The source of religious belief

Martin Newland, former editor of The Daily Telegraph, has an interesting piece on religous belief in today's Guardian.

He argues that it is possible to be both religious and rational. As an atheist who suffers occasional bouts of agnosticism I must, if not disagree, then at least add a corollary: Newland's version of rationality must be very difefrent from mine, as my non-belief in god is key to the conception of rationality I bring to bear when considering any issue.

Newland says, "I see it as one of my most important duties to bring my children up in the faith", In that phrase he hits the nail on the head. I believe most people who are religous are religious because they are brought up to be religious. I don't know if there's any research which confirm this (I shall endeavour to find out), but I reckon that environmental influences (familial and wider-cultural) underlie virtually all religious belief. Surely if God existed, then he would have hard-wired us to believe in him/her, and to behave as s/he would want us to behave. All this sin and forgiveness stuff strikes me as a little to convoluted for someone who was able to do all that is ascribed to God by many of those of faith.

Newland also questions whether public office and religious belief are compatible. Would he be barred from public office because of his (traditionally catholic) views on abortion, for example. This goes to the heart of a key question: where lies the source of human values? I believe that such values, including those upheld in the great religous texts, are the products of refelction by human minds. That consideration can be more or less rational, and can therefore yield values which are more or less rational. The catholic ban on abortion is, I believe, the product of a value - one that claims all human life from the point of conception must be protected - which is not fully rational.

As for public office, there is no reason why Newland should not seek and attain such office without renouncing his views on abortion, but were he to try and legislate against abortion once in power, he must realise that he would be likley to come up against firm opposition from many who do not share his values. Democracy is the means through which individual values and beliefs are aggregated into a collective whole. There will always be a problem if some people believe their values to be better because they believe them to have been handed down from above.

That said, I believe strongly in the right of all persons of faith to both practice and preach their beliefs, as long they let me live according to my own, non-religious, credo.