Religion degrades human intellect
Published:Tuesday | April 17, 2012 | 12:00 AM
THE EDITOR, Sir:
What guest columnist Hilaire Sobers, in his article 'Secularism, not religion, protects human dignity' (The Sunday Gleaner, April 15, 2012), did will not win him many praises in Jamaica, but there are many of us who appreciate your work in trying to advance a new dawn in Jamaica.
It is slow, but the fight must never be ended. A nation immersed in religion and superstition will not advance.
Ian Boyne advocates for the conscience of the Church but he, too, is compromised. The Church is at the heart of the problems that beset Jamaica. It is very easy to see that when too many people turn to prayer and their faith as solutions to problems, the end result is arrested development.
Indeed, Christianity justified slavery and only began preaching against it when the plantocracy found better ways to exploit the masses for the economic benefit of the clergy.
In essence, they were attempting to make the masses believe they were advocating for their freedom, and that they must remain good Christians. Yet, the ransom would be extracted in the form of tithes and gifts from so-called freed people who could barely make a living as labourers or peasants attached to the plantation economy.
Degrading the human intellect is Christianity's cultural contribution to Jamaica. Fight on.
ALICIA MARSHALL