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Home
Authors
Mary Douglas
British
Scientist
About the author
Just in our lifetime our society has become looser and more private, it becomes extremely difficult to hold to any permanent commitment whatever, least of all to organized religion.
Mary Douglas,
British
Scientist
#Commitment
#Society
#Religion
When we are reflecting on terrorism we can grieve for many things we do and have done.
Mary Douglas,
British
Scientist
#Terrorism
The natural response of the old-timers is to build a strong moral wall against the outside. This is where the world starts to be painted in black and white, saints inside, and sinners outside the wall.
Mary Douglas,
British
Scientist
#World
#Old
#Saints
Some scholars have been arguing that a civilizational clash between organized religions is the next step in human history.
Mary Douglas,
British
Scientist
#History
Since 1970, relationships can be more volatile, jobs more ephemeral, geographical mobility more intensified, stability of marriage weaker.
Mary Douglas,
British
Scientist
#Relationships
#Jobs
#Marriage
#Stability
Religion can make it worse. Are you supposing that if people were encouraged to believe in a transcendent reality, and to be encouraged by grand rituals and music and preaching, to love their neighbors, then they would put jealousy and frustration aside?
Mary Douglas,
British
Scientist
#Love
#People
#Religion
#Music
#Preaching
#Reality
#Neighbors
#Frustration
#Jealousy
#Rituals
Real equality is immensely difficult to achieve, it needs continual revision and monitoring of distributions. And it does not provide buffers between members, so they are continually colliding or frustrating each other.
Mary Douglas,
British
Scientist
#Needs
#Equality
Pretensions to moral superiority are devastatingly destructive.
Mary Douglas,
British
Scientist
#Superiority
The history of the Church of Rome is a constant leakage of members into such breakaway cults, which go on splitting.
Mary Douglas,
British
Scientist
#History
#Church
#Rome
I have increasingly, over the years, felt that religion today does our civilization more harm than good.
Mary Douglas,
British
Scientist
#Years
#Today
#Civilization
#Religion
#Harm
It's unlikely that the organized religions will get more sectarian... or is it? I am not at all sure.
Mary Douglas,
British
Scientist
#Will
It seems true that the growth of science and secularism made organized Christianity feel under threat.
Mary Douglas,
British
Scientist
#Christianity
#Science
#Growth
It is very reasonable to worry about the harm done by organized religion, and to prefer looser and more private arrangements.
Mary Douglas,
British
Scientist
#Religion
#Harm
#Worry
It is only partly true that religion does more harm than good in society. The community makes God into the image it wants, vengeful, or milky sweet, or scrupulously just, and so on.
Mary Douglas,
British
Scientist
#God
#Society
#Religion
#Community
#Harm
Islam is in principle egalitarian, and has always had problems with power.
Mary Douglas,
British
Scientist
#Problems
#Power
#Islam
Inside a religious body you get sects and hierarchies, inside an information network you get bazaars and cathedrals, it is the same, call them what you like. They survive by pointing the finger of blame at each other.
Mary Douglas,
British
Scientist
#Information
#Body
#Blame
#Network
#Religious
Inequality can have a bad downside, but equality, for its part, sure does get in the way of coordination.
Mary Douglas,
British
Scientist
#Equality
#Inequality
Mormons... are so strong, they can handle wealth, they are confident. I think it is because they are not bogged down by rules for equality, but have a firmly defined system of relative status and responsible command.
Mary Douglas,
British
Scientist
#Equality
#Rules
#Wealth
If people want to compete for leadership of a religious group, they can compete in piety. A chilling thought. Or funny.
Mary Douglas,
British
Scientist
#Want
#People
#Thought
#Leadership
#Religious
#Funny
#Piety
Our technological infrastructure alienates us from each other. No need to form a workplace community, everybody there will be out in a year or two, and so will you, looking for a better place.
Mary Douglas,
British
Scientist
#Will
#Community
I am sure it must be true that people opt out of the mainstream society because they feel that there are going to be no rewards for them, if they stay.
Mary Douglas,
British
Scientist
#People
#Society
I am convinced that living in an enclave shapes the personality, and living alone shapes the personality too.
Mary Douglas,
British
Scientist
#Living
#Personality
Hierarchy works well in a stable environment.
Mary Douglas,
British
Scientist
#Environment
Hierarchy is is much reviled in the present day.
Mary Douglas,
British
Scientist
#Day
#Present
Every year the progress of advanced capitalist society makes our population consist of more and more isolates. This is because of the infrastructure of the economy, especially electronic communications.
Mary Douglas,
British
Scientist
#Population
#Society
#Progress
#Economy
Enclave life becomes very tense, Even when they do elect a leader, the factions remain, with the threat of splitting off.
Mary Douglas,
British
Scientist
#Life
#Leader
Behind a leader there must be followers, but they should always be on the lookout for the main chance and ready to change sides if the current leader doesn't deliver.
Mary Douglas,
British
Scientist
#Chance
#Change
#Leader
#Followers
Any great organization can go through sectarian phases.
Mary Douglas,
British
Scientist
If you want to change the culture, you will have to start by changing the organization.
Mary Douglas,
British
Scientist
#Want
#Will
#Culture
#Change
What did our nation ever do to provoke these madly vicious enemies? What is seen as injustice in one place is seen as just requital in the other.
Mary Douglas,
British
Scientist
#Enemies
#Nation
#Injustice
An escalating, violent tit-for-tat may lead to terrorism.
Mary Douglas,
British
Scientist
#May
#Terrorism
The theory of cultural bias... is the idea that a culture is based on a particular form of organization. It can't be transplanted except to another variant of that organization.
Mary Douglas,
British
Scientist
#Culture
#Idea
#Theory
Yes, disappointment over perceived unfairness, injustice, promises not kept, tends to go hand in hand with increasing prosperity. Expectations are dashed. What can I say!
Mary Douglas,
British
Scientist
#Disappointment
#Prosperity
#Promises
#Expectations
#Injustice
Without that assured American largesse Israel would have been obliged to come to an accommodation with her neighbours.
Mary Douglas,
British
Scientist
#American
#Israel