Some form of #religion could exist within a #communist society, but I would much rather religion have little to, preferably, no part of such a society simply due to the damage that any kind of faith-based beliefs or religious authority of any kind could bring.
in 2017, at Tomioka Hachimangū Shrine, head priestess Nagako was murdered by her brother Shigenaga, who believed her role should belong to a man. Shockingly, he wasn’t alone in this belief: Japan's Association of Shinto Shrines refused to recognize Nagako for years.
Documented 100th different #presentation topic, this time the format and content completely unlike anything before, drawing from my familiarity with Kyōto #Buddhist temples (first photo), Shintō shrines, and festivals reenacting the Heian Period of over a thousand years ago. The slideshow is at at https://www.researchgate.net/publication/379221428
The pechakucha (third photo) rapid-fire presentations were also a social event in Nishinomiya, between Ōsaka and Kōbe, involving Kōnan University students, teachers, and other English users. The editor of our book A Passion for Japan gave me a cameo in his presentation by discussing my chapter (last photo).
This is happening because #Christians are afraid they are losing #culturalDominance and they want to either #evangelize to #nonChristian#students or drill it into their heads that they are second-class citizens in this country, thereby making it easier for those like #DeSantis to force their #religion on them in other ways.
In 2020, the Shinto Seiji Renmei’s parliamentary group ousted Secretary General Tomomi Inada over her supportive statements on LGBTQ rights. In 2022, they distributed pamphlets at a meeting of the Liberal Democratic Party, claiming that “homosexuality is a mental disorder.”
Since 1969, the Association of Shinto Shrines has overseen most shrines in Japan. But ongoing controversies are driving some away. Learn about the scandals - and cases of discrimination against women and LGBTQ people - that are causing some shrines to bail.
My oldest kid said someone should start a YouTube channel where folks discuss predestination while working out at the gym. It would be called "Calvin & Abs."
I see a lot of people talking about #science as a #religion, or the closely related idea of “#scientism,” the purported ideology that says science is the only way to know things. Oh, I’m not talking about you, they’ll solemnly assure anyone who objects. Naturally you know better. Just … you know … them. Those people, out there. The great unwashed. On the #internet, nobody knows how long it’s been since you took a shower.
You know what I hardly ever see? The phenomenon in question.
There are people who think that way. Yes. Ideologues of science—hardly if ever #scientists themselves—who invoke The #Scientific Method™ (that’s a whole ‘nother rant) as the be-all and end-all justification for whatever nonsense they spew. Such posts and comments have crossed my feed a time or two. But they are vastly outnumbered by those who complain about them, at least where I can see both groups. I have no reason to believe my experience is atypical in this regard.
As a scientist myself, I think science is a very good way to understand certain things. In my field, it’s the best way to know what makes you sick, and hopefully what will make you better. There are other ways to learn these things, sure, and many of them can be useful places to start. If you don’t end up with a #clinical#trial sooner or later, you’re as likely to kill as cure.
To know what we’re seeing when we look up at the lights in the sky. How the natural world around us, of which we’re a part whether we like it or not, changes and how we both affect and are affected by that change. What came before us, and what might come after. The fundamental building blocks of reality. All these require science for real understanding. If you try to puzzle them out any other way, you may learn something, but you’ll also fill your head with a lot of nonsense. Sorting the wheat from the chaff later is a lot harder than doing it right the first time.
Other questions are at least amenable to scientific inquiry, although that process itself may not be enough. What my fiancee does as a #historian looks, to me, a lot like what I do as a #biomedical#researcher. Make observations, construct #hypotheses, gather evidence, test and revise. (And revise, and revise, and …) But #history vanishes every minute. What’s left is always fragmentary, and shaped by the interactions of modern minds with those long since gone to dust. There will never be an objective truth, only the truest story that can be told.
