No Gods, No Masters

This event is part of the Antiuniversity Now Festival 2018.

Religious belief is still very strong in the world today, despite predictions that it would disappear with science and the development of a secular society. For many people, this is not a problem- we should be tolerant of the beliefs of others. After all, these beliefs are about things that we can’t prove or disprove and don’t really affect what happens in our society.

Anarchists believe differently. Just as we reject other ‘masters’ such as the bosses or the State, so we reject any belief that looks towards an external authority for what to believe and how to live. In addition, these beliefs very much do affect society, eg views on abortion, homosexuality, gender and race. Throughout history people have used religion as a justification to oppress others, often with extreme violence, eg the slave trade, the Crusades and ISIS today.

But how do we argue against religious beliefs? It is especially a problem when these beliefs are held by persecuted minorities and people who we are working with in unions and community campaigns. This discussion meeting will consider why anarchists reject religion and then open up the discussion about what strategies we can adopt for challenging religion in our society.

The Rebel City Collective consists of class struggle anarchists in London. Our aim is to spread anarchist ideas more widely in society. We do this by producing a paper called Rebel City which is now in its 9th issue.

To reserve a place on the course, please email: rebelcity[@]gmail.com

Antiuniversity Now is an autonomous radical learning project, set in 2015 to challenge academic and class hierarchy through an annual festival of mutual education. Antiuniversity events are organised by individuals and groups across the UK and are open, free and accessible to everyone regardless of education or background.

www.antiuniversity.org