Witchcraft catastrophe in Africa

2 September 2009

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ZJ: Did you know that in sub-Saharan Africa, there is a widespread belief in witchcraft? And this isn't the abstract, benign form of witchcraft practiced by Wiccans. This belief has incorporated itself into their culture so thoroughly that they treat witchcraft as a fact of life, much like the world of Harry Potter. We're talking about full-blown, spell-casting insanity here. It would almost be hilarious, if it wasn't causing such utter mayhem.

In Tanzania, dozens of albinos have been hacked to death so their skin, bones and organs could be used in "magic potions" or as good luck charms. Yes, good luck charms made from the body parts of someone who was unlucky enough to be an albino in a place where people think they can dismember you to steal your magic powers.

And then there are those who have devoted themselves to eradicating the practice of witchcraft by leading literal witch hunts. Predictably, they've gone completely overboard, with devastating consequences for the innocent people they've accused of being witches. Thousands of children across Africa have been beaten and abandoned by their families because they were blamed for causing relatives' illnesses using witchcraft. And hundreds more suspected witches, many of them women, the elderly, and even children, have been brutally tortured, publicly decapitated or even burned to death by these lynch mobs.

Even the Catholic Church has become involved, with the Vatican trying to convince these people that there are no witches; although, in a textbook example of doing the right thing for the wrong reason, they claim witchcraft doesn't work anymore because of Jesus. And coming from an institution that believes wafers and wine can be transformed into flesh and blood with a priest's incantation, they probably won't have much success arguing against sorcery.

And given the atrocities taking place in Africa, I find it astounding that people will criticize atheists for challenging religious beliefs. They tell us we should keep to ourselves, and leave religion alone. How is it any of our business what people believe? It's not like it's harming anyone... is it?

It seems these people are unable or just unwilling to understand that what you believe affects how you behave. A belief is not merely a distant and impotent thought. Your actions in this world are based on your beliefs about the world. And in the case of Africa, these false beliefs about witchcraft have directly inspired the slaughter of thousands of innocent people. They are dead because of religion, and they died for nothing!

So where do we draw the line here? When does it become acceptable to contest religious beliefs? How about when millions of people use their religion to justify passing laws to segregate marriage by gender? What about when religious beliefs about the origin of life threaten the integrity of science education in public schools? Would this be a good time to speak up?

What about when religious pharmacists refuse to fill prescriptions for contraception? How about when doctors who perform abortions are murdered by religious assassins? Maybe this is the point where we should speak out against religious belief? Or should we keep going?

What about when parents let their children die of appendicitis and diabetes, because they thought faith and prayer were sufficient and medical treatment was unnecessary? What about when children are burned alive because people thought they were practicing witchcraft? Will those who fault atheists for openly stating there is no god also contest the fact that there is no witchcraft?

When do we stop trying to insulate religious beliefs from criticism simply because they're about religion? How much longer are we going to pretend that there's any merit to these unproven and unprovable beliefs? If we're not supposed to challenge people who use their god to tell us who we're allowed to marry, if we're not supposed to challenge people who use their Bible to misrepresent creation myths as being on par with empirical research, then why is it okay to point out the obvious fact that witchcraft isn't real, and it's not a valid reason to murder children? Why are we expected to look the other way, ignore all the other problems caused by religion, and pretend religious beliefs are harmless?

It comes down to this: How far is too far? How great a price are you willing to pay to cater to superstition? How much religiously motivated injustice, suffering and death will it take for you to say enough is enough?

As for myself, I will have none of it.

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