Faith – 1

In addition to the confessions I made earlier with regard to biases you should be aware before reading through the material on this site, I also have one more admission that will be relevant as we get into specific issues related to the upcoming Presidential election: I believe in God.

Now to some people (notably skeptics or critics of religion), such belief comes pre-loaded with all kinds of assumptions about the world, from acceptance that this God created the universe in six days (starting on October 23rd,4004 BC) to a willingness to believe that this deity can perform miracles at any time which turn the laws of physics on their head (implying that a belief in God must necessarily trump belief in science). 

Even if not taken to these extremes, there is a general sense among much of the public that any type of religious faith implies a willingness to suspend reason (which would have big implications for how you should treat a site allegedly dedicated to the teaching of critical thinking).

Perhaps such skepticism is warranted, given that most religious traditions take for granted that the answers to some unknowable questions lie in the supernatural.  But in my particular case, I’ve never experienced the need to make some sort of final choice between faith and reason.

This may be because my faith (at least to some) could be considered superficial.  I didn’t grow up in a Church (or in my case, a Synagogue).   My parents did not expose me to a religious education, nor was religion much of a topic of discussion when I was growing up (although our family did talk about many things).  My familiarity with sacred texts is embarrassingly limited, even if I have a certain grasp of religious history (at least with regard to Western faiths).

In fact, it only dawned on me that I believe in God when I and my wife (now in our own parenting years) chose to join a local synagogue and enroll our children in religious school.  While this might imply increased religiosity, it was really more of an example of “generation skipping” with regard to giving our kids a Jewish education (even through many peers in my temple are very open about their atheism). 

But as part of a synagogue, one invariably finds oneself attending services (even if it’s only a few times a year).  And during Jewish services (as with most other faiths), there comes a moment in the proceedings where everyone is asked to spend a few moments in silent prayer.  And when I was first asked to do this, I found myself praying with absolute sincerity.  This may hearken back to the one other time I took solace in silent prayer (in Junior High School, after a family tragedy).  Although perhaps I’ve simply always been a believer, and only recently started thinking about what this means. 

Anyway, the real question is whether or not faith (mine or anyone else’s) is relevant to either critical thinking or the US elections.  And in the case of the latter (the election) the answer is clearly yes.  Being a church-goer is as much a requirement for a Presidential candidate as being a family man (or woman).  While we may have once accepted the notion of a bachelor President, I can’t imagine a devout atheist gaining much traction in even the bluest Primary state (much less the general election).

Our fascination with the religious belief of our Presidential candidates (which applies not just to Christians – witness the interest in Joe Leiberman’s Orthodox Judaism when he was a VP candidate in 2002) will only be more acute this year, given that we are likely to have not one but two candidates whose religious affiliation have or will be the source of much speculation and controversy.

But in the context of what we’re doing at this site, the question we should ask is whether critical thinking can play any role in evaluating matters that intersect with faith.  And after taking a look at these questions (and, hopefully, providing some answers) you should be in a position to evaluate whether or not someone who may subscribe to such beliefs is capable of thinking critically about them.

Continued...