Apostasy movie review: witness to the oppression of religion

How positive a fantasy is religion if it cuts you off from life and love on Earth?

The more I’ve pondered this over the years, the more I’m coming to the conclusion that the problem isn’t religion per se; the problem is people. As an atheist, I think religion is a social construct — but that doesn’t make it any better or worse than other social constructs we treat as bedrock realities and organize our lives around, like “money” or “democracy” or “the Constitution.” But just as economic policies around “money” can either lift up the masses or increase inequality, and various Supreme Courts have interpreted the Constitution to either restrict or expand basic rights, so too can religion be used to oppress or liberate. The same Bible used by slaveowners to justify owning people was used by abolitionists to call for freeing them. Religion fueled both the Inquisition and the Civil Rights movement. Both Malala and the Taliban that tried to murder her claim adherence to Islam. Jeff Sessions quoted Scripture to argue for obedience to a racist administration; Bree Newsome quoted Scripture when she tore down the Confederate flag.

People have values, both good and bad, and they’ll use any existing social construct to reinforce their views. Religion is the cave under the tree at Dagobah; “What’s in there?” asks Luke, to which Yoda replies, “Only what you take with you.” People think they go to religion to find God, but what they really find is themselves. For good or ill.

Of course problematic constructs should be criticized, but I’m still not seeing the difference here. Lots of people would also be resistant to the idea that “money” and “democracy” are concepts that have ceased to serve their purpose. But people ARE open to the idea that the flow and distribution of money should be changed, and that the campaign/election/voting process should be reformed and safeguarded so that “true” democracy can be expressed. Likewise, believers may not think that the existence of a deity is up for debate, but there’s plenty of wiggle room in HOW that belief gets expressed in the life of the individual and the community. For every religious code that cuts off “life and love on Earth,” there are plenty of believers who disagree and find that their faith nourishes their capacity for love, joy, and compassion (as well as courage to stand up against moral atrocities).

I’m not a believer, but when believers who are good people feel that their faith bolsters who they are, then more power to them.

Not in many religions, there isn’t.

I mean, there are several strains of Judaism. Iranian clerics, Indonesian Muslims, and American Muslims like G. Willow Wilson and Kareem Abdul Jabbar probably wouldn’t agree on what a “good Islamic life” is. Christianity? Get Mike Pence, Pope Francis, Barack Obama, and Bree Newsome into the same room and see if they all agree.

Which is what this movie is about, with regard to Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Fair enough. But the JWs are a strain of Christianity, which has many strains; the wiggle room I’m talking about is BETWEEN kinds, not necessarily within them. :-)