Peter van Montfoort Click here for this article in Dutch
‘I say quite deliberately that the Christian religion, as organized in its Churches, has been and still is the principal enemy of moral progress in the world.’ Bertrand Russell (1872-1970)
Most unbelievers in our western civilization still assume that the present effect of the church on our community is harmless, and pay no further attention to the matter.
This mistake, or rather this lack of concern, is understandable. In our country, the influence of the church is diminishing fast, although still not to be ignored altogether. Fortunately, more churches are being demolished - or getting a useful second life as a car showroom or a flooring outlet - rather than new ones are being built. In our western civilization, it is centuries ago now that religious terror was the common practice. Inflicting physical harm on infidels is no longer permitted in the Netherlands; at worst some may experience social exclusion in certain fundamentalist regions. Even so, fortunately, the era of the Roman-Catholic Goat Breeders Associations, or ditto Pigeon Societies is now gone forever. This is only natural, since nowadays one hardly ever sees Roman-Catholic goats going to Holy Mass any more. Unfortunately, the disgrace of religious inspired schools still does exist, and in them impressionable young children are indoctrinated with ancient superstition, burdening them with a lifelong fear for a fictitious hereafter.
Our opinion is also influenced because we all know of religious people in our communities who lead exemplary lives and constitute a useful contribution to society. Without conscious thought, we often conclude that they do so because they adhere to their religious principles. And from there on we erroneously take it for granted that the church has a positive effect on society. However, we should never forget the following:
“With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion.” Steven Weinberg (born 1933) American physicist and Nobel laureate.
Some also have earlier missionary work in mind. Undeniably, this was often accompanied with charitable work such as, for instance, is remembered of Mother Theresa or Dr. Albert Schweitzer, and many others besides. But the primary goal of all these efforts always was, and still is today, expansion of the sphere of influence of a power hungry church. At the same time, great damage was often caused by this missionary effort. Christianity repressed older cultures and through its influence many finally turned extinct.
The rational thinker who compares motives for these good works, between these of the church and the unselfish motives of secular organizations such as Oxfam Novib, Artsen zonder Grenzen (Médecins Sans Frontières), Amnesty International and many others, cannot fail to notice the purity of motives of the latter.
Moreover, one may also somewhat doubt the purity of motives of the Christian individual, realizing that he or she suffers under the delusion that every action will have its consequence in a supposed eternal life hereafter. And these consequences are no small matter! To them, there is no golden middle; the only two possibilities are either eternal torture in hellfire or eternal bliss in heaven. So, many good deeds must at least be in part selfishly inspired by the fear for eternal torture in the afterlife. However, in the final analysis it’s the result that counts, not the motives, and one may still appreciate the effort.
Recently, three news items illustrating church influence came to our attention.
The first was the BBC documentary “Sex and the Holy City” shown recently on Dutch television, showing the destructive results of the Vatican ban on condoms and abortion on the inhabitants of South America and Africa. Unfortunately, we cannot show the film here, but especially the sight of a fancy-dressed fat prelate who, convinced of his own divine (thus inhumane) judgment, from the luxury of his palace declared that a raped and pregnant nine-year (!) old girl should not have an abortion, inspired such violent visions of what ought to be done to this depraved degenerate that I am still ashamed of it; such is the power of religion.
Fortunately the girl’s parents were courageous enough not to comply with this act of inhumanity, and “paid” for it with excommunication. Nevertheless, the majority of these subjected communities seem to have given up hope ever to escape from this criminal and brutal terror of the Roman-Catholic Church long ago; it has been going on too long for that already, and the Church rules supreme now.
A Polish lady living in the Netherlands sent us the second item. She translated an article by a compatriot about present-day social conditions in Poland. Poland, the country that unfortunately supplied the previous pope, has a population consisting of 95% Roman-Catholics, while the majority of the remainder adheres to a different form of Christianity. It must take great moral courage to dare admit a deviating opinion over there.
Women’s Rights back to zero in Poland, by Teresa Jakubowska.
