The subject of the previous article was in part the slide from societies with power concentrated in a privileged classes to societies with power spread among, or at least available to the non-privileged class. Unfortunately, due to the history of privileged classes, systematic and intrinsic bias has remained in all societies to this day. This de facto discrimination is evident in all walks of life, from the quality of formative periods, cultural expectations and upbringings, and implicit stereotyping, among other things. To give an example, a recent study of chess players of equal rating showed that female players performed worse when they thought they were playing a man, regardless of whether they were or not. The cultural idea that men were better at chess actually affected the performance.
The progressive slide, on the other hand, is most often centered in de jure discrimination, or that rooted in law. Unfortunately, discrimination still exists in law today, in the non-privileged groups of before, as well as some new ones, but certainly far less than there was five hundred, two hundred, a hundred, or even twenty years ago.
If you look at legal discrimination cross-culturally, it becomes quickly apparent that the Enlightenment period and the ideas birthed during it have been highly beneficial. The countries with the least legal discrimination against gays, for example, or against women, there is a heavy statistical bias towards countries which have had post-Enlightenment governments for longer. These countries also share lower church attendance, religious belonging, and secularized societies. The former two are simply a by-product of the Enlightenment period, but secularization may be an cause of decreased discrimination.
Consider the environment in which most religions began. Most religions were ethno-cultural constructs as well as belief complexes. It is arguable that the religious aspects of Roman polytheism, for example, came second to the political aspects. And while it has been removed from all but conservative and orthodox texts, one of the most common prayers (the second daily blessing from morning services) in Judaism includes: “Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, shelo asani goy” “Blessed are You, O Lord our God, Ruler of the Universe, Who did not make me a gentile”. All religions, starting from the same assumption that they are correct, have a similar effect as nationalism: they solidify a group, and define the rest of the world as separate from that group. And in such an environment, it is easy to see how any non-secular country, any country which took the laws of its religion seriously, would have to be incredibly discriminatory towards non-members.
Looking at countries which have established religion as the (or a) law of the land, we see a grim picture. Sharia law results in the stoning of women for extramarital (including pre-marital) sex in Nigeria and Afghanistan, for example, and the stoning of apostates (those who convert away from Islam) in many Middle Eastern countries. While Iran has recently ended this policy, many countries still practice the systematic elimination of those who disagree with or step away from the religiously imposed behavior expectations. Within the last month(and 6 days) alone, gay rights activists were arrested in Zimbabwe, a West Bank Rabbi banned women from a local election, a Mali imam is under threat after backing women’s rights, and Uganda considers the death penalty for ‘repeat offenders’ of their anti-sodomy laws.
It is easy to see how such discrimination started, and while I will blame its continuing strength on certain religious beliefs and practices, I do not mean to imply that they started this trend.
The fear of the different that we see evident in racism and homophobia is a byproduct of the same force that drove strong families and tribes, and caused civilizations to rise as tribes conquered and assimilated. The idea, biologically, is that organisms which protect organisms that are like them will overall lead to a more successful gene, and it is most assuredly in many ways a good thing.
The discrimination found in sexism would seem to be a different type. Ancient people, observing differences between the sexes, and relying on hunter-gatherers would have noticed some differences in the placement of muscle, fat, and bone between the sexes (as well as the obvious physical limitation pregnancy places in such a low-tech setting). Seeing as ancient people (not that it hasn’t continued to this day) saw teleology everywhere, from sacrifices to rituals to prayers, it is no surprise they did so here as well. To an over teleological view, these differences (which again, are limitations in a lower-tech society) point to some necessary value difference between the sexes (men must be stronger and not prone to childbirth because they are in some way better). I do not see this as an intrinsic development, as plenty of cultures developed into matriarchies, nor do I intend to label this as the way things happened. I only intend to show that these distinctions could be made without the cultural forces that currently keep them in place.
But while I see the cause of their inception long ago, it is unconscionable that they should continue to this day. Criticism of religious crimes has long been a taboo, even while the Mormon Church has abused young girls, forcing them into marriages that amount to little better than slavery-prostitution, the Catholic Church has allowed the abuse of altar boys, and sharia law has caused constant deaths.
But where de jure discrimination leaves off, de facto discrimination picks up again. And while the following are not as terrible offenses, they have the effect of establishing cultural discrimination, the type which then goes on to serve as underpinning for legal discrimination. The first morning prayer of Orthodox (has been altered in most non-Orthodox practices) Judaism’s morning services (for men) is “Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, shelo asani ishah”, or “Blessed are You, O Lord our God, Ruler of the Universe, Who did not make me a woman. Some Greek Orthodox churches continue not to allow women who are menstruating to sit in the same part of the church as everybody else, and in many parts of the world, women must wear the burqha, covering almost their entire body, at all times when they are in public, because of archaic opinions on female sexuality and the female body.
And in America, despite all the markers for gender advancement and gay rights (economic stability, secularized government), de facto discrimination has turned back into de jure discrimination. Despite numerous laws preventing discrimination, including constitutional amendments, The United States ranked 23rd for gender economic equality (in 2007), almost last among Western European countries. As more and more countries legalize gay marriage, the majority of states in the US have banned it, and DoMA continues to marginalize gays in America. Any set of beliefs with an ontology that divides people into classes is bound to enforce this classification upon any country in which it is allowed reign. These religions set out their precepts in a time when the sun moved around the earth, Zeus hurled thunderbolts, and snakes cured illness. Should we be looking to them for answers? Perhaps they provide those for some, but that doesn’t mean they should be imposed on all.
Is it as insidious as the horrible crimes perpetrated in the Middle East, or in South Africa or Nigeria? Not by any means. But if Americans really believe (as we constantly say) that the USA is the greatest nation in the world, should we really feel good about beating out South Africa, known for its racial apartheid? Should we even be making the comparison? Until we stop imposing majority religious views onto our government policies, perhaps we should be comparing ourselves to countries like South Africa, Nigeria, Iran, Pakistan, or Afghanistan. But is that the America you want to live in?
EDIT: Apparently, South Africa (along with Lesotho. Lesotho.) has jumped ahead of the United States in gender pay equality. The only countries ahead of South Africa? Iceland, Finland, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. Once again, those ‘damned atheistic socialist countries’ keep beating us in quality of life, gender equality & overall happiness. They are also among the most secular countries, the most economically liberal and the least god-fearing. I can’t help but think there’s a connection. If so, as long as we allow religious influence into our legal processes, we jeopardize the equality of the members of society which need the most protection from people’s bigotry.
