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Concerned Women For America, CWA,
www.cwfa.org, is a United States based Christian activist group. And I hate it.
Now let's set this straight, I am not a misogynist. I'm all about gender equality. But it's not the feministic traits of this activist group that boil my insides (in fact, they're quite the opposite of feminists!), it's the in-your-face, homophobic, "pro-life", creationist, ignorant bigotry that they try to shove down everybody's throats.
I'm not even an American. I'm British. But hearing about the theocratic encroachment on equality and freedom by legal activist groups such as CWA over in the States really gets me going.
CWA describes itself as a:
"
US coalition of conservative women which promotes Biblical values and family traditions."
Let me translate that description for you:
"US coalition of crazy right-wing bitches which rejects science and hates gays."
Crazy Right-Wing Bitch, AKA Penny Young Nance, current President of CWA
If there is any activist group which really sums up my dislike of religion it's CWA.
CWA's mission is to advocate a change in public policy, in accordance with their 6 "core issues". Unfortunately, each of these issues is a bigoted conservative value that threatens solidarity and equality of its country. Let's analyse each "core issue" in turn.
1) Family -
"CWA believes that marriage consists of one man and one woman. We seek
to protect and support the Biblical design of marriage and the gift of
children."
CWA donated $409,000 in support of Proposition 8,
which banned same-sex marriage in the state of California. CWA also
opposed the 1988 Act for Better Child Care (H.R. 3660), which would have
provided government-sponsored child care for families in which both
parents are working.
Grrrr!!
Well what do you expect from such a group? The token first sentence is a given. "Marriage consists of one man and one woman". The Bible verse in Leviticus 20:13 demonstrates this Stone Age Israeli view on homosexuality, which has somehow held its own all the way to today's Western world, just because they said that there was an invisible sky-daddy who told them that. I'm sure if CWA had their way they'd follow this Biblical rule strictly, and "put to death" anyone who sleeps with someone of the same gender.
What's worse than their view is that they donated hundreds of thousands of dollars in support of a same-sex marriage ban. Money which could have gone to a worthwile charity.
What's even worse is that they helped prevent children getting better child care. Why? Well judging by an article found on their website entitled "Feminists Fought Battles and Men Won the War", which opposes feminism and labels it responsible for promiscuity and pre-marital sex, I'm guessing they believe in women's subservience to men, don't want women to work, and therefore oppose anything that goes against this even if it means better care for children. Crazy, right-wing bitches.
2) Sanctity of Human Life - "CWA supports the protection of all innocent
human life from conception until natural death. This includes the
consequences resulting from abortion."
Yeah, you'll support all "innocent human life" but take away their fucking child-care because you don't think women should work. According to CWA, a child should be born into a family where both parents work whether the parents like it or not, and then receive no support from the government.
Anti-abortionists ("pro-life" crowd) have some good points to make. After all, it's arguable that you are killing a child when you abort a fetus, because you are killing the potential of a child being born. Pro-lifers often publish shocking pictures of dead embryos which spur many to outright rejecting abortion and calling it murder. The "pro-choice" crowd however take everything else into account, such as insufficient care and stimulation for the child if he/she is being born into a disadvantaged family, or if a woman has been raped (this is an especially tender issue - imagine being disallowed abortion and having to live with a constant reminder of your vicious and degrading attack).
At the end of the day, banning abortion is a dangerous thing to do. Imagine being pregnant with a child you know you cannot support, or being pregnant because of a violent rape, and not being able to do anything about it. Women have a hard enough time giving up their babies as it is. Many women's hearts have broken because they had to abort their baby. But they
had to do it. For their own good, and for the good of the baby. The system we've got now is better than an abortion ban. I'll admit it's not perfect, and that some women foolishly do not use contraception, proceding to abort their child out of convenience. In my opinion the woman must have a good reason to abort her child. But disallowing abortion is extremely dangerous indeed.
And it's not just abortion that comes into this whole "sanctity of life" fiasco. Concerned Women for America describes embryonic stem-cell research as "deadly," and the destruction of "embryonic human beings." They wish to ban stem-cell research on the grounds that it is murder.
Stem-cell research is vital in the progression of medical science. According to Annual Review of Medicine Vol. 58, medical researchers anticipate that adult and embryonic stem cells will soon be able to treat cancer; Type 1 diabetes; Parkinson's, Huntington's and Celiac disease; cardiac failure, muscle damage and neurological disorders.
But CWA prioritises life over sustained life, which means they'd rather put an end to abortion and let people continue to die of horrible diseases than allow scientific research and put an end to human suffering. In other words, they don't care what happens to a person once they're born, as long as they're born. Ladies and gentlemen, the Sanctity of Life.