Almost weekly Polish media report on maltreated or even murdered babies, on newborns left at rubbish dumps, on beaten-up children and thirteen year old murderers. And all this is just the top of the iceberg, because nobody knows what goes on in the privacy of the domestic surroundings.
The present minister for Justice and Police sees increasing the severity of punishment as the only solution, even for under-age offenders. He wants to build new prisons, and incarcerate offenders for longer periods. Nobody talks about causes, and in the meantime the offences grow worse. It is known that a great percentage of these criminals belong to that group of unwanted, ill-treated and rejected children, who grew up without any love in childhood. These children grew up with a hatred for this entire world, and their later aggression and wrongdoings are just the natural consequences of it.
After the collapse of communism the fertility rate in Poland fell sharply.
Uncertainty about the economic future played an important role in decisions about having a child. With it, the age-specific fertility pattern changed; while formerly it was characterized by a pattern of parents having children at an early age, after the decline it changed into the usual European custom of having children at a much later age.
To stimulate a natural growth and increase birth rate, the new Polish government allowed a once-only grant (becikowe) of 1.000,00 zloty (260 euro) to all new mothers, irrespective of income or savings. Families with an income of less than 504 zloty each can apply for a double grant. This will apply to 70-80% of new mothers in families without income, where the arrival of each new child spell disaster. In 2004 approximately 356.000 children were born, and 250.000 mothers were entitled to the double grant.
The number of mothers who really wanted a child is probably low. Many of these children are being born in socially backward families where alcoholism and low income go hand-in-hand. Consumption of alcohol during pregnancy increases the chance of not only premature birth, but also of underweight newborns and moreover, can have negative consequences for their later development. Women who drink heavily during pregnancy increase their chance to give birth to a baby with the 'fetal alcohol syndrome’ (FAS). This syndrome is characterized by growth retardation by the child, specific deviations in the face, deviations in the central nervous system and the heart, and disfiguration of limbs.
Nowadays, many means exist to avoid pregnancy. Unfortunately, most Polish women are unable to use them for a variety of reasons. Abortion, the ultimate means not to have an unwanted child, is inaccessible.
In the People’s Republic of Poland (1945-1989) parliament in April 1956 passed a law that made abortion before the end of the twelfth week legal. Every woman not wanting her child could go into a hospital and have the abortion carried out for free.
Unfortunately, after that government turned to the other extreme. In 1990, aided by pressure from the Roman-Catholic church, a new law was passed allowing abortion only in a very limited number of cases: in case the mother’s life is at risk, in case of rape, or by serious disfiguration of the fetus. On top of that, even then many doctors refuse to carry out abortion. To get one nevertheless, many women turn in desperation to the illegal circuit. In private clinic's abortions are performed at black-market prices; those better off just travel to Germany, Russia or the Netherlands. The less well to do just have to deliver their unwanted child. An increasing number of newborn baby’s is left behind in the hospital, or even dumped on rubbish dumps in a plastic bag.
Prejudices and wrongful sex education prove to be still widespread. Having a coil (intra-uterine device) placed in a public clinic in Warsaw costs 100 euros, by a minimal Polish income of 170 euros a month. Sterilization is prohibited, and only one in five women make use of the reliable anti-conception the church forbids. To many, remains besides coitus interruptus or the calendar. Motivated by religious objections and financial hardship 70% of Polish women never have pre-natal examination. And doctors often refuse to carry it out because of the risk of eventually being compelled to terminate a pregnancy because a serious disorder might be found. Their excuse is that this is not in accordance with their ethical recognition of the value of life and solidarity with the vulnerable. Because of this, many children are born with serious disorders and are being deserted by their mothers, with little to no chance of ever getting adopted. Besides, many Polish adoption children prove to suffer from impaired development problems that can never be remedied.
Although fewer children are born, in Poland one often hears of children who arrive at school with an empty stomach and have a free school meal at midday. This confirms statistics showing that most underfed children are from destitute families. Consequently, there are many illnesses among these children, with negative effects on their mental and physical development. Many children are living below the poverty limit, just like their parents. A high rate of unemployment (18%) exists, and many families are without any form of income at all.
