get out there and passionately and vociferously rage against the distortions of the teachings of Jesus and the lies and opressions perpetrated in his name. Even the UCC member churches/congregations are not unanimous in their acceptance of LGBT people.

As far as what Wayne says about corruption and honesty, I think the prerequisite of that is transparency. Smarmy smiley-faced Rick Warren is now being exposed as a hardened hater not only of LGBT people but other religions, women, etc., thanks to people like Wayne and even some in the establishment media. We need a hundred or a thousand more journalists like him, because I know from firsthand experience that very few people pay in-depth attention to this kind of thing, even those in our community. People hear, "Pastor Rick Warren is going to give the invocation..." and they think, "Oh, that's nice, and that follows the tradition of having a prayer...and this Warren fellow, he wrote a best-selling book, didn't he? I guess he must be a good choice."
posted by Cacau, at 12/31/2008 6:25 PM

The one thing I've learned about Rick Warren isn't that he's a hater, per se. The thing I've noticed the most in recent days is how DULL the man is, intellectually speaking. It reminded me of something I learned many years ago, which is that a person doesn't need to be an intellectual to become famous. When the man speaks, it's tough to determine whether or not the wheels are actually turning.
posted by Chris L., at 1/01/2009 10:58 AM

I don't know if Warren's a hater on a personal level, since neither God nor Warren's shrink are saying. And Warren's supposed "gay friends" haven't weighed in on the issue. It doesn't matter to me because what I see as important is what Warren promotes and that is hate. It's the same with GWB. I think there's an excellent chance that on a one-on-one basis the guy is pretty accepting, but oh, the damage he's caused.
posted by Cacau, at 1/01/2009 12:44 PM

If being totally pro-gay was what caused religious leaders to have huge, money-making mega churches, Rick Warren would be more pro-gay than Harvey Milk was. Don't be fooled. He's playing to his audience of American evangelicals. Rick Warren and that phoney-go-lucky Joel Osteen are not "softening up" on the gay issue because they've had a change of heart. They're doing it because it's the tenable, most profitable position right now. They're simply whores in the name of Lord.
posted by Chris L., at 1/01/2009 1:29 PM

Wayne is correct about not equating religion with morality. It is interestingly related to the bigoted assumption behind "faith based" initiatives. Those programs don't add more money or services to the poor. They just fund religious charities instead of inclusive ones.

The only claimed benefit of those programs is that religion supposedly makes people better. It's a rather bigoted and insulting thing to say, when you think about how it is applied to atheists.
posted by libhom, at 1/03/2009 8:12 PM

libhorn, as an atheist, I must concur with you on that!
posted by Anonymous, at 1/04/2009 8:44 AM

Wayne,

I have read with interest this article and the comments. What appears to be a common thread here is animosity toward Christianity. Yet, if you read the Bible, Jesus himself was ridiculed for associating with "publicans and sinners." If Jesus walked the earth today, you would not find Him among the leaders of megachurches. You would find him among those who society typically rejects. Don't believe me? Read Luke chapter 4, and see what happened to Jesus when He declared that a prophet is without honor in his own country.

Jeff Winter is correct. The heart is deceitful above all things. And if I say that I am good, then I am a liar.
posted by BreakingtheSilence, at 1/08/2009 8:19 AM

Jeff Winter & Breaking the Silence: Christianity has made one of it most outspoken platforms the "bashing of homosexual people." Of course there is animosity toward religion. Stop spewing your simple dogma on others as if we are so dense and small to not consider your silly words of control, guilt and the perpetuation of low self esteem. Give me some money and i will pray you get to heaven too and if you do not, i hate to inform you that you will be going to hell. Send it to Wayne and send a lot and send it NOW. You do not know the answers to the most important philisophical questions mankind has been asking throughout the ages. Grow up.
posted by Spouse Walker, at 1/08/2009 5:29 PM