Spirituality, Yes. Robertson, No

Moderate Americans took back control of the Dover, Pennsylvania, school board from religious fanatics this week, demonstrating that the anti-science crowd, while vocal, is a small minority. But to demonstrate just how delusional, archaic and dangerous religious fanatics are, American Mullah Pat Robertson couldn’t resist commenting on the school board defeat, warning Dover residents that their town may face retaliation from God in the form of a natural disaster. And if that happens, they shouldn’t look to God for help.

His comments reveal, yet again, the ugly, superstitious and mean-spirited core of fundamentalism, where vengeance trumps mercy, where God is still imagined in childish terms: a bearded man on a cloud, hurling thunderbolts. This is the exact form of juvenile lunacy that informs Islamic radicalism, fueling suicide bombers to martyr themselves to gain seventy virgins in paradise. How long will it be before someone like Robertson decides that Jesus wants his followers to begin killing heretics? Lest we forget, it has happened many times in the past.

Spirituality is a generally positive force in human life, characterized by a reverence for the natural world and an appreciation of the mystery of existence, tolerating a diversity of views and opinions. It often assumes a higher power, animating spirit or creative consciousness, but doesn’t rely on absolutes, acknowledging that our capacity to comprehend the creation is limited and inadequate. Furthermore, spirituality is not threatened by science, seeing it as yet another window into the majesty of creation. Religious fundamentalism, by contrast, is divisive, arrogant, intolerant and judgmental, relying on a rigid set of ancient superstitions that become increasingly difficult, if not impossible, to defend in the modern world.

This week, the residents of Dover rejected superstition. Amen.