I’m an avid cyclist, logging over 200 miles a week and attending numerous group rides and races. Most of my friends are cyclists too, and we have a well-connected network over Facebook and other social media. So naturally, I’ve “friended” lots of my riding friends, and I get to see many non-riding aspects of their lives — their kids, other friends, and so on.
Of course this means I’m also exposed to their religion. I’d say about half of my cyclist friends are highly religious. They don’t just go to church on Sundays, they “pray” for each other in FB posts and text messages. If they had a good race result, it’s because they were “blessed” with the strength to complete it. If a friend’s child or dog gets sick, they pray for its speedy recovery.
For the most part this stuff is easy to ignore. But sometimes it’s not. For example, suppose Ted has injured his knee. Someone makes a post on his FB page saying something like “Prayers for Ted’s speedy recovery from knee surgery.” Should I “like” the post? I certainly don’t believe the prayers will do any good, but I’d like to let Ted know my thoughts are with him. Often in cases like this I’ll just write my own separate post on his FB page letting him know I hope he gets well soon and asking if there’s anything I can do to help.
But what if the connection is more explicit? For example, a friend of mine recently entered an exceptionally challenging and prestigious endurance ride. I offered to help him with logistical support. Then it turned out he was riding for a religious charity, and he wanted his entire crew to wear t-shirts with the charity’s (obviously religious) name on it. Naturally there would be photos of the crew plastered all over Facebook. If I wear the shirt in the photos, am I endorsing the charity? I just wanted to help my friend complete a difficult ride.
I believe this charity is doing good work, but it would be even better if the charity could be separated from the baseless and wasteful religious element. I’m glad that it is helping people, but I’d be even happier if it could fully devote its resources to helping people instead of splitting them between the truly helpful and what is, at best, wishful thinking.
On the other hand, even secular charities can be wasteful. Consider the situation at many colleges and universities, where vast “charitable” donations go to sports teams that are little more than farm teams for professional, for-profit sports leagues.
But there’s a difference between college sports teams and religious charities. If I choose not to support a team I’m not seen as selfish or unfaithful. If I make a stand against a charity, then it can easily be misconstrued by others as not wanting to support the ostensible beneficiaries of the charity: I must hate kids, or love disease, or whatever. Even worse, my rationale for not supporting the charity hits at the core beliefs of its supporters: I’m telling them their god doesn’t exist, and they don’t like to hear that!
In my friend’s case, I decided to wear the shirt for the photos. I didn’t say anything bad about his charity. But I won’t be wearing the shirt again. He ended up raising over $15,000 for his charity, which really is impressive. Some of that money really will help some people. But it makes me sad to realize how ingrained religion is in every aspect of people’s daily lives. Hobby and recreation aren’t separate from religion; they are an integral part of it.
Ultimately I think the world would be a better place if there were no religion at all. But separating religious activities from everything else is going to be a sticky business. If it’s this hard to take religion out of bike riding, just think how hard it will be in cases where the connection between religion and life is much stronger.
Carolina Atheist 