Preach what you practice indoors, please

Right, I’ve had enough. Before I embark upon this rant, I want to make one thing absolutely frakkin’ clear. I am not a religion-hater. I respect everyone equally, whether they are fellow Atheists (or Agnostics for the not so sure) such as myself who don’t believe in God(s), or they are religious. I do not spend my time bashing Christianity, Judaism, Islam etc. I respect that those with religion find some solace in having ‘faith’, and that despite my own opinion, they believe in something more than science and stick to those beliefs. However, there is one thing within the broader ‘religious community’ that I want to change, and change soon.

I want religion off the streets. At the very least, the high-streets.

Frankly, I am sick to the back teeth of representatives of the various sub-faiths (Jehovah’s Witnesses, Quakers) hounding me in the street. When I head into Sale back home, or Headingley up here in University land I have far better things to do than discuss the merits of a particular faith/sub-faith, and indeed, the alleged disadvantages of having no faith at all. My religion, or lack thereof is my business, and I despise this form of Retail Religious Preaching (RRP, heh) just as I do other street-sellers who wish to flog me the student rag, a paint-ball day out or put me through yet another guilt trip about the problems in the third world.

What gives Jehovah’s Witnesses the right to question me in public about what I do or don’t believe? Do they think they’re helping their cause by not taking no for answer? Is it right that religious preaching should be taken to the street? Should religious preaching interrupt your normal, daily business?

Of course, if I were to take to the streets promoting Atheism, challenging the general public to justify their belief in God whilst attempting to show them the error of their ways, there’d be something of a shit-storm that would no doubt brew very quickly; and I’d probably ruffle a few feathers. My point is, however, I have just as much right to do that as religious street-preachers do; but I DON’T do it.

Last month the BBC reported that the British Humanist Association, supported  by the prominent and well-known Atheist Richard Dawkins were embarking on a campaign to put up Atheist posters around the London transport network, starting with buses and moving into the London Underground. The posters have now appeared in the tube network, and are something of a breath of fresh air. If the ‘Alpha Course’ (a means of ‘finding God’) can be advertised, then the fact that God, in our (Atheist) opinion does not exist should also be allowed equal exposure. I digress.

Ultimately what I’m saying is, we know where to go if we are having issues with our faith; there are enough places of worship to see to our every religious need. Try it yourself! I searched Yell.com for ‘places of worship’ in Sale, Cheshire. There are eighteen, count them, eighteen ‘churches’ in the area – Sale isn’t a huge town – catering for almost every need.

I walked home from University just before midday today, and at the traffic lights I was confronted with two pensioners who were distributing their propaganda and questioning everyone they could about their faith, claiming that they (I think they were Quakers) were spreading ‘the truth’. I quickly moved away before I lost my already short temper I’d woken up with this morning.

Sometimes I think that religious organisations such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses, for example, have a mindset whereby they see themselves as being ‘at war’ with every other organisation for the ‘hearts and minds’ of the people. To these organisations I would say: if you see yourselves at war with the next bunch of folks who believe something different to you, then fair play to you…

…just take that war OFF our streets, and let the masses come to YOU.

Comments welcome.