A friend of mine finds it hard to respect Jehovah's witnesses. Her brother would have died had he not had an enormous blood transfusion. Consequently his children (her nieces) wouldn't have been born. She find it hard to respect a religion that condemns two innocent children to not have a life.
Another JW condemns her children to a life without her as a Mother http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/shropshire/7078455.stm
Currently in the news there is a case of 15 days imprisonment for naming a teddy bear. The British Council of Muslims disagrees with the actions and interpretations of the Sudanese court and its Sharia law.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7120263.stm. Many claim Sharia law is medieval in it approach.
Many religious have difficulty respecting women and or homosexuals.
Throughout history many wars have been started and perpetuated by the divisions arising from religion.
Given the interpretive nature of religion regarding the respect it affords others, and the interpretive nature of laws arising from religion isn't it about time we acknowledged that religion doesn't promote equality, respect tolerance for others? Is religious diversity sustainable? How can you respect someone who's fundamental belief supports and undermines the existence of your own family (my friend's nieces)? Doesn't religion its self by 'framing reality' and providing its own truth divide those who think differently rather than unite us all?
Juliet LeFevre
8 Responses
A different platform?
I hear your heart cry, Juliet, but I can’t help thinking this is not a training issue, which casts doubt on the appropriateness of this forum for such a discussion.
Religious Diversity
This is utterly a training issue.The previous correspondent is completely,totally wrong. Any modern trainer has to equality proof all training arrangements(a legal term by the way!) and you are quite right to introduce the topic for debate. The forum is entirely appropriate in this modern changing world.It says more about us than anything else if we do not comprehend this.Thank you for raising the issue
Warm Regards
Jennifer
I hope not…
Religious diversity is it sustainable? I truly hope not.
If someone arrived in work and told you they had begun to worship Harry Potter and that they demand time to work on the potions and spells. They’d either be fired or carted off to the madhouse within a week or two.
The fact that the government chose to legislate to protect those who choose to believe in their own work of fiction is pretty worrying.
Religion is a choice, at least in the UK, there are no penalties for choosing any religion but you shouldn’t expect special privileges for doing so.
A society that cared about the people within it would protect them from criticism from those things they can’t help but leave everything else up to debate.
There are many people on this forum who believe (without any actual proof) in the efficiency of certain types of training, or coaching, or education etc. and they are entitled to their beliefs and we are all entitled to agree with them or criticise them – that’s how things develop and become better (and occasionally worse) over time.
It’s strange that the only area of human interaction and understanding that hasn’t really evolved in 2,000 years is relgion. And people still want to protect these fairytales from any infringement from reality…
Believe what you want, but keep it away from me, and don’t you dare push your “values” on other people is the way it should be.
Respect and Tolerance
Let’s distinguish between respect a religion and tolerating a religion. There’s much that I cannot respect about most religions, but I’m happy to tolerate anyone’s wish to believe provided, as has already been said, they do not try to thrust the rules of their beliefs on others. There is also the requirement that my choice not to follow a religion is tolerated; I do not ask beliers to respect that choice.
Sadly, in many parts of the world, there are forces which do thrust the rules of a religion on people, and a lack of tolerance of different views.
As trainers, we must tolerate everything except intolerance.
Human right
There is no such thing as a perfect religion.
However, freedom of worship is a human right, and as trainers we should be sensitive to, and respectful of, the beliefs of others, if only because this is in all our interests.
Also, it was, I think, George Bernard Shaw who famously remarked that it’s far easier to convince people when you try talking to them in their religion rather than in yours.
Beliefs & learning styles
First of all, this is an issue that has some relevance here.
Any belief system, whether religious or socio-political or from whatever source, acts as a filter for information received and indeed delivered.
We can’t control a trainee’s receptors. We can, however, attempt to ensure that their filters are not switched on unnecessarily.
If a trainer attempts dogmatic presentations (and I’ve heard many enthusiastic deliveries on concepts which are at best, debatable) they run the risk of assailing trainees’ belief systems and as a result will fail to convince.
Everything we utter (other than a few universal truths*) is opinion, including leadership and management dogma and we should always be aware of that and not be afraid to make that statement.
The problem, of course, is that assessments of learning are mainly based on “facts”, especially at the lower levels. Even then, a candidate who answered a question on team leading with a statement such as, “Theorist A says this, while Theorist B has this to say …” would be on the way to a flying colours pass for me.
To return to the religious basis of this thread, Doubting Thomas had a healthy mindset.
* I’m fairly sure, for instance, that the Earth is round but I probably wouldn’t understand the mathematical theorum that proves the point.
Beliefs
John,
How do you reconcile the fundamentalist or creationist who’s view of the world is also based on their perception of facts? This debate is currently raging in the US.
Its all very well saying physics created this table in front of me but I have an unquestionable book stating that God created it and my colleague has another equally unquestionable book stating that Allah created it. Furthermore if you disagree with me you are disrespecting my religion and I’ll probably refuse to listen to your ‘babble’.
Religion-Death of God
Many years ago Bishop John Robinson wrote “The Death of God” wherein the answer to your dilemma lies Juliet.Robinson argued that “god” within “man”,whatever the route they were taking,was the creative force generating the inventions/discoveries of which you speak.Worth reading
It reconciles what you seek and marginalises the “happy clappy” brigade as well as the extremists.
Jennifer