Are you ready?

From the Scientific Revolution to the Age of Enlightenment and into the Modern Era, the scientific method gave humanity a common framework with which to distinguish fact from fiction. It allowed us to characterize the physical laws that describe our natural world, rather than attributing supernatural explanations to things we cannot understand. It allowed us to embrace uncertainty, rather than deny it because we fear the unknown.

But as we know all too well, the empire always strikes back. For every scientific and social development that threatens the Church’s narrative, there is a corresponding backlash, typically wrought with a severity and vindictiveness meant to dissuade any future thoughts of defiance.

It is time to hold organized religion accountable for more than a thousand years of oppression.

The rebellion begins as soon as we acknowledge that faith is not fact. But for it to take hold, our younger generations must vote en masse to ensure that those four words are enshrined and upheld at every level of government and within any institution receiving government funding. The rebellion must continue until all our laws and public policies are based on logic and reason and not supernatural speculation.

As will become clear, scientific rebellion is not a campaign against religious beliefs or believers. To the contrary, those who identify as religious or spiritual are as essential to this rebellion as those who see themselves as agnostic, atheist, or humanist.

The tie that binds us together as rebels is critical thinking. For this reason, I advocate for all organized religions to display a statement, similar to a Surgeon General’s Warning:

“While we believe our doctrine to be divinely inspired, we acknowledge these beliefs to be personal and subjective. It is called faith for a reason. Faith is not fact, and our doctrine must never be considered objectively true nor used to condemn or oppress others.”

If every inclusive church that values social justice were to confidently post this statement, I believe they would be the vanguard in the rebellion and their membership numbers may actually improve.

Embracing faith is not fact does not diminish an individual’s religious freedom; it preserves it by ensuring that no religion or supernatural claim can be used to dehumanize and oppress others.

It does not claim that any religion is false, for we can no more prove the non-existence of an undefinable deity than we can prove its existence.

It does not stop anyone from worshipping as they please, but it does stop them from making false claims and weaponizing those claims to persecute others and to destabilize our government institutions.

The time for half measures is over. Unless we enshrine those four words in our practice of government, we will always be susceptible to the weaponization of religion. We will always be one election cycle away from the rise of some form of Christian nationalism and its opportunistic demi-God. We will witness life imitating art, as The Handmaid’s Tale becomes prophecy.

The odds may not be in our favor, but there is power in taking that first step of defiance. It is the power in Rosa Parks saying ‘Nah’ to giving up her seat. It is the power in taking a knee, rising up, and never backing down. It is the power in unleashed rebellion.

Join us.

This is Peter Tchoryk. Welcome, to the rebellion.

#FaithIsNotFact