Pensieri di un lunatico minore

Religion, racism and self-examination

This morning, over my Quaker oats, I was reading the latest FGC Connections which tackles one of the thorniest issues, and that is racism, white-privilege, and how it has played out in the Religious Society of Friends. This is especially thorny for the Friends because of their history of involvement in equality and freedom movements, most notably the Underground Railroad and woman’s suffrage. As the articles notes, however, some of those Friends were almost read out of their Meeting, and in fact many Friends of the pre-emancipation era held slaves. Regardless of the level of treatment for those individuals, it is still an abhorant institution.

What struck me most about this, in the current climate of religious scandal, most specifically the Catholic Church, and the attempt to find excuses for why behavior occurred, it is refreshing to see self-evaluation and examination of the past, and an attempt to understand why something transpired, but also how we might avoid it in the future. Within the writing, much by Friends of Color, there is an attempt to help others understand the issues and how small things can add up to be major issues. This is presented in a non-confrontational and educational way. Rather than wrap the issues in hyperbole, they attempt to bring them down to the most personal level, one which any Friend can understand and empathize with. By taking this markedly different tract, we endevour to grow, rather than simply posture.

It is difficult, but necessary, for self-evaluation to look at the past, for fear that we will make the same mistakes again, even when that past is less than flattering in some respects. We are, all of us, imperfect creatures, and it is our pursuit of perfection, the striving to be better than we were yesterday, that differentiates us. This core belief, that all people are equal, not because of law, but because they are created that way, is that which separates those who truly believe and those who simply espouse faith as a convenient replacement for the actual burden of it.