Every so often, I'm reminded of the absolute contempt that Westerners have for my religion, and today's example comes courtesy of two British pseudo-intellectuals, Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook, who apparently cannot fathom the idea of people believing in a foreign religion.
In the following clip (that the YouTube algorithm thought I would like to see), Dominic wonders if the ancient Greeks really believed in their religion.
"It's the question that always puzzles you, even when you're a child. Do people who hear these stories genuinely believe that there are people on Mount Olympus who are throwing thunderbolts around, having affairs with each other, disguising themselves as showers of rain. They're not idiots. Do they really believe this?"
Tom basically replies no, though his precise words are "I don't think they thought in those terms". They both obviously think such stories are so ridiculous that an intelligent person could not believe them.
And if they think that about ancient Greek religion, you can be sure that they also think that about Hinduism and Buddhism. (Though I doubt they would say so in consideration of their ratings.) In Hinduism and Buddhism, we talk of the god Indra who lives on the peak of Mount Meru wielding a thunderbolt-weapon called the Vajra.
Tom wrote a book on how Christianity has shaped modern secular thought, and Dominic has a PhD from Jesus College, Cambridge, so I think it's safe to say they're familiar with what Christian religious belief is. Their puzzlement at the existence of religious belief seems to only apply to non-Christian religions.
I don't think their feelings are unusual in Britain. You can't build a British empire on respect for the beliefs of non-Christian people.
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