Religious Offense

There’s been a lot of discussion in recent years about religious offense (according to Wikipedia, that means “any action which offends religious sensibilities and arouses serious negative emotions in people with strong belief and which is usually associated with an orthodox response to, or correction of, sin.”) And I, for one am mightily tired of suffering religious offense.

I’m offended every time someone suggests that posting irreverent cartoons might deserve murder.

I’m offended every time someone tells a kid that their friend who isn’t of the same religion will go to hell because of it.

I’m offended every time a woman is treated as being half a man’s worth because someone’s god supposedly decreed it so.

I’m offended every time a child is molested by a religious authority, and I’m fucking mad as hell when the higher religious authorities systematically cover this up.

I’m offended every time a girl suffers genital mutilation in the name of purity.

I’m offended when people are denied basic rights, harassed, jailed, even murdered for their sexual orientation in the name of religious belief.

I’m offended every time a pharmacist, doctor, counsellor, or other health professional withholds contraception from a woman because of their religion.

I’m offended when a child is denied medical care because their parents have religious objections.

I’m offended every time I see a barrier to holding office based on religious belief or lack thereof.

I’m offended people are jailed, beaten, mutilated, murdered under the law of the land for blasphemy.

In short, I’m religiously offended all the time. So if you’re one of those people who care deeply about religious offense and like to tell me how I should adopt a gentler tone, won’t you please, pretty please, fuck right off?

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