3) Education - "CWA supports reform of public education by returning authority to parents."
In 1983, CWA helped the plaintiff in the case Mozert v. Hawkins County School Board,
a district court case in which said plaintiff believed it
unconstitutional for said public school district to require specific
reading material for students.
Returning authority to parents on what should be taught to our children? Disaster. Imagine what Texas classrooms would look like.
In this case, substitute CWA for George W. Bush!
The CWA supports teaching intelligent design in classrooms, and teaching
the "controversy" about evolution. Basically, they don't want their
kids believing in evolution, even though it is a fact and there
isn't any controversy. Teaching intelligent design in the classroom is
fine, as long as it's in the religious studies classroom, and as long as it isn't
taught as fact by a Bible-bashing crazy right-wing bitch teacher. These people want it taught in the science class,
regardless of the fact that intelligent design isn't fucking science.
I wouldn't complain about the advocacy of this issue if it wasn't well supported by so many millions of adult Americans. But the scary thing? It is.
4) Pornography - "CWA endeavors to fight all pornography and obscenity."
Okay, I'm not as angry about this core issue. There's nothing bad about thinking pornography is obscene and wrong. In fact, I think it's obscene and wrong. I think it's especially wrong when it ruins a person's dignity and self-respect. But the problem is, CWA are fighting pornography because it says it's wrong in the Bible, (1 Corinthians 6:18-20), not because it is wrong. I'm sure if the Bible said that pornography was righteous and awesome, these women would fight to keep it legal!
5) Religious Liberty - "CWA supports the God-given rights of individuals in
the United States and other nations to pray, worship and express their
beliefs without fear of discrimination or persecution."
Religious Liberty? HA! Biggest oxymoron I've heard in my life! Sure, they'll allow the religious to express their views without discrimination or persecution. That happens anyway, most of the country is religious! But trust me, the discrimination and persecution of
atheists by these types of people is overwhelming. There have been cases in which atheists have been evicted from their residence because of their atheism. Atheist students have overheard teachers expressing their
hatred for them, just because of their atheism. The children of these crazy right-wing bitches are the ones that sneer at atheists and call them devil-worshippers. Religious Liberty? More like religious encroachment on liberty.
6) National Sovereignty - "CWA believes that neither the United Nations nor
any other international organization should have authority over the
United States in any area. We also believe the United States has the
right and duty to protect and secure our national borders."
And of course, CWA is overly patriotic, how could they not be. They want to keep their cosy little country an ignorant, right-wing, Christian place and not let anyone in to contaminate it.
Summary of why I hate CWA
Well CWA, it's nice to hear that you are so "concerned" about the way your country is going. How awful it would be to have a country that respects sexuality, a country that supports gender equality and offers child care, a country that doesn't force women to bear their rapist's child, a country that contributes to scientific progress, that educates our children properly, and that respects everyone equally whether they're religious or not.
As I said, this activist group is everything I hate about religion. If they had it their way, a whole generation of Americans would be brainwashed into believing Biblical nonsense, the country would advocate homophobia, women would stop working, and scientific progress would be slowed down. Fuck you CWA.
ChristianAid
Now, there's another side to the coin of this blog post. And it's important. I don't want to seem like I hate religious people, because I don't. And I don't want to seem ignorant of the good that religion has done and continues to do in our world, because I'm not. Yes, I still dislike religion itself, and I will summarise why later. But let me elaborate on why I love the charity ChristianAid (
www.christianaid.org.uk).
What ChristianAid does
ChristianAid is a charity which works with partners to combat poverty and inequality across the globe. It relies heavily on support from churchgoers, and believes in bringing people of all faiths and none together to fight the effects of poverty.
The charity recognises that poverty is not just a lack of income, and that it takes away the power of people to shape their own lives and provide for their families. ChristianAid believes in supporting freedom and opportunity, and the right to thrive, not just survive.
ChristianAid is similar to such well known charities as Oxfam, British Red Cross and ActionAid, in producing a diverse approach to combatting poverty. It is a part of the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) along with many other charities like these. A passage from the DEC's website is as follows:
"In 2011 more than 13 million people in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, and
the newly-formed Republic of South Sudan were left in need of food,
water and emergency healthcare because of one of the worst droughts in
at least 25 years. Hundreds of thousands of people fled Somalia due to
the drought and conflict, with parts of the country afflicted by famine.
Donations from the UK public for the appeal raised £79 million and
have helped 2.3 million people. DEC fundraising for this appeal is now
closed; money raised for the appeal was spent over the two year period
ending in July 2013 to ensure people were helped not just to survive the
crisis but also to begin to rebuild their lives."
