Religion & Ethics: Content from Across the ABC




Date/Time 17 Mar 2014 7:14:43pm
I think I see rationality not as a description of facts but as a tool of investigation by which we explore the universe. It is in a sense a means of extending our perception and updating what we might call "facts" which we then might understand to be dynamic rather than static.

Religions are less dynamic as many religious adherents are much more prone to wanting static "facts" in the form of divinely inspired doctrines or truths.This is a form of investigation of the universe that uses authority as a tool, not rationality.

I too consider that religion has too priviledged a position in society. The evidence as I see it is that the use of authority in a religious way is polarising and divisive and too often discriminatory and repressive.

For me rationality is a more useful tool, especially when coupled with skeptism and the willingness to embrace "not knowing", the antithesis to authority.