Already someone on the online condolence book for Mother has mentioned religious stuff. She was a good and kind friend to Mother and I replied with nice words but that doesn't mean I have to like her comment.
Young Mother was a church goer, as that was the custom in her time. She also taught Sunday School classes and played the piano for child friendly hymns. In 1962 when we moved to the country, the local church was Church of England, and Mother as Presbyterian, would have nothing to do with kneeling to pray in church. While her children were sent to Sunday school, she never bothered with religion again.
She was not really a believer and I am sure I've made it known that I am not either.
I do recognise the cultural and social importance of religion. That works, until you do wrong within viewed by hypocritical eyes. Cue Harper Valley PTA.
In spite of the huge current immigration levels into Australia causing many problems, the immigrants don't seem to be having a strong influence on 'who believes in a god' in Australia, as this graph shows. But I expect if you did take immigrants out of the graph, the stats would be even more extreme.
In spite of the collapsing figures of believers, society has not broken and Australia carries on.
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I suspect you are right about the immigrants skewing that graph. I don't mind what people believe in (or don't) so long as they don't try and force it down my neck. And as an aside, have you ever had someone come to your door to talk about God who wasn't a Christian?
ReplyDeleteBack in my days in university, 2/3 of students in my course were identified as Christians. These were hardcore believers that would do 3 times a day bible study. Everything they do or say were all God's wills. Everything happens for the chance to be converted. It was a depressing time for me as the university life was plagued by no diversity and one giant hysteria about that religion. I even had people stalking me from lecture to lecture just for me to repent my sins.
ReplyDeleteIn times of crisis, like the death of a loved parent, I wonder if faith makes life easier for the surviving family.
ReplyDeleteIf the deceased was a person of faith and the bereaved are, too there is great hope of reunion at some point. Grief is normal and human and it doesn't just go away but a shared faith gives us something to look forward to
DeleteI'm with you on that. I got seriously enrages recently when a whole bevy of Xtians I know posted they were sending "thoughts and prayers" to Hawaii. I put up a nasty rejoinder about that really helping the hungry, unhomed and unclothed unfortunates.I felt better. When you believe in the Invisible Cosmic Housekeeper often it means you do ver,y very little for those who hurt the most as it's all in the hands of the cloud god and he'll help.
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ReplyDeleteIt’s an interesting topic Andrew..
I believe in God but it’s the God of good and love for alI with some exclusions
I also believe that all pets go to the heaven that I will go to where they will rejoin their human parents and those we love so dearly will be there. Yep crazy old woman I may be but holding precious memories has to have a location and s that is the heaven I hold on to.
You will create or may have your memory space that is precious to you
As for identifying with a particular church ..raised as a Methodist it’s hard to have some of those ideologies disappear from your being….though I suspect being in a same sex relationship might put me in the sitting outside pew if ai ever went to church
Told one door knocking religion of my personal relationship and that disappeared them forever
Respect to everyone’s beliefs and for your mother♥️
To be kind and righteous, to live a good life, to believe in other people - you don't need any kind of religion. That is just a myth put about by religious folk who have not yet seen the light.
ReplyDeleteI would hate for my death to include some religious ceremony when I am not religious and would loath such a thing if I knew. But I won't know because I'll be worm bait by then, ashes flung out anywhere, don't care. Why people think its ok after one dies to inflict religion on the nonreligious is not something I understand. I'll shake a finger at the behavior in honor of your mum.
ReplyDeleteI fall squarely in the camp of Yorkshire up there.
ReplyDeleteLive life, be nice, do good things, love.
Condolences on the loss of your mother.
I agree with Yorkshire Pudding too. Living the best life you can while being good and helping others too, is more important in my opinion than "thoughts and prayers". So I guess I'd say I have faith that things will work out as they should as long as we keep trying, rather than a belief that God will step in and hand out what the suffering people need, because when has that actually happened?
ReplyDeleteA very interesting topic, Andrew, and some fascinating comments already.
ReplyDeleteSome of the most narrow minded, ignorant, cruel bigots I have met have been self professed Christians and some of the most gentle, genuine, caring people have been from other religions (who don't try to convert) or atheists - with some Christians in there, too. I think nasty people will find a way to use religion to justify their actions whereas good people just do good regardless of their beliefs.
I hope you aren't struggling too much with all that has to be done. Allow yourself time to just sit with the good doctor and be still.
Each to his or her own as long as they don't try to thrust their religion down my neck all will be ok for me.
ReplyDeleteYour mum did well teaching Sunday School.
In the last year I've become a regular Unitarian Universalist churchgoer. Nevertheless, I still maintain God is unknowable, a position this creedless religion allows.
ReplyDeleteIncidentally, a lot of UU churchgoers seem to be former Presbyterians, yet no one can say why. Maybe it's because neither religion requires you to kneel.
My mother found religion late in life and said that all her past sins (and there were many) had been forgiven. She still remained the most un-Christian person I know.
ReplyDeleteThere are many good (and some not so good) celebrants around who will conduct a humanitarian service, if that's what you decide on. It's difficult to move on or adjust or whatever you want to call it, until the funeral has taken place.
ReplyDeleteRick and I took from all religions the best, and had our own religion, that's probably what you and your mother do or have done. For the funerals, he didn't want a sad one, so we had modern music, he was dressed in his Ferrari jacket, had a picture of his beloved cat in his hands, designs from Toby and my son added a book for the long trip to wherever it was. 3 slideshows showed pictures of his life, while a man told stories of his life. But I was lucky, I only had my son to organize everything, and he agreed to, he found it wonderful and was proud that it was exactly what Rick would have wanted. But you with your maxi family, that will be difficult !
ReplyDeleteI do have faith cemented by some personal experiences. But religion isn't my thing. I found so much hypocrisy it made me angry.
ReplyDeleteI don't know the stats for England, but I suspect it's the same here -- diminishing rates of "religiousness" (is that a word?) among the native born with immigrants propping up the percentage of religious people.
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