DOES RELIGION DO MORE HARM THAN
GOOD?
By Rupert Shortt
SPCK. 88 pages. £9.99
ISBN 978 0 281 078 714
This is a short book which explores some very big ideas. It looks at religion in the broadest sense and addresses the topical question posed in the title: does religion do more harm than good? The author is the religion editor of The Times Literary Supplement.
The book begins by summarising arguments for and against religion. Those hostile to religion accuse it of provoking division, violence, false thinking and unrealistic hopes. Those who support religion argue that it supplies a necessary transcendence to human life, as well as a basis for morality and cohesion in society.
Politics not religion
The author acknowledges that both cases are argued vigorously and passionately. But can one of these opposing views be shown to be right? While he freely admits that religion can cause and has caused harm, he begins to show his own hand when he argues that violence which is characterised as religious sometimes has at its root social and political issues: the troubles in Northern Ireland are given as an example.
Advantages of religion
Shortt then turns to assess the advantages of religion. For the purpose of his case, he focuses on the six major world religions: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism.
He argues that these six religions share a common thread of transcendent deity, ‘pictured in broadly complementary ways’ across the six faiths. He believes that there is in each of these religions a strand of tolerance of and open-mindedness to other faiths. Moreover, they all encourage their adherents to carry out good works for the benefit of others and they all provide a vital underpinning for a healthy society.
‘Bad’ religion
Religion is therefore beneficial when it is ‘open-handed, outward-looking, conducive to human flourishing in the fullest sense’. Religion can, however, be practised badly. All religions have or have had significant strands of violence – currently, parts of Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism show something of this and, historically, Christianity has done so. When these kinds of influences predominate, religion does more harm than good. Opposition to homosexual lifestyles and the preaching of hell are also, in the author’s view, manifestations of religion practised badly.
The trump card in religion’s hand, argues the author, is that ‘we need it’. There is more to life than the natural world as understood scientifically. We must learn to flourish within our religious heritage, humbly delighting in what we have learned, but understanding that our knowledge is partial, resisting the urge to impose our views on others. Religion so practised does more good than harm.
It is an attractive picture, for which the author argues eloquently. He is well informed and fair to his opponents. His arguments are concisely and clearly stated. The argument, however, ultimately fails.
Truths denied
Religion is too broad a category to defend in this way. As the book itself shows, there are too many differences both between and within the various religions of the world for it to be possible to defend religion in the abstract. The author is forced to select certain characteristics of religions and defend those. Inevitably, he selects the ones which match his own view of what is admirable: a sense of the transcendent, tolerance towards those from whom we differ, openness, care for others.
The difficulty, at least for Christianity, is that he ends up with a version of the faith which denies truths which Christians have affirmed for centuries: the reality of hell, the sinfulness of homosexual relations and the exclusive nature of salvation through Christ – the author has to cast doubt on the validity of all these truths in order to make his case.
The question of the title is nevertheless one which is much in people’s minds today. Many accuse Christianity of doing more harm than good and, in the light of sexual scandals (to name but one current issue), this is not surprising. Our response must be, not a general defence of religion, but the clear, patient teaching of the genuine, biblical message coupled with a humble, repentant and faithful living out of the biblical gospel.
