It has become fashionable in certain smart circles to regard atheism as a sign of superior education, of a more highly evolved civilization, of enlightenment. Recent bestsellers suggest that religious faith is really a sign of backwardness, the mark of primitives stuck in the dark ages who are yet to catch up with scientific reason. Religion, we are told, is responsible for violence, oppression, poverty, and many other ills.
It is not difficult to find examples to back up such assertions. But can religion also be a force for good? Indeed, are there cases where religious faith comes to the rescue even of those who don’t have it?
Since I have never had either the benefits or misfortunes of adhering to any religion, it might smack of hypocrisy for me to defend those who have. But watching the Burmese monks on television defy the security forces of one of the world’s most oppressive regimes, it is hard not to see some merit in religious belief. Burma is a deeply religious country, where most men spend some time as Buddhist monks. Even the most thuggish Burmese dictator must hesitate before unleashing lethal force on men dressed in the maroon and saffron robes of their faith.
The Burmese monks, together with nuns in pink robes, were soon joined by students, actors, and others who want to be rid of the military junta. But it was the monks and nuns who took the first step; they dared to protest when others had mostly given up. And they did so with the moral authority of their Buddhist faith.
Romantics might say that Buddhism is unlike other religions – indeed, more a philosophy than a faith. But Buddhism has been a religion in different parts of Asia for many centuries, and, like any other belief, it can be used to justify violent acts. One need only look at Sri Lanka, where Buddhism is lashed to ethnic chauvinism in the slow-burning civil war between Buddhist Singhalese and Hindu Tamils.
Just as the Buddhists risked their lives to stand up for democracy in Burma, Christians have done so in other countries. The Marcos regime in the Philippines was doomed in the mid-1980’s from the moment the Catholic Church turned against it. Thousands of ordinary citizens defied the tanks when Marcos threatened to crush “People Power with force, but the presence of priests and nuns gave the rebellion its moral authority.
Many political dissidents in South Korea were inspired by their Christian beliefs, and the same is true in China. And no one can deny the religious authority of Pope John Paul II as a spur to Poland’s rebellion against Communist dictatorship in the 1980’s.
True believers would no doubt see the hand of God in these stirring events. Ferdinand Marcos’s main opponent, Cory Aquino, actually boasted of having a direct pipeline to the Lord. As a non-believer, I am bound to treat such claims with skepticism. But the moral power of religious faith does not need a supernatural explanation. Its strength is belief itself – belief in a moral order that defies secular, or, indeed, religious dictators.
Active resisters to the Nazis during World War II were often devout Christians. Some sheltered Jews – despite their own prejudices – simply because they saw it as their religious duty to do so. Nor does faith have to be in a supernatural being. Men and women who found strength in their belief in Communism resisted the Nazis with equal tenacity.
Despite the horrific violence of Islamist fanatics, it should not be forgotten that the mosque can also be a legitimate basis for resistance against the mostly secular dictatorships in the Middle East today. In a world of political oppression and moral corruption, religious values offer an alternative moral universe. This alternative is not necessarily more democratic, but it can be.
Nevertheless, the danger of all dogmas, religious or secular, is that they lead to different forms of oppression. The revolt against Soviet domination in Afghanistan was led by holy warriors who then imposed their own form of misrule.
Moreover, charismatic leadership can be problematic even when it takes a benign form. The Madonna-like status of Cory Aquino in the Philippines was inspiring in the heady days of People Power, but did little to bolster the institutions of a secular democracy. In Poland, once the battle against Communism was won, the Solidarity movement was soon sundered by conflicts between secular democrats and believers who looked to the Church for guidance.
Faith has an especially important role to play in politics in circumstances where secular liberals are rendered impotent, as in the case of Nazi occupation, Communist rule, or military dictatorship. Liberals are most needed when compromises have to be made, but not nearly as useful when faced with brute force. That is when visionaries, romantics, and true believers are driven by their beliefs to take risks that most of us would regard as foolhardy. It is, on the whole, not beneficial to be ruled by such heroes, but it is good to have heroes around when they are needed.
Ian Burumais Professor of human rights at Bard College. His most recent book is Murder in Amsterdam: The Killing of Theo van Gogh and the Limits of Tolerance. This commentary is published in collaboration with Project Syndicate (www.project-syndicate.org).
