Church and State

I am a born heathen, if there is such a thing. And until quite recently I was merely a-religious(as opposed to anti-religious). I could be that way because there was no way on Earth for the christian church to impose their will on me. The only sounds you could hear in the distance every now and then were the dying breaths of some extreme christians who still think the world is flat.

So in my opinion, there was a status quo that was acceptable for the overwhelming majority of people. This did not prevent the extreme christians from calling all atheists heretics because of their free sex, drugs, euthanasia, you name it. And the heathen/atheist could still shake his head about so much christian stupidity. There was one thing missing in those days; the islam.

I do not doubt that there are factions of the christian church that have ideas that are just as inhuman as the ones within the extreme islam. If the fundamentalist town of Urk would have its way we would all be praying the whole sunday and dutch tv wouldn't even broadcast on that day.

But still; the principle of the separation of church and state - the principle that was even accepted by the christian fundamentalists(albeit with much wailing and gnashing of teeth) - is in danger of breaking down.

Now, it is very easy and simplistic to say to the extreme moslim "look, those neat christians know how Holland works, why don't you?". Two centuries of secularisation have not been without effect and there has been no thing so drastic in the muslim-world. But still, we must realize that freedom comes with a price, the price of eternal vigilance.The price of tolerance of others. And this price must be paid in order to remain free. Just as a christian or a muslim defends his or her religion we non-religious people must also defend what we stand for. In this respect I really don't see much difference between a freethinker and a muslim. We are all fighting for our right to our own convictions and beliefs.

During the last centuries a cultural climate was created in the Netherlands. A climate that is very liberal and that inspired the imagination of many people to such a extent, that these people came to Holland. Not only because they were persecuted in their homecountry, but also because there was more freedom of speech and more tolerance in the Netherlands in general. This climate goes back to the Golden Age(17th century) and was in fact one of the causes of this Golden Age. Our form of civilization has shown time and time again, that it is at least equal to - and I believe even better than - a society based on the superimposed will of religious clerics.

We have a lot to lose if we would ever return to the clerical religious state, and I for one do not intend to let The Inquisition return to Holland. Neither a christian inquisition nor a muslim inquisition.

In my view, good schooling and good education are the best ways to teach tolerance. Learning how to read and write at an early age is the silver bullet for any mixed society. What we learn at a young age we usually practice later in life.

Because of this I personally think that anyone should be allowed to be schooled on a christian basis, on a muslim basis, on whatever basis. But they should be taught these values outside normal schoolhours, outside of the schooling the state pays for. Religion does not belong in a standard schoolingsystem, except of course in history-class. The state should not teach people what to believe, it should teach people the basic knowledge to survive in society. All else is optional(although I believe it should be offered to anyone who wants to learn more). And one of the things that people should learn in school is that there is a holy scripture in the Netherlands too, it's called "The Constitution" and we have placed it above religion when it comes to the interaction between people and their freedom to choose.

I am absolutely convinced that the Dutch State is a lot more enlightened than Islam or Christianity. I only have to add up the victims caused by religion and religious wars through the centuries and even Dachau and Auschwitz are specks on the page of history.

Let us see those 'dogma's' for what they really are; from the christian "women aren't allowed to vote" to the muslim "all homosexuals must be thrown off the third floor of a building, head first". They are the opinions of people who are so small-minded that there is no room for tolerance in their heads whatsoever.

So there is the reason that I don't trust any religion. They are always convinced that they and only they are right. There is no room for doubt.

Any person should doubt his convictions, his beliefs and himself. it is what makes mankind grow.

People who know no doubt scare the hell out of me.

TM.