AN UNHOLY F-BOMB
Or how we learned to love the effing Word
WARNING: This article makes very liberal use of the f-word. If you are someone that finds this offensive, I suggest you stop reading now. If, however, you are offended by any views of religion that contradict your own, then I invite you to read on, but at your own risk.
It seems to me that nothing better describes the move in modern free-thinking western societies from religion to secularism, than the substitution of the f-word for ‘god’ in the phrase ‘for god’s sake!’
Now I know what you’re thinking. “For fuck’s sake, Jonathan!” you say, “how can you build an argument for secularisation around one little phrase? There must be hundreds of other indicators, such as falling church attendance and fewer people claiming to have a religion or believe in god. Or even the marginalisation of the clergy in national debates. And yes, you are quite right, those indicators do suggest that religion is on the run in most, if not quite all, western societies (the ‘Land of the Free?’ Fuck, give me strength).
But hear me out on this. [more]