ChristianAid supports such appeals with millions of pounds worth of donations every year.
A big difference to CWA
Not only do activist groups such as Concerned Women for America
waste time and money advocating their bigoted views, but they also force secularist groups to waste their time and money on fighting to keep public policy constitutional, fighting to sustain equality instead of abolish it.
ChristianAid is a prime example of the Christians that make a real difference in the world. Instead of wasting their time being "concerned" about having their Stone Age views imposed on society, it gets important things done in the world. ChristianAid fights
for gender equality, not against it. It recognises that societies thrive when everyone has equal rights. ChristianAid fights for better nutrtition, and engages in HIV projects (clearing up the mess their silly friends the Catholic church have caused - maybe that subject deserves its own blogpost, even its own blog). ChristianAid is full of people with
real concern, not crazy right-wing bitches.
I do believe that modern Christianity has the power to inspire people to do good, and evidence of that lies within charities such as ChristianAid. I see the good that Christians do in my own society, I see how Christianity can change people and emphasise love and compassion in their lives.
However, it's still a set of beliefs that isn't true.
Why I dislike Christianity regardless of this
If you are a Christian reading this article, I'd like you to imagine this hypothetical scenario along with me. It may help you to understand what it's like for atheists living in a Christian world.
You turn on the news. The news reporter reads, "a global phenomenon stirrs, as millions of people convert to Pastafarianism". Pastafarianism is the belief in the Flying Spaghetti Monster. As the weeks go by, more and more people express their belief in this deity. It becomes a majority religion. Schools begin saying prayers to the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Politicians stand no chance of gaining credibility unless they are a Pastafarian. Pastafarians are a highly respected religion and have a good name in most cultures. They create many charities that do a lot of good in the world. Children everywhere are taught that the Flying Spaghetti Monster loves them, but will torture them when they die unless they submit to his ideals and worship him. Pastafarian radio and tv shows, even news shows, often mock other religions such as Christianity and say things like, "why do you have to fight against Pastafarianism so much? We're free to believe what they want to believe and so are you. Just keep your beliefs to yourself", yet continue to impose their religious dogma on society, on public policy, and in schools. Christianity becomes a minority religion, and Christians are often taunted and segregated by their Pastafarian peers. Pastafarians blame terrorist attacks on people who have not conformed to their religious ideals, and use this as a way to influence public policy. Pastafarians form different denominations, and one denomination in particular sends missionaries to third world countries and persuades many impoverished communities not to use condoms. This causes an epidemic of sexually transmitted diseases which kills millions and millions of people.
This is unquestionably an awful scenario. Pastafarianism would be considered a virus that took over the world.
But reading that hypothetical scenario carefully, it is extremely difficult to find any difference between the hypothetical Pastafarianism epidemic, and Christianity.
How
Christians see the hypothetical scenario is how many
Atheists view Christianity. As a rather militant atheist, I feel this way about Christianity. And although a lot of atheist troubles lie within the United States when I live in Britain, I still recognise that I'm living in a country, in world where children are being taught horrible things about themselves, such as they deserve eternal torture, that they should worship and grovel at the feet of a jealous, mass-murdering maniac, and that they cannot live a moral life without this maniac at the centre of their lives.
My personal experience of deconversion from religion taught me that religion is detrimental to a person's integrity, social life and mental health. Religion can separate a person from reason, logic, and even science. Religion can make someone feel that they are better than their friends and family. Religion can make someone believe that faith in an invisible deity is more important than care, love, friendship and righteousness. Religion spreads from generation to generation via deceitful brainwashing. Religion has caused many deaths, many conflicts, and many genocides. Religion is bad. And Christianity is no different.
Conclusion
There are good Christians in the world, and there are bad Christians. No Christian would dispute this. Some Christians waste their time and money being bigoted, and some make a good honest change in the world. In a sense, I admire Christianity for the way it can change people for the better. But I cannot like Christianity, because for me, the bad aspects outweigh the good.
I wish there was a secularist religion (yes, an oxymoron, but we'll go with it) that inspired people to be good. I wish there was some sort of social institution that masses of people subscribed to, that created a sense of community and love like churches can do, but that didn't teach a load of dangerous nonsense. Sadly there isn't. The only way we can create a more loving and less ignorant society is via good parenting, and there is no social institution that can bring about that change. I suppose all I can do is have children myself, raise them well, and hope that others will follow suit. Oh, and not marry a crazy right-wing bitch.
Thanks for reading.
