With all the commotion and controversy the on-going Universal Peace Federation (UPF)‘s summit in Kathmandu is creating, the topics of religion, soul-searching, and proselytization have again struct some attention.
I always find the act of converting religion rather mystifying. No objection or disrespect towards anyone faithfully following the creeds and tenets put upon them from birth (myself in this category). However, if one is convinced that the pasture on the other side of the river is greener, than she definitely hasn’t looked around her feet well.
Whatever logic is given to justify religion or creationism, we all know for fact that gods and religions, so to speak in the common definitions of the terms, are results of human imagination.
Let’s, for a moment, assume that all children of the world were refrained from any form of religious education and events imposed upon them (brainwashing, in a less euphemistic term) and that they were free to choose their faith completely with their conscience at the end of their adolescence. What share of the society would follow their parents’ faith or any faith at all for that matter? I have no figures to share, but conceivably a significant portion.
Here’s a million dollar question: if a serf is intelligent enough to discern the abomination of the system that is abusing her, why should she switch to another master? Why not emancipate from the servitude altogether?
If one were not satisfied with their faith of birth, pursuing a new soul-searching in another faith is a fundamental right guaranteed in most of the democratic societies of the day. Deserting the notion of religion itself, however, seems more astute an option. Actually, I see such people everywhere in Nepal. The pious population is shrinking by the day and the religion is observed more as a tradition and not in the strict sense of the word.
In fact, it is astonishing to know that the west, despite its leadership in realizing the position of science and rationalism that they have achieved today, has larger chunk their society so rigid and rabid when it comes to faith.
In Nepal, we know for well a fact that the primary motivation behind such conversions has been economical and social – which religions themselves theoretically prohibit.
Coming back to the topic of UPF’s conference this week, the fact that it has received such an attention from the national level is preposterous and equally alarming.
Follow these people for rationalism, humanism, and secularism: @RichardDawkins, @taslimanasreen, @sapinker.