PJ Conneely,
1951, Co. Galway. Ireland.
I count religion but a childish toy, and hold there is no sin but ignorance.
(Christopher Marlowe)
My earliest memories are of kneeling on the linoleum-covered kitchen floor, looking through the rails of the chair back and hearing my mother recite the rosary in her own ‘verbal mantra’ way, my father, on his knees falling asleep, he being ‘dog’ tired from his day’s manual labours and my brothers and I finding points of distraction, and then being called to order. Having to kneel for the duration of the rosary was only part of the story; my mother had a whole lot of other stuff going on that we called ‘the trimming’s’, which could take as long again. All my young life was dominated by the fear of, not the love of G. I have always thought it strange that the moment we have any understanding, we are told two fictions, one about Santa and the other that G is the man!
I left home at sixteen carrying such baggage and spent two years in boarding school. There I had to attend mass on a daily basis, as did the only protestant attending the school, even though it was a VEC run school. And so it was, that the diet of my childhood, mass, confession, communion and everything religious was to continue into my late teens. I was politically aware at fourteen and had an inkling that everything one does is political at sixteen. However, one had to comply.
I wondered how every philosophical question could be so easily answered by ‘That’s G’s plan’. Of course that is a satisfactory answer for someone who finds comfort in such a reply and, as a Humanist I would defend his or her right to find comfort wherever. However, that is not true of me.
My big eye opening and gob-smacking experience came in 1977 when visiting the Vatican on my ‘Roman holiday’. Such opulence. One question, answered immediately was the link between wealth and power. Years later I read the best public relations line ever, a Vatican spokesman’s reply when asked why the Vatican does not sell off some of its treasures to feed the hungry and give to the poor, said, ‘We are not the owners, we are just the custodians’. My fellow Humanists, do not ever own anything, just be the custodian!
My break with Christianity finally came in the 1980’s. In my view ‘our’ priest lied from the pulpit in an attempt to colour his argument, in the lead up to some referendum. From that point on I set about finding real answers to ‘what is life all about’ questions. I can’t remember where I first heard or read the phrase ‘Separation of Church and State’. It was a line that appealed to me and from that day on
I have thought and spoke it, and look forward to the time it becomes a reality.
My eureka moment came about when I eventually discovered Humanist Association of Ireland, I believe in 1997/8. To discover that there are other like-minded questioning people was a momentous experience. In 1998 I became a member and continue to be a member of the association. I, like all members are in debt to the founders of Humanist Ireland. (Back then the name was different, though their aims have remained the same). To have a point of contact was and continues to be a source of satisfaction. To plough the furrow on ones own can be a lonely experience.
A former, now disgraced British Prime Minister said that his three priorities in government would be education, education and education. It also has to be Humanists West and all Humanists’ goal, because it’s through education that people will change, and through people educated in Humanist ethics and values the world will change. We Humanist have to work for our rights and the rights of our children. One of these is a right to a secular education. Secular education is the key.
It is not enough that people know their rights; they must also know their obligations.
1951, Co. Galway. Ireland.
I count religion but a childish toy, and hold there is no sin but ignorance.
(Christopher Marlowe)
My earliest memories are of kneeling on the linoleum-covered kitchen floor, looking through the rails of the chair back and hearing my mother recite the rosary in her own ‘verbal mantra’ way, my father, on his knees falling asleep, he being ‘dog’ tired from his day’s manual labours and my brothers and I finding points of distraction, and then being called to order. Having to kneel for the duration of the rosary was only part of the story; my mother had a whole lot of other stuff going on that we called ‘the trimming’s’, which could take as long again. All my young life was dominated by the fear of, not the love of G. I have always thought it strange that the moment we have any understanding, we are told two fictions, one about Santa and the other that G is the man!
I left home at sixteen carrying such baggage and spent two years in boarding school. There I had to attend mass on a daily basis, as did the only protestant attending the school, even though it was a VEC run school. And so it was, that the diet of my childhood, mass, confession, communion and everything religious was to continue into my late teens. I was politically aware at fourteen and had an inkling that everything one does is political at sixteen. However, one had to comply.
I wondered how every philosophical question could be so easily answered by ‘That’s G’s plan’. Of course that is a satisfactory answer for someone who finds comfort in such a reply and, as a Humanist I would defend his or her right to find comfort wherever. However, that is not true of me.
My big eye opening and gob-smacking experience came in 1977 when visiting the Vatican on my ‘Roman holiday’. Such opulence. One question, answered immediately was the link between wealth and power. Years later I read the best public relations line ever, a Vatican spokesman’s reply when asked why the Vatican does not sell off some of its treasures to feed the hungry and give to the poor, said, ‘We are not the owners, we are just the custodians’. My fellow Humanists, do not ever own anything, just be the custodian!
My break with Christianity finally came in the 1980’s. In my view ‘our’ priest lied from the pulpit in an attempt to colour his argument, in the lead up to some referendum. From that point on I set about finding real answers to ‘what is life all about’ questions. I can’t remember where I first heard or read the phrase ‘Separation of Church and State’. It was a line that appealed to me and from that day on
I have thought and spoke it, and look forward to the time it becomes a reality.
My eureka moment came about when I eventually discovered Humanist Association of Ireland, I believe in 1997/8. To discover that there are other like-minded questioning people was a momentous experience. In 1998 I became a member and continue to be a member of the association. I, like all members are in debt to the founders of Humanist Ireland. (Back then the name was different, though their aims have remained the same). To have a point of contact was and continues to be a source of satisfaction. To plough the furrow on ones own can be a lonely experience.
A former, now disgraced British Prime Minister said that his three priorities in government would be education, education and education. It also has to be Humanists West and all Humanists’ goal, because it’s through education that people will change, and through people educated in Humanist ethics and values the world will change. We Humanist have to work for our rights and the rights of our children. One of these is a right to a secular education. Secular education is the key.
It is not enough that people know their rights; they must also know their obligations.