The God delusion... orblatantdisrepect?
CHATS TO TWO LOCAL MEN WITH VERY OPPOSING VIEWS ON THE RECENT CONTROVERSIAL SKETCH AIRED BY RTÉ THAT SHOWED GOD BEING ARRESTED FOR ALLEGATIONS OF RAPE.
DEVOTION to religious faith and indifference to it are contesting themes in modern Ireland that came to light in a recent ‘Waterford Whispers’ sketch broadcast by RTE. The sketch depicted God as a rapist and showed him being arrested as the latest figure to be implicated in an ongoing sexual harassment scandal. It has since led to an apology by the national broadcaster after members of the public described it as blasphemous and disrespectful. The sketch was presented by former RTÉ News presenter, Aengus MacGrianna - who has since said he regretted any offence caused.
Peter Hinchliffe is the Kerry Representative of Atheist Ireland. The Abbeydorney man feels the reaction to the sketch did not happen in ‘a bubble’ and that the account of the Virgin Mary’s impregnation was not written by atheists or non-believers but was passed down and taught by the church.
Peter’s belief is that it is dangerous to teach children about the Virgin Mary’s story, which is basically that of a young woman who did not understand what was being asked of her, was frightened, confused, and still said yes.
In the opposite corner is Fr Kevin McNamara of Moyvane Parish. He has come out firmly against the RTÉ sketch, describing the skit as insensitive and shameful, especially at Christmas time. Both men have decided to give their views on the controversy and on the wider issue of faith versus non-faith.
But is the public outcry merely a hypersensitive throw-back to days when religious doctrine dominated and influenced every aspect of Irish society? Is it even acceptable to denigrate a person’s religious faith simply to achieve humour? Or, perhaps, the new secularism is too preoccupied with hammering home its objective to rid society of religious faith at any cost, using humour as a tool. Whatever the answer, it is unlikely to find favour with the opposing sides in this debate.
“It is very much part of the human condition that we laugh at things for a number of reasons and we find things amusing that others do not. I would have to ask: how do we decide that humour is inappropriate or crosses a line? Is it all good until one person is offended, two people, a hundred?” said Peter.
“We can fall back on some basic principles, the same principles that we apply in so many other areas. The main one being that people have rights, ideas do not.
“All religions are ideologies, the same as political ideologies, or those wild conspiracy theories that are becoming more popular amongst other things,” he added.
Peter says the while many people hold their religious beliefs very sincerely and may feel personally affronted when
challenged - not just in humour but in general discourse - he insists that we have no control over ‘feelings of offence’ when it comes to argument and rational debate. But given how deeply enshrined religious faith is for many, does he feel any sympathy for the aggrieved in this instance?
“I feel sympathy for those offended, I understand that many good, decent people have a great love for the god they believe in and for the character of Mary,” he says.
“I support fully their right to state their feelings, to produce counter argument and to make demands for their feelings to be considered and for the skit to be censured. That is their right
“However, RTÉ should have shown more courage and should not have apologised, a simple acknowledgement that feelings were hurt, and that that is not uncommon in humour, would have sufficed.”
One of Peter’s main criticisms of religion is that it demands the right to special status based solely on the concept of entitlement. Peter fundamentally disagrees with the notion that religious messages are beyond parody and humour.
“So, yes, I have sympathy for the individuals, but offence is not a cause for censorship and deciding where offence crosses the line cannot be left to thehe offendedoffended,”” he addedadded.
As you might expect, Peter and Fr Kevin are diametrically opposed on the issue of blasphemy laws. In October 2018, people voted overwhelmingly to remove blasphemy as an offence from the Constitution. The result of the referendum was 64 percent versus 35 percent.
“We know that the blasphemy law had a chilling effect on Irish broadcasting and media and just by existing raised certain ideological positions to exemptions from critique that were not only bad for personnel freedoms but gave state endorsement for their claims of being above and protected from normal human discourse,” said Peter.
But Fr Kevin would like to see the law revisited.
“I think it [blasphemy] should be strongly reviewed,” Fr Kevin said.
“I hold respect continually for other people, and I applaud them for their views. I would ask the same for my views,” he added.
Fr Kevin heavily criticised RTÉ for the sketch, coming at a sacred time for Christians the world over, not just Ireland. The Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, Eamon Martin, was among the first to condemn the sketch, tweeting that he was ‘shocked’ and that the producer or editor did not realise how deeply offensive it was mocking a news report accusing God of rape and reporting his imprisonment. Fr Kevin agrees with this view wholeheartedly.
“The timing of it was not appropriate. It was the season of Christmas and the whole world was celebrating it. Whether you are a believer or not, I respect other people’s views, but I would ask them to respect mine as well,” Fr Kevin said.
“To celebrate the birth of Jesus and seeing a sketch that God was a rapist, was so vile that when I saw it I just left the house and went down to the church. What I did was ring the bells to welcome in the new year.”
Fr Kevin does not hold back on what he feels is the insensitive agenda behind the RTÉ sketch. He also praised the people’s response.
“I’m immensely proud of Catholics the way they have responded, the way they have vocally objected. Other religions, I do not think, would be as quiet, or as timid.
“We chose maturity in how we dealt with it. I have made objections to RTE before and I know you might as well make objections to the moon. They will hide behind the various things while giving a platform to other people.
“If the atheist or non-Christian stance were taken in a similar vein, and their attitudes were impinged on as much as ours was, I think they would be sad as well. And yet I respect anyone who does not want to believe,” he said.
Fr Kevin is equally upset at the inference of paedophilia used to denigrate the church as part of the sketch.
“It was as much as if to say, ‘the church has a hell of a cheek’ talking about these things,” he said.
“Paedophilia has gone right across every shade of society, but when it involves religion, they cover it very viciously…I know there is a hidden agenda and I hope it will be confronted and that they will at least respect the Catholic and Christian tradition. People will say the church ruled with an iron fist years ago. But who is the new ruler of the church now? RTÉ, they are the ones that have the say, and they are the ones that will give us what we want, supposedly,” Fr Kevin said.
Lastly, Fr Kevin dismisses the view that even if a person is staunchly devoted to their religious faith, they should be immune from the kind of humour exemplified in the sketch.
Moreover, Fr Kevin said priests all over Ireland have done nothing but their best to help satisfy the spiritual appetite of congregations during the Covid crisis. RTÉ’s sketch, Fr Kevin feels, is a slap in the face to this work and dedication.
“It [offence] does matter as it sets an example to the younger generation. It has an effect on all of us. One thing I will say about my colleagues, from Malin Head, to Mizen Head, to Loop Head, is that we have taken on all the funerals since Covid.
“We have refused no funeral and done the best we could. And then to find that skit at this time of year, I think it was downright disgraceful to the people right across the country. As I said, I respect people not to believe, but please do not offend me,” said Fr Kevin.
RTE SHOULD HAVE SHOWN MORE COURAGE AND SHOULD NOT HAVE APOLOGISED.