File spoon-archives/lyotard.archive/lyotard_2004/lyotard.0402, message 21


Date: Mon, 16 Feb 2004 09:20:17 +0000
From: "steve.devos-AT-krokodile.co.uk" <steve.devos-AT-krokodile.co.uk>
Subject: Re: children to study aethism in schools


Hugh/all

I would have been happier if they had renamed the courses "stories, 
religion and myth"  but they have instead decided to argue for the 
renaming to be "religious, philosophical and moral education".  At which 
point your implied objection to the teaching of 'aethism' and 
'agnosticism' as socio-philosophical discourses of equal worth and value 
to religious doctrine becomes mistakern.

The author you quote is mistaken - morality and ethics,  that is  to say 
human conduct has nothing to do with religion, and to approach the myth 
that Islam is an issue in the contemporary world in this way is 
mistaken. In the specific case it (the author) is discussing, religion 
has become one of the few aspects of certain societies which has 
remained unaffected by the forces of empire and colonialism, 
consequently it is hardly surprising that human resistence has tended to 
be focused through these areas. It is to be regreted that the  
theocratic responses have tended to be on the reactionary side, they 
usually are, but there are signs of hope in organisations like Hezbollah 
gradually mutating into poltical parties.

Perhaps more pertinant to the list is that notions of religion and 
god(s) should be kept out of morality, ethics and judgement. Where 
Levinas and the post-secular approaches, reintroduce it - we should be 
resisting this terrible tendency to reintroduce issues of religion and 
god into the judgement of human conduct. "Unbelievers could easily react 
to these questions with ironic laughter as they think of all the crimes 
committed in the name of religion, the wars fought on behalf of religion 
and the guilt and misery that has been imnosed on human beings who have 
deviated from religious norms..." (Bishop Richard Holloway).

It is rather unfortunate, and this is happening at the moment, that 
religions "tend to associate God(s) with particular phases in social 
development" The most obvious example today is the necessity to 
recognise that gender relations reflect social and historical realities; 
whereas the religious claim has been that they have been "established by 
god in a specific pattern". The latter position after all forces us to 
critique god - the former allows for a legitimate critique of male 
dominance which recognises that God is a social construct (to some 
extent at least)  which mutates and changes. Currently most religions 
and use of God tends towards the reactionary - where Holloway and Tutu 
want it to represent liberation they of necessity have to  construct it 
as a human construct....

must go..

steve

hbone wrote:

>Steve,
>
>"Children will be taught about atheism during religious education classes
>under official plans being drawn up to reflect the decline in churchgoing in
>Britain."
>
>This sounds like teaching Peacemaking  in the military academies.
>
>The author of "The Trouble with Islam" says:   religion is about one's
>conduct towards others.
>Is that what atheism is about, or is it simply the the struggle to implant
>the minds of innocent children with one dogmatic belief system that drives
>out another .
>
>regards,
>Hugh
>
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: <steve.devos-AT-krokodile.co.uk>
>To: <lyotard-AT-lists.village.Virginia.EDU>; "Eric" <ericandmary-AT-earthlink.net>
>Sent: Sunday, February 15, 2004 3:08 PM
>Subject: children to study aethism in schools
>
>
>  
>
>>A report in the Observer today -
>>
>>http://education.guardian.co.uk/schools/story/0,5500,1148669,00.html
>>
>>a small victory perhaps but a significant one -
>>
>>regaqrds
>>steve
>>
>>
>>    
>>
>
>
>  
>


--- StripMime Warning --  MIME attachments removed --- 
This message may have contained attachments which were removed.

Sorry, we do not allow attachments on this list.

--- StripMime Report -- processed MIME parts --- 
multipart/alternative
  text/plain (text body -- kept)
  text/html
---

   

Driftline Main Page

 

Display software: ArchTracker © Malgosia Askanas, 2000-2005