"We're having a religious related talk, at about 4
pm, do you wanna join?"
We all exchanged looks and shook our heads at the same time.
"Sorry mate," one of us said, "we're not religious."
His face dropped for a second, but then his smile was back. "Right,
right, sure thing! Sorry for bothering!"
No pushing; no trying to convince us; no telling us we should find God or faith. Respectfully
backing down from our group. Key word: respect.
In this world burning with hatred, consumerism, emotional
scarring, and unstable powers radiating more than a burnt out supernova, where
do you find respect? You don't always find it walking down the street, or with
peers. You tend to grasp it and then someone says something about your beliefs,
your gender, your sexuality – or lack thereof – and it's gone.
Some time ago, the non-religious students from the London
South Bank University’s Atheist Society put up a modified version of
Michelangelo’s iconic “Creation of Adam”. The piece featured the Flying
Spaghetti Monster, the “deity” of the eponymous Church. According to The
Independent, the installation “came about as a humorous response to the
teaching of intelligent design in American schools in 2005”. The poster was
taken down for being “religiously offensive”.
Freedom of expression, right? Respect for other people’s
beliefs, right? Well, no, it seems.
It is absolutely fine, even encouraged, to stick
traditionally religious posters up. It’s alright to invite people to talks
about religion. It’s alright for people to chastise their peers for engaging in
sexual intercourse before marriage, and justify it with “it’s a sin, you will
be punished”. It’s alright for people to sneer at a satirical representation of
prophets – not even offensive, just a pamphlet of sorts. It’s okay to express
yourself however you want.
Except it’s not; not when it is not in line with the
standard religious practices. So, someone handing out religious texts and
books, even when you explain you don’t want one – is acceptable. Photoshopping
a satirical deity on the image of a fresco is condemnable and should be
punished.
There is a shameless expression of double standards
pummelling people everywhere. In an ever-shifting, adapting, struggling-to-be-kind
world, how can we still rely so much on oppression? An allegedly welcoming city
such as London should not have these problems.
Ideally, no place in the world should have this problem, but
it is beyond unattainable. So, one would argue, let’s start with a smaller, ‘democratic’
part of the world. Let’s teach it, let’s nourish it and most of all, let’s
reinforce it time and again. In theory, anyway. In practice, things are
different. In practice, I would be sneered at for my lack of belief. I would be
asked to bring forward tangible paperwork to prove evolution (I have been asked
that before and laughed endlessly.)
If universities can’t provide a safe environment for their
students to express beliefs, as well as themselves, what else have we got?
Usually, a little after essential formative years, yet not fully moulded
adults, this is a time to allow ourselves to shape our identities further.
Oppressing us will do nothing else than function as a prime example of reverse
psychology. Foucault phrases it as such: "Where there is power, there is
resistance [...]”
Universities: allow your students to think and choose for
themselves. Allow them to put the Flying Spaghetti Monster up. You allow them
to put Jesus up. It’s a belief. It’s a conviction, and it’s a choice.
There has been great progress in allowing people to declare
and stand by their gender, their sexuality, etc. Yes, religious issues go back
in time. Yes, it is difficult to make a point in a country that is still
ambiguous about its secularity. But we need to try.
Don’t call people out because they don’t believe in what you
do. Equally, don’t pick people up on their beliefs. Stay out of it. In time,
people will learn to stay out of your business as well.
Be fair. Weigh your choices, and in case of indecision, keep
weighing. Both as a person and as an institution ran by people.
---
By contributing writer, Jo Lazar, as part of our Year 2 Creative & Professional Writing degree Work Experience module.