Writeback

Belfast Telegraph

Dear Sir/Madam,

D McCracken asks what hope Humanism has to offer (Writeback, 19 January). It offers the hope of an escape from the endless cycle of religious conflicts. Look around the world – Jews, Christians and Muslims fighting in the Middle East; Hindus fighting Muslims over Kashmir; Catholics fighting Protestants here in our own province. These are age-old disputes and the religious dimension only serves to make them practically insoluble. Religions divide people into separate camps and when the pressure builds up, those separate camps can become violent enemies.

Look at the divisions in our own society - segregated schools for our children, sectarian football supporters, segregated housing estates, different flags to wave, etc – the fundamental division is on the basis of religion. Our politics are dominated by it. Unionists do not want to be part of a Catholic-run all-Ireland and nationalists do not want to be subject to a Protestant majority in the North. It is a religious divide which has its roots in the Wars of Religion of the 17^th century. Other countries of Europe were once involved in that too, but they have become more secular and consider our sectarian conflict a bizarre relic of the past.

Humanism sweeps aside all those unnecessary divisions in society which are based on out-dated traditional mythologies. Of course, the mythologies about Jesus, Mohammed and Krishna, etc, have been around for centuries and the social customs based on them have the weight of history behind them, so the advance of Humanism will take time. But there can be no doubt that rational beliefs about the history of planet Earth and the evolution of the various species on it are becoming more widespread. People travel more now and can see for themselves that different countries uphold different religious mythologies simply as tradition. They can also see that science and technology work for us and have the potential to improve all our lives.

Humanism does not make empty promises about utopia round the corner or magical solutions to the problems which face us. There will be diseases, pollution, crime and natural disasters to contend with. But our best hope for the future lies in rational beliefs which we can all share. Then we can face our problems as one common humanity and devote our energies to dealing with them, instead of fighting each other.

L. Reid