Children in these families have got no prospect of a decent future, for poverty offers little hope and when problems in these families are great, maltreatment often occurs. Parents in difficulties often react unjustly to their children, and the children themselves are at later age sooner inclined to violence and crime, and even eager to join the mafia. Polish parliamentarians do not seem to realize this, and their incentive to increase the birth rate is prompted by the prospect of these children later turning into cheap labour. However, most of these children will later populate prisons and the once-only grant (becikowe) will be used to drink more when the baby arrives.
Police figures show that nature and scope of present-day juvenile crime form a serious threat to society, and that on average the age of offenders is still going down. Accounts exist of extreme violence of school pupils against fellow pupils, and of habitual violence and aggression towards teachers and supporting staff.
According to recent American research the legalizing of abortion in the seventies, has resulted not only in an increased number of abortions, but also led to a decrease in crime figures twenty years later. In Poland the conservatives of the PiS are in favour of reintroducing the death penalty while at the same time they are against abortion. Presumably they prefer hanging a twenty-year old rather than permit abortion.
Hospitals and doctors, who on grounds of conscientious scruples often refuse to perform legally allowed abortions, compound the effect of the restrictive abortion laws in Poland. As an argument against abortion, the cultural/religious rights of the country and the rights of the foetus outweigh the individual rights of the woman. The church never misses a chance tot talk of the ”Post Abortion Problem” and the serious physical and psychic consequences of the termination of pregnancy.
Even women whose health is at risk are often refused a legal abortion.
Such was the case for Alicja Tysiac, who was pregnant with her third child in 2002, and because of it at risk of losing her eyesight. Despite her request for legal abortion, her gynecologist refused to comply, and after giving birth her eyesight was severely diminished indeed. The case of Alicja Tysiac is now under consideration at the European Court for Human Rights.
From the moment of birth a child in Poland is subjected to parental control, and for sexual education of children under 18 years of age permission is required from both parents. Many families suffer under the problem of domestic violence, in some cases severely so. Research shows that stress tends to lead to violence to children in communities where beating is accepted as a proper means of upbringing, and that physical maltreatment often began as “educational” slaps.
It appears that in Polish tradition and ethics every form of physical or psychic violence is allowed in the upbringing of children. The government also accepts the idea that beating goes together with education, for although Poland ratified the UN-Treaty on Children’s Rights, no-one has ever been punished for violence against children, although article 19 of that treaty stipulates that governments must take legal measures to ensure protection of children against every single form of physical or psychic violence. “What the eye doesn't see, the heart doesn't hurt” is a popular Polish saying, and so in backrooms everything God forbade is happening. Every year 80.000 to 200.000 illegal and unsafe abortions take place in Poland.
In November 2005 the new law ‘Prevention of Domestic Violence’ became operative, presenting a number of new solutions for the protection of victims. Police monitoring of offenders rather than arresting them was instituted, offenders were stimulated to follow courses on educational behavior, and local councils were compelled to develop their own course of action and to institute their own aid centres. Unfortunately, in this law nothing is said about not allowing the beating of children, about restricting contact with victims or about removing offenders from their home without a court injunction. Now the perpetrators of domestic violence just stay comfortably at home, while wife and children are removed to a safe place. According to official figures one in four Polish children is either maltreated or sexually abused. Poland counts a great many institutions to house children, in which they grow up in a surrounding without love, comfort or care, abandoned by their parents because these could not, or did not want to, care for them. Their ages range from 0 to 18 years.
The influence of the church on education and daily life in Poland is enormous. Priests refuse absolution to people using birth control. In the context of parliamentary legislation against abortion and pro the protection of unborn life, school lessons are being given about family values and sexual education, but information about modern birth control is withheld, and the rhythm method promoted. Teenage girls in Poland, most of them from deprived social circles, often get pregnant because they have nowhere to go for anonymous advice and free anti-conception. In 2003, 14.500 schoolgirls gave birth to their baby’s, among them two twelve-year olds.
