The Book of Mormon

I got to go see the Broadway hit "The Book of Mormon" while it was on tour in Minneapolis two weeks ago, and let me tell you - it was hilarious.  It was as good as all the reviews and Tony awards would imply.  Part of the reason I enjoyed it so much was that as an atheist, I am entertained by ridicule of silly religious ideas.  Like a known con-artist convincing a bunch of people that he found ancient golden religious tablets in his backyard, and that Jesus visited America before ascending to Heaven.

But as Bill Maher often likes to point out, is any of this any more or less crazy than the "traditional" religious beliefs of a man born of a virgin and someone cramming two of every species on Earth onto one ship?  People like to make fun of Mormonism or Scientology because they are relatively recently formed "faiths" and the claims they make seem just so obviously insane.  But if you take away the time that has passed since the beginning of any other religion, do their claims actually stand up to scrutiny?

Not really.  And yet it shocks me that people still buy into just about everything religion says without questioning whether or not any of the claims are actually true.  As if simple tradition, oral history and the passage of time make something immune from questioning.

And none of this would bother me except for the damage that religion has caused, and continues to cause, in our modern society.  People are told they can deny basic healthcare to their children as long as they have a "religious belief."  Gay people are excluded from having full, equal rights under the law because some people have a "religious objection" to homosexuality. Science teachers are forced to teach a bogus "controversy" between evolution and creationism.  And now, even access to basic birth control is being threatened because apparently god thinks it's a no-no.  While the population of the planet is surging ever faster towards total unsustainability, people still think they need to "go forth and multiply."

And yet, if you so much as point out any of this, you're failing to properly "respect religious liberty" and are treated as a terrible person for hurting peoples' tender feelings about their religious faith (something they are so certain is the absolute truth, yet can't stand to hear any legitimate criticism of).  I do not have any respect for religion because I think it impedes our progress as a species.  But I do respect people's right to have any old idea they want, whether I think it's crazy or not.  However, when those ideas start to infringe on other people's rights, there needs to be a lot more public scrutiny than, "Well, but that's what people believe."

So in summation, go see the Book of Mormon, or at least buy the soundtrack.  You'll laugh your ass off.