Ritröð Guðfræðistofnunar - 01.09.2008, Page 19

revenge - only the offering of forgiveness. The gunman’s widow spoke,
gratefully and movingly, of how this provided the “healing” that she and
her three children “so desperately needed”.
Richard Dawkins is nauseatingly condescending about the Amish in his
God Delusion. Yet I cannot help but feel that he misses something rather
important in his blanket dismissal of their significance. If the world was
more like Jesus of Nazareth, violence might indeed be a thing of the past.
But that does not appear to be an answer that Dawkins feels comfortable
with.
At this point, we need to explore another theme, which is glossed over by
the “New Atheist” manifestoes. What about atheist violence against religion?
As someone who grew up in Northern Ireland, I know about religious
violence only too well. There is no doubt that religion can generate violence.
But it’s not alone in this. The history of the twentieth century has given
us a frightening awareness of how political extremism can equally cause
violence. In Latin America, millions of people seem to have “disappeared” as
a result of ruthless campaigns of violence by right wing politicians and their
militias. In Cambodia, Pol Pot eliminated millions in the name of socialism.
Worldviews, whether religious or secular, have the power to inspire people
to the use of force, violence and repression.16
The rise of the Soviet Union was of particular significance. Lenin
regarded the elimination of religion as central to the socialist revolution,
and put in place measures designed to eradicate religious beliefs through
the “protracted use of violence.” One of the greatest tragedies of this dark
era in human history was that those who sought to eliminate religious belief
through violence and oppression believed they were justified in doing so.17
They were accountable to no higher authority than the state.
16 For a good discussion, see Keith Ward, Is religion dangerous? Oxford: Lion, 2006. See further
David Martin, Does Christianity cause War? Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1997.
17 Anna Dickinson, “Quantifying Religious Oppression: Russian Orthodox Church Closures and
Repression of Priests 1917-41.” Religion, State &Society 28 (2000): 327-35. See further Dimitry
V. Pospielovsky, A History of Marxist-Leninist Atheism and Soviet Anti-Religious Policies. New York:
St Martin’s Press, 1987; William Husband, “Soviet Atheism and Russian Orthodox Strategies of
Resistance, 1917-1932.” Journal of Modern History 70 (1998): 74-107.