Much outrage has erupted in the Middle East in these past weeks in response to Innocence of Muslims, a low-budget internet movie trailer that portrayed Muslims as mindlessly violent and easily drawn to anger. This outrage quickly grew into protest, where the offended Muslim parties tried to fight these unfair allegations by storming the streets with violent protests, flag burnings and rioting. Several dozens of people have died in these protests, including Christopher Stevens, U.S. Ambassador to Libya.
Religion is not ignorance. It is not ridiculous superstition. It is not defined by hatred nor by antagonism to any other field of human endeavor. It is merely faith in something greater, in something beyond us that we cannot explain or control.
Whoa, whoa, whoa. Did anyone else smell the vitriol on campus this week? Among newspaper readership, it was most evident in Dan Diner’s article on secularization and Andrew Kaake’s column on abortion. Their recent newspaper submissions have prompted an outpouring of student responses. Infuriated and affirmed readers alike shared their honest concerns, sometimes boldly proclaiming their identity, but more often remaining under the cloak of anonymity.
We live in a postmodern society: in fact, in the most promising one that has ever existed. We have cured epidemics, created previously unimaginable transportation and communications systems, conceived methods of going to different worlds and have seen life spans and life qualities go up at near exponential rates.
As modern American society becomes ever more secular, it seems as though we might need to re-examine what role religion plays, and as more unorthodox groups such as the Unitarian Universalists (Unitarians) and American Jews gain prominence and official recognition, it seems that we need to re-examine even the fundamentals, like the very definition of the word. Merriam-Webster defines religion as “the service and worship of God or the supernatural.” However, neither Unitarian Universalism (UU) nor American Judaism (AJ) quite fit this mold.