And then there are things beyond any kind of quantitative analysis, or even rigorous qualitative description. We may be able to agree on what makes a true story, more or less, but what makes a good one? That’s inherently personal. A happy marriage, a tasty meal, a satisfying job—only we can define what these goals mean for ourselves. Science may at best, occasionally, provide vague guidelines. Even then, my advice will not determine your experience.
My perspective is unusual in one key way, sure: not too many people do science for a living, at least not compared to other jobs. With regards to the way people talk about science, I think it’s not unusual at all, except maybe that I pay particular attention.
The division above—things that clearly belong in science’s domain, things that clearly don’t, and a whole bunch in the middle—is a whole lot more common than the idea of science as the One True. It’s at least somewhat more common than blanket rejection of science too, but not as much as it should be. That’s also a rant for another time.
Which all makes me wonder what people who never miss a chance to bring up “scientism” and science-as-religion get out of it.
Plain Reading is up with another episode! Join us for a great conversation with #religion and #music scholar Dirk von der Horst. We're talking #time, committed communities, and more—plus, lots of links in the notes to oh-so-many versions of #poem and space #opera Aniara!
Today I stumbled upon the phrase "Eppur si muove" ("and yet it moves"), tenuously attributed to Galileo after being forced to recant his claims that the Earth moves around the Sun to avoid being punished by the church.
The impact and rhythm of the phrase really inspired me, so I wrote a poem about it.
If Wilson wants to live by his interpretation of some religious dogma, he's free to do that. What he not allowed to do is force his cruelty dressed up as 'morality' on others. His hateful agenda includes a ban on abortion care from the moment of conception & without exceptions for rape, incest, or to save the life of the mother. #culture#religion#freedom#democracy#fascism#politics#constitution
The assertion that Israel is trying to provoke a wider regional conflict appeared nowhere in the mainstream media coverage of Iran’s retaliatory strike.
@mondoweiss@palestine@israel I'm the first to admit I have a limited knowledge about all things Middle East, but I've seen my share of provocation, and it's my firm opinion that Israel, through it's leader, Netanyahu, is attempting to start a full blown war in the Middle East in an effort to do two things 1) protect Netanyahu from being prosecuted for corruption 2) steal land that he & many Israelis believe belong to them because...#religion. Time will tell and many people will die.
“‘Although race is often cited as the central cleavage in America, the single most powerful predictor of #voting intention is #religion,’ the Economist noted. ‘A model that knows nothing save for respondents’ religious affiliations can correctly identify which of the two leading candidates they prefer 62% of the time.’”
"You can't blame religion for the evils committed in its name. Those people are just using their creed as an excuse to do the evil they wanted to do anyway."
"I completely agree, so then the reverse must also be true -- you can't credit religion for the good that's done its name. Those people are just using their creed as an excuse to do the good they wanted to do anyway."
"So creed is just a mask for innate humanity?"
"Yeah. That's why creed exists."
My daughter, T, rang to vent the other day. Her 5-year-old, C, had come home from public school pre-Easter and proceeded to tell T all about Jesus being persecuted and crucified, dying, and then being alive again.
Now, T takes after us; thoroughly atheist; to say that she was taken aback would be an understatement. In essence, C now believed in the resurrection and thought that anybody who died could come back to life. It took a weekq to convince her of the truth (dead is dead and the bible is a storybook), but as we know, that shit sticks.
The same afternoon as the revelation, before the steam had dissipated, T rang the school to enquire, mostly politely, 𝙒𝙏𝘼𝙁?? C had not been to any religion-based classes and should not have been exposed to this rubbish/nonsense/garbage. The school apologised and said they would look into it. Apparently, other parents had complained, too...
spiegel.de
"Gebetsgruppe irritiert mit bizarrem Ritual in Arizonas Parlament – Senator mittendrin"
wow, es sieht so aus als ob die durchgeknallten Religiösen Fundamentalisten die Amerikanische Demokratie Kapern.
Was bin ich mal wieder froh in Europa leben zu dürfen