CLAL Special Features
Welcome to CLAL Special Features where you will find articles by guest columnists and roundtables on hot issues and special topics.
Jewish Public Forum Seminar:
“What Is Religion For?”
November 19, 2001
Pre-Seminar
Response
“What Is Religion For?”
By Robert Rabinowitz
There was
something very chilling about watching the video of Osama bin Laden that was aired on the
day the bombing began in Afghanistan. I was
impressed by the way he looked; that he was handsome and well-groomed and that he had an
aura of tranquillity, authority and determination. I
also found much of his message cogent; his vision of religion and his analysis of the
history and politics of the Middle East. It
was as if I recognized in him the familiar face of a close relative to my own religious
heritage, a view of religion that prizes submission, obedience, order and humility. This has made me very uncomfortable with the use
of the word “evil” when describing Osama bin Laden, because that word conjures
up a sense of irrational malevolence with which one cannot fruitfully engage
intellectually or morally. And yet, even as I
recognized the family resemblance, I was also repulsed by the authoritarian conception of
religion that he represents, and the oppression of the human spirit practiced by regimes
that preach cognate ideologies. And I have
begun to wonder about the steps that liberal societies can and should take to combat such authoritarian religious visions, both
at home and abroad, in favor of religious world-views that prize political and economic
freedom as necessary pre-conditions for the flourishing of the human spirit. How does liberal society engage with authoritarian
visions of religion that are neither totally irrational nor totally alien? What role, if any, can religious leaders and
institutions play in such discussions?
To join the conversation at Special Features Discussion, click here.
To access the Special Features Archive, click here.
To receive CLAL Special Features column by email on a regular basis, complete
the box below:
