Does Religion Breed Fatalism?

[Lucifer Box]

As has been commented on here previously, during the New Orleans hurricane, it struck me that in the immediate aftermath far too many civil authority representatives were saying that "we are all praying for the folks trapped in New Orleans". While there's nothing wrong with the power of positive thought, on this occasion exhortations to prayer were being used as an acceptable substitute for action on the ground.

Again, listening to interviews on the radio this morning with people on the Texas coast who had chosen not to leave or even to take any precautionary action (board up your property, go to a storm shelter, etc). When questioned, many of them said they "trusted in God to protect them" and that if it was their time to go there's no point in resisting His will.

Is this something peculiar to American right wing Christianity, or is it a problem of religions in general? I think it safe to say that whatever religions our distant ancestors followed, they cannot have been as fatalistic otherwise we would have achieved nothing and would still be sitting in a cave saying "why bother doing anything about that sabre-toothed tiger killing people at night. Either God will sort it out or He won't".

I suppose a classic example if this sort of thinking is Secretary of the Interior James Watt's famous quote, "we don't have to protect the environment, the Second Coming is at hand."

[hyperD]

I think I remember reading about some of the locals (Muslims) during the tsunami just sat there and prayed rather than running saying that Allah would protect them. Can't find the reference...

I think a positive state of mind helps but there's a worrying trend of substituting prayer for responsibility and action. This is not confined to the religious right either - often weak-minded people who use religion as a crutch for their problems find it easy to absolve themselves from any of the hardships and responsibilities of daily living by praying, or "god said so" or "it's in the bible so must be right".

[Chico]

This joke should answer this debate

The Big Flood
It had been raining for days and days, and a terrible flood had come over the land. The waters rose so high that one man was forced to climb onto the roof of his house.

As the waters rose higher and higher, a man in a rowboat appeared, and told him to get in. "No," replied the man on the roof. "I have faith in the Lord; the Lord will save me." So the man in the rowboat went away. The man on the roof prayed for God to save him.

The waters rose higher and higher, and suddenly a speedboat appeared. "Climb in!" shouted a man in the boat. "No," replied the man on the roof. "I have faith in the Lord; the Lord will save me." So the man in the speedboat went away. The man on the roof prayed for God to save him.


The waters continued to rise. A helicopter appeared and over the loudspeaker, the pilot announced he would lower a rope to the man on the roof. "No," replied the man on the roof. "I have faith in the Lord; the Lord will save me." So the helicopter went away. The man on the roof prayed for God to save him.

The waters rose higher and higher, and eventually they rose so high that the man on the roof was washed away, and alas, the poor man drowned.

Upon arriving in heaven, the man marched straight over to God. "Heavenly Father," he said, "I had faith in you, I prayed to you to save me, and yet you did nothing. Why?" God gave him a puzzled look, and replied "I sent you two boats and a helicopter, what more did you expect?"

[Lucifer Box]

Just done a bit of looking around, and it seems that religious fatalism in the US in particular is starting to become a matter of some concern.

The Godly Must Be Crazy
Christian-right views are swaying politicians and threatening the environment
By Glenn Scherer
27 Oct 2004

Abortion. Same-sex marriage. Stem-cell research.

U.S. legislators backed by the Christian right vote against these issues with near-perfect consistency. That probably doesn't surprise you, but this might: Those same legislators are equally united and unswerving in their opposition to environmental protection.

Forty-five senators and 186 representatives in 2003 earned 80- to 100-percent approval ratings from the nation's three most influential Christian right advocacy groups -- the Christian Coalition, Eagle Forum, and Family Resource Council. Many of those same lawmakers also got flunking grades -- less than 10 percent, on average -- from the League of Conservation Voters last year.

These statistics are puzzling at first. Opposing abortion and stem-cell research is consistent with the religious right's belief that life begins at the moment of conception. Opposing gay marriage is consistent with its claim that homosexual activity is proscribed by the Bible. Both beliefs are a familiar staple of today's political discourse. But a scripture-based justification for anti-environmentalism?

Many Christian fundamentalists feel that concern for the future of our planet is irrelevant, because it has no future. They believe we are living in the End Time, when the son of God will return, the righteous will enter heaven, and sinners will be condemned to eternal hellfire. They may also believe, along with millions of other Christian fundamentalists, that environmental destruction is not only to be disregarded but actually welcomed -- even hastened -- as a sign of the coming Apocalypse.

We are not talking about a handful of fringe lawmakers who hold or are beholden to these beliefs. The 231 legislators (all but five of them Republicans) who received an average 80 percent approval rating or higher from the leading religious-right organizations make up more than 40 percent of the U.S. Congress.

Read On: The Godly Must Be Crazy

So what's your take on this, Chico? Are these people deluded that the Second Coming is imminent or do they have a point?

[planetit]

environmental destruction is not only to be disregarded but actually welcomed -- even hastened -- as a sign of the coming Apocalypse.

What drugs are these people on? I can’t imagine God will be best pleased when he gets back to earth and finds what a feckin mess we’ve made of it.

[The Late, Great JC]

What drugs are these people on? I can’t imagine God will be best pleased when he gets back to earth and finds what a feckin mess we’ve made of it.

They're feckin' septics, they bring 'em up differently over there! What do you expect when their currency has "In God We Trust" printed all over it and the leader of their "country" keeps spouting tulipe like "God Bless America"... Morons (Mormons?), the lot of 'em!

[Lucifer Box]

Thing is, they may be septics but they're the people in positions of power and authority now, and their decisions affect the whole world. It worries me to think that the "mind" behind the finger on the nuclear red button (for instance) could be thinking "what the hell, the world was going to come to an end soon anyway".