Bruce Bisset: Fight extremism at all levels

As Charter Schools creep in, will New Zealand see limitations on what our students can and can't readily access? Photo / Thinkstock

The problem with religious holidays is that so often the core message - in this case, peace and love - gets lost amid the trappings of religious and commercial power draped so thickly over all its expressions.

So much so that some use the event as an excuse to promote the antithesis of the message, not-so-subtly calling down the wrath of God on those who don't hold to their particular faith.

Rising fundamentalism now overshadows the key tenets of most major religions, which in essence hold universal brotherhood and love as their highest aspirations. A fundamentalist denies these simply because they adhere to a strictly rigid code that brooks no differences and are blind to the inherent contradiction.

It is extremism that sets believers against another. In the clash between Christianity and Islam, the acts of terrorism from both sides make it all too easy for milder-mannered folk to be caught up in bigotry.

Yet, other than by its existence, religion itself is not to blame for extremism. Evil people exist in any religion and will use it as a convenient vehicle to perpetrate their evil.

Prejudice is casually reinforced by generic statements, such as saying what happens "in Muslim countries", denying the vast differences in the way the teachings of Islam are interpreted and ruled in, say, Saudi Arabia versus Indonesia. All 1.5 billion Muslims cannot be lumped together. But this is what we do, as a society: Lump things together and then proceed on the basis that false generalisation is correct.

Fallacies and misconceptions are reinforced by campaigns to limit our knowledge and appreciation of other beliefs and cultures. So-called "true believers" make it their often-bloody business to diminish the power of education in whatever ways they can.

The Taliban looks to curtail education, especially for females, with brutality in the lands in which it operates; by act or threat some 1032 Pakistani schools have been forced to close in just five years.

But more subtle, yet as effective, methods are employed by Christian fundamentalists to limit the scope of the next generation's understanding: Book banning has become something of a cause celebre in a frighteningly large proportion of US education districts, as much on racial or political grounds as religious.

For example, the anti-ethnic studies law passed by Arizona prohibits teachings that "are designed primarily for pupils of a particular ethnic group," and/or "advocate ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals."

Which may sound reasonable, until you discover that means books by authors such as Isabel Allende or James Baldwin are banned, and even Thoreau's Civil Disobedience and Shakespeare's The Tempest get the chop.

Yet studies show the number and variety of books in a child's home is the single most important factor in determining their future educational achievement. Ditto the books available at school.

Here, Alan Duff's Books in Home charity is celebrating its 20th anniversary and its 10-millionth book given away, a truly outstanding achievement. But as charter schools creep in, with their skewed emphasis on economic (or religious) outcomes rather than holistic educational goals, will New Zealand too see limitations on what our students can and can't readily access?

Extremism at all levels is what we need to fight. Here's a thought for you to hold this Christmas: "It is not necessary to believe in God to be a good person. One can be spiritual, but not religious.

Some of the best people in history did not believe in God, while some of the worst deeds were done in his name."

Who am I quoting? Pope Francis.

That's the right of it.

Bruce Bisset is a freelance writer and poet.