the strange world of non-believing preachers
One of the biggest reasons why organized religion persisted for thousands of years is because it offers a very real sense of hope and belonging, especially to those who need it. Is your future looking dire? Do you feel you have no direction in life? Feeling confused? Overwhelmed? Need to improve your outlook on life fast? Just get down to your local house of faith for your revelation, accept the appropriate messiah or prophet into your heart, and get out there with a spring in your step, maybe even helping others to find their way to your deity. And if you happen to be really good at doing that, you may well find yourself preaching for a very sustainable living…
But then again, as scientists keep showing that the world is not a simple, isolated bubble overseen by a deity who faxes down his instructions to assorted prophets and messiahs, and that our universe is a far, far more complex than fervent believers tend to think, you may find yourself doubting your newly acquired beliefs. Not so for those who rely on you to reinforce their faith and help indoctrinate their friends and children. The more mysteries science unveils, the more they’ll dig in their heels and denigrate those who point it out, threatening the unbelievers with divine retribution for their sins in the form of Hell. So, how do go on preaching to new and lifelong theists but are yourself a non-believer like a certain someone we should call “Jack”…
OK, this God created me. It’s a perfect God that knows everything; can do anything. And somehow it got messed up, and it’s my fault. So he had to send his son to die for me to fix it. And he does. And now I’m supposed to beat myself to death the rest of my life over it. It makes no sense to me. Don’t you think a God could come up with a better plan than that? What kind of personality; what kind of being is this that had to create other beings to worship and tell him how wonderful he is? That makes no sense, if God is all-knowing and all-wise and all-wonderful. I can’t comprehend that that’s what kind of person God is.
Our pseudo-anonymous priest is one of five preachers who either lost their faith or unsure of their beliefs, but continue to give sermons every Sunday because their entire lives are attached to their religious identification. Should they come out as non-believers, their entire livelihood will be endangered. Without a job, a house, the financial assistance of their churches and with few marketable skills other than public speaking, the odds of them finding new careers aren’t all that promising. And this is why when they consented to be interviewed by Dan Dennett and Linda LaScola, they adopted generic pseudonyms. The entire study sheds a light on a side of religious ruminations that you’ll rarely hear from a church, a mosque or a synagogue: what happens when you lose your faith. For many believers it’s an emotionally costly decision, and for those whose livelihoods are tied to promoting religious dogmas, it can be financially devastating to reject their beliefs.
Contrast that to what would happen in a lab of a major university if a research associate came in one day and announced he had a revelation and was now a born again Christian. Rather than being thrown out, he would probably just be asked how his experiments were going by some of the other, probably religious scientists for whom he’s working. Contrary to the whining of the Discovery Institute and fundamentalist claims, those with a burning religious conviction aren’t being fired left and right by their evil atheists overlords. And it’s that disparity between science labs and religious organizations which tends to disturb me the most and hopefully, Dennett and LoScola keep on finding unbelieving priests willing to discuss their doubts and show the costs of having your own opinion in institutions which demand strict adherence to their dogmas for everyone on the payroll.
