Category Archives: Religion

New York (Finally) Recognizes Gay Marriage, Jesus Freaks Freak-Out

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While I was away in upstate New York, news hit that the NY State Senate passed a bill to recognize same-sex marriages. For those who live in the metropolitan area around (and, of course, in) Manhattan, this legislative achievement was welcomed and celebrated. Gay pride was practically coming out of people’s noses as they walked down the street in jubilation of their newly granted right to wed.

Being away from the densely populated boroughs at the times gave some perspective on the matter – New York state is comprised of many right-leaning Jesus freaks. As Politico points out, the glee with which this bill was accepted in New York City is not present in more rural towns across the state. Even those who’s job it is to accept same-sex marriage will cling to their bible and seemingly nonsensical sense of repulsion to the act of same-sex relations.

A woman who works as a town clerk refuses to sign marriage licenses for same-sex couples because of her religious beliefs and, what she apparently believes is, her freedom to discriminate based on sexual orientation. If a police officer chooses to not help a person based on their race or if a school does not allow a student to enter because of his or her gender it would be very clear it would be because of ignorance and bigotry and such action would be met with fervent rebuke.

However, religion is like a drug that retards the user from being able to act with logic and reason. This woman and many like her see themselves as being above the law that they were hired to uphold. While discrimination of race and gender of course still exists but those who commit these acts are rarely as self-inflated as proclaiming that they are just in their decision to do so.

Obviously, the majority of New York state is at least tolerant of homosexuality if not entirely in support of equal rights. (Does anyone else feel that the discussion of whether some people should be granted the same rights as every one else based of some arbitrary characteristic is depressing?) And, I am not suggesting that those who do not live near New York City are bigots. What I am suggesting is that religion allows communities to feel justified in openly expressing revulsion towards homosexuality.

I suggest that those who feel that they cannot do their job as a result of a conflict with the legal rights of others and their own religious views should quit. The state does not make room for religious intolerance. If you want to exercise power to exclude others then perhaps a move to a different state is in order.

Fake Progress

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Recently, the California Supreme Court overturned a ban on gay marriage. In light of this joyous occasion for gay rights activists, I’d like to share my thoughts on the topic and, perhaps, give some advice to those who aren’t simply seeking the uninspired ability to say that they’re married. I don’t mean to tread on your “progress” but just because some people get married doesn’t mean you should, too. Besides, religious people are allowed to do heaps of outrageously dumb things but that is no reason to petition the government to let everyone behave in a similar fashion. Why not try to fix the problem rather than make yourself become a part of it; sure, it might feel good to be accepted into some big system but at what cost?

Let’s begin at what appears to be the immediate problem. The American government recognizes marriage as something more than just an expensive and boring dinner with bad speeches. In fact, marriage has a heavy impact on a couple’s financial status, and it imparts numerous rights to the couple with regard to each other and their family as a whole. These rights usually consist of child custody, joint finances (which, in some cases, leads to a significant decrease in the amount a couple pays in taxes), monetary assistance in the incident of death or injury of a partner, rights to make medical decisions in the case of an emergency, full inheritance when no will had been prepared, etc. What many people feel is wrong with this policy is that not everyone has the capability of gaining such rights and benefits- namely, those the church doesn’t care to see married. Certain gay rights activists argue that this is a violation of the “separation of church and state” principal and that everyone should be allowed to have these rights.

I agree that everyone should be allowed to gain these rights and benefits, I also agree there is a serious problem with separation of church and state but not in the same way as the person who is happy to see the California ban lifted. In fact, I believe that the government should play no roll in who is allowed to go through the holy act of matrimony because it is a part of religious institutions. By forcing the church to recognize a homosexual’s right to marriage is itself a violation of the principal of separation of church and state. Who is allowed to get married should be decided by the church which conducts the marriages! If those in the administrative hierarchy of the church do not believe that their religion should support homosexuality through marriage, it is unconstitutional for the California supreme court to have any power over their ability to implement these beliefs.

What we must petition to change in the American system of government is the legal status of marriage. There is absolutely no purpose for a religious practice to have any consequence on legal matters. Those who currently oppose same-sex marriage insist that homosexuals take the other route to partnership and get a civil union. The problem is that a civil union is not a federally recognized partnership and it does not benefit the couple in the way a marriage would even in the state where the union was done. A civil union is a half-ass version of marriage that has little to offer to couples when compared to marriage.

Therefore, I propose that several steps are in order for the american people and their government: First, marriage is to be entirely stripped of all legal influences on a person’s life and property. Second, the government must cease and remove any alterations to the mandates of a religious organization. Obviously, no crime committed can be excused with a religious affiliation but a religion is entitled to their desire to commit such crimes. Third, civil unions will become federally acknowledged to provide the very same rights and benefits as marriage does (as we know it to be today). Lastly, there should be no restrictions on a person’s freedom to become part of a civil union whereby these limitations are the result of characteristics with no significance to the civil union process.

Gay rights activists have to stop empowering religious ideology and practices in politics. If you want equality, you must first eliminate the entity that is responsible for placing bigotry into our laws. Once you remove religion from our laws, then you can work without ignorant and hateful resistance to your cause.

Dust Palaeolagus

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It recently dawned on me, surprisingly, that the greatly established and worldly popular religions of today are many centuries old. I was sort of in awe of the fact that so great a nuisance could not only survive these thousands of years but, amazingly, that it has dilated in nearly every spectrum. The majority of the world today is associated with three religions in all that have become more organized and wealthy than ever before. What saddens me is how religion is unaffected by the vast improvement of society, the explosion of scientific inquiry, and, consequently, the massive evidence brought against the foundations of religious ideology and implementation of it into social affairs. No other unnecessary and viciously brutal aspect of that time has, or could have been imagined to, still exist today. Nietzsche wrote in Ecce Homo that he finds it necessary to wash his hands after coming into contact with religious people, and now I can see why – they attest to a rotted tome of ignorance that was destined to be extinct long ago. It is a corpse of a murderous thug that has too strong a resilience to the betterment of mankind.

It seems to me that religion is sort of like the living dead, but with stupid rules and the strange tendency to pray. Religion has opposed most scientific discoveries and has been consistently trying to get us to stop using common sense. Religious people are usually found in groups, and almost always saying the same thing as everyone else around them. This is the reason I have little hope in resolving this discord: zombies are fucking hard to get rid of. They go around killing real people. And, apparently, an infestation of the mindless can go on for thousands of years with no end in sight. This is serious because they target the only tool we have against them – our brain. I like my brain, I try to use it often and I advise that you do the same. Maybe, one day we’ll figure out a way to save humanity from this virus.