I certainly understand why many wonderful people hate religion.

I know intelligent and compassionate people who use the word “religion” as a synonym for everything bad. Religion has done much damage in the world and I agree wholeheartedly that humanity would be better off without superstition, cruel moralisms, and theocratic clergy.

On the other hand, I also believe people are using the word “religion” meaning different things. I believe it is important to find out what people mean by that word before condemning them. There is much evil done in the name of religion, but also much that is wise and good.

When people say that all religion is brainwashing, I wonder if they’ve studied Buddhist texts like the Kalama Sutra where the Buddha says”

“Now, Kalamas, don’t go by reports, by legends, by traditions, by scripture, by logical conjecture, by inference, by analogies, by agreement through pondering views, by probability, or by the thought, ‘This contemplative is our teacher.’

When people say all religion is patriarchal, I wonder if they’ve ever listened to feminist religions like Wicca where the brilliant Starhawk says:

“I am a witch, by which I mean that I am somebody who believes that the earth is sacred, and that women and women’s bodies are one expression of that sacred being.”

Or, have they studied the Christian feminist Rosemary Radford Reuther who wrote:

“Women must see that there can be no liberation for them and no solution to the ecological crisis within a society whose fundamental model of relationships continues to be one of domination. They must unite the demands of the women’s movement with those of the ecological movement to envision a radical reshaping of the basic socioeconomic relations and the underlying values of this [modern industrial] society.”

When people say that all religion is about control, I wonder if they’ve studied the liberation theologies of Martin Luther King, Dorothy Day or Gustavo Gutiérrez who wrote:

“The denunciation of injustice implies the rejection of the use of Christianity to legitimize the established order.”

And:

“Liberation from every form of exploitation, the possibility of a more human and dignified life, the creation of a new humankind – all pass through this struggle.”

Or Bishop Oscar Romero who preached a Christmas sermon saying:

“We must not seek the child Jesus in the pretty figures of our Christmas cribs. We must seek him among the undernourished children who have gone to bed at night with nothing to eat, among the poor newsboys who will sleep covered with newspapers in doorways.”

When people say that all organized region is bad I wonder if they have ever thought about how much organization it take nurture an intimate community, or to offer a regular food pantry for the poor, or a cold weather shelter for people who are unhoused?

When people say all clergy are money seeking bullies, I wonder if they’ve ever thought about the fact that Mr. Rogers was a Presbyterian minister?

Instead of talking past each other about religion without even defining the word, I wonder what would happen if we listened respectfully to each other rejecting whatever is ignorant, sectarian or cruel and honoring whatever is good, or true or beautiful?