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Title: Anarchists and Religion Author: Louise Tierney Date: 1995 Language: en Topics: Religion, Workers Solidarity, Ireland, anti-clerical Source: Retrieved on 26th November 2021 from http://struggle.ws/ws95/religion45.html Notes: Published in Workers Solidarity No. 45 — Summer 1995.
The popular stereotype of anarchists’ relationship to religion is that
we are all priest-killers and church-burners. This is, as is usually the
case with mainstream representations of anarchism, almost completely
false. It is useful in the wake of the clerical paedophile scandals and
the general stranglehold that the church exerts on Irish society to give
a truer explanation of our position.
Anarchists are materialists. We understand that there is a real and
concrete basis for the way society is organised right now. Religion
generally sees society as god given and inevitable. Almost all world
religions claim that the poor will be rewarded in the afterlife for
passively accepting their lot in this one.
Religion is by its nature authoritarian, whether to a greater of lesser
extent. It is based on ‘faith’ and obedience. The reality we face is of
churches that are involved in the repression of women, of gay people and
all of those who seek to change the face of the traditional (nuclear)
family. It is no coincidence that fundamentalists of all religions, from
Ireland to Iran, seek to push back the progress made by women in the
workplace and the sexual revolution.
As anarchists we oppose this authoritarianism. We are fighting to break
the power of the church in Ireland. This power is immense. As well as
it’s direct wealth, they control over 3,000 out of the 3,500 primary
schools in the 26 counties, despite the fact that all the staff wages
and 90% of building costs are paid by the State. They also control 67%
of secondary schools and own Maynooth College. They have a majority on
the boards of about half the hospitals. This allows them to veto even
legal operations such as sterilisations.
However it is not enough just to oppose the churches’ power. As
Anarchists we must offer a real practical alternative analysis of
society. The stronghold that the church has is not simply a result of
historical circumstances, it offers something that people want. It
offers an explanation of all sorts of natural and personal disasters, by
saying that they are “the will of god”. It offers hope in a world where
misery, poverty, ignorance, frustration and alienation are endemic.
To break this stranglehold we need a strategy that unites our vision of
a better world in the here and now with struggles that bring people into
conflict with clerical power and show up religion as a prop for the
status quo, that stands in the way of their needs and desires. In
Ireland this means fighting against clerical control of schools,
hospitals, etc. It also means fighting for separation of church and
state.
The question that often arises is “surely as Anarchists you are against
the state as well?” The simple answer is that we are but we are also for
fighting for improvements to people’s lives in the here and now.
Breaking the stranglehold of the church would ease the way for divorce,
reproductive rights including abortion, along with stopping church
control of schools.
For us religion is a private matter. It should enjoy no special
privileges, tax reliefs etc. We expect members to be involved in the
struggle against the power and control exercised by the churches.
Nonetheless members can hold religious beliefs provided they fully
accept this aspect.
In short we fight religion by fighting its root causes. The Workers
Solidarity Movement is fighting for an anarchist society where people
will come to realise that they have no need for religion or other
mystical ideas. We challenge religion in a practical way by showing
where it obstructs social progress and by leading the challenge to it at
every opportunity.