In most western countries the birth rate is linked directly to economic prospects, and no grant is necessary to boost it. In present-day Poland many children are now born unwanted, through lack of information and prohibition of birth control. The fact that unwanted children often lack loving family surroundings, affecting their development into mentally sound adults, seems to be neglected.
Maciej Giertych, one of Poland’s Euro parliamentarians, on behalf of the League of Polish Families says: “We want a Europe based on Christian ethics. We accept the teachings of the Roman-Catholic church on all subjects.”
(The author is a spokeswoman for the anti-clerical party RACJA (http://www.app.org.pl) A longer version of this article was published in the Polish newspaper ‘Trybuna’ on 18-01-2006.)
The last item was a report on research carried out by an English sociologist in a comparative study of social services in the United States and those of more secular countries.
From The Times, September 27, 2005
Societies worse off 'when they have God on their side'
By Ruth Gledhill, Religion Correspondent
Religious belief can cause damage to a society, contributing towards high murder rates, abortion, sexual promiscuity and suicide, according to research published today.
According to the study, belief in and worship of God are not only unnecessary for a healthy society but may actually contribute to social problems.
The study counters the view of believers that religion is necessary to provide the moral and ethical foundations of a healthy society.
It compares the social performance of relatively secular countries, such as Britain, with the US, where the majority believes in a creator rather than the theory of evolution. Many conservative evangelicals in the US consider Darwinism to be a social evil, believing that it inspires atheism and amorality.
Many liberal Christians and believers of other faiths hold that religious belief is socially beneficial, believing that it helps to lower rates of violent crime, murder, suicide, sexual promiscuity and abortion. The benefits of religious belief to a society have been described as its “spiritual capital”. But the study claims that the devotion of many in the US may actually contribute to its ills.
The paper, published in the Journal of Religion and Society, a US academic journal, reports: “Many Americans agree that their churchgoing nation is an exceptional, God-blessed, shining city on the hill that stands as an impressive example for an increasingly skeptical world.
“In general, higher rates of belief in and worship of a creator correlate with higher rates of homicide, juvenile and early adult mortality, STD infection rates, teen pregnancy and abortion in the prosperous democracies.
“The United States is almost always the most dysfunctional of the developing democracies, sometimes spectacularly so.”
Gregory Paul, the author of the study and a social scientist, used data from the International Social Survey Programme, Gallup and other research bodies to reach his conclusions.
He compared social indicators such as murder rates, abortion, suicide and teenage pregnancy.
The study concluded that the US was the world’s only prosperous democracy where murder rates were still high, and that the least devout nations were the least dysfunctional. Mr. Paul said that rates of gonorrhoea in adolescents in the US were up to 300 times higher than in less devout democratic countries. The US also suffered from “ uniquely high” adolescent and adult syphilis infection rates, and adolescent abortion rates, the study suggested.
Mr. Paul said: “The study shows that England, despite the social ills it has, is actually performing a good deal better than the USA in most indicators, even though it is now a much less religious nation than America.”
He said that the disparity was even greater when the US was compared with other countries, including France, Japan and the Scandinavian countries. These nations had been the most successful in reducing murder rates, early mortality, sexually transmitted diseases and abortion, he added.
Mr Paul delayed releasing the study until now because of Hurricane Katrina. He said that the evidence accumulated by a number of different studies suggested that religion might actually contribute to social ills. “I suspect that Europeans are increasingly repelled by the poor societal performance of the Christian states,” he added.
He said that most Western nations would become more religious only if the theory of evolution could be overturned and the existence of God scientifically proven. Likewise, the theory of evolution would not enjoy majority support in the US unless there was a marked decline in religious belief, Mr Paul said.
“The non-religious, pro evolution democracies contradict the dictum that a society cannot enjoy good conditions unless most citizens ardently believe in a moral creator.
“The widely held fear that a Godless citizenry must experience societal disaster is therefore refuted.”
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More by this author:
➤ 'The glorification of an instrument of torture'