#anti-clericalism

[kropotkindersurprise]

September 2022 - Clashes broke out all over Iran between protesters and police, after religious “morality” police killed Jina Mahsa Amini, a 22-year old Kurdish woman for not wearing her headscarf correctly in their eyes.

People have risen up in anger against police brutality and religious oppression, with many women taking off or burning their hijabs, and people burning down police stations, government buildings, banks and symbols of the theocratic government, and battling police in the streets. At least thirty-five protesters have been killed so far. [video]/[video]/[video]/[video]

[empirearchives]

“Nations slaughter each other for family quarrels, cutting each other's throats in the name of the Ruler of the Universe, knavish and greedy priests working on their imagination by means of their love of the marvellous and their fears.”

— Napoleon Bonaparte

[thats-a-lot-of-cortisol]

Tav memes part 3/?

[bravest-notts]

guess who has to fight an ancient white dragon to further my character's resurrect-a-dead-god quest?!

[terrified screaming]

[lordystrange]

This is me answering the byler asks no one asked me:

Do you think we will get a byler ily moment?

-Well I’m a bit torn on this one. Other endgame couples haven’t said it, but maybe they will in s5. And in that case I would definitely want to see the contrast between Mike being pushed to say something he doesn’t mean and Mike voluntarily saying something he really means.

Do you think Mike or Will will die?

-I think Mike might die temporarily, but Will will somehow bring him back. The Duffers didn’t write him to be a cleric for nothing!!

In which episodes we get byler scenes?

-In all of them, but the main moments will probably be like this: ep1 milkvan breakup, ep2 painting drama, ep4-3 gay pining, ep5-6 dramatic discussions and Mike realizing his feelings, ep7 the first byler kiss and ep 8 more byler kisses and happy ending for them

Do we get a rain kiss?

-I hope we get a heartstopper -type rain kiss! Not in the dark of the night, but at the light of day. There will be sun but also rain, reminding them that they are no longer in the weatherless upside down. (Also a rainbow would be so cool!)

Is Mike bi or gay?

-Doesn’t matter to me and I’m fine with the show not labeling him at all. (The only reason I would want him labeled is to stop people from fighting about it)

Byler?

-Endgame.

[redshift-13]

[ivan-fyodorovich-k]

but anyway if the Protestant Reformation and French Revolution were such great crimes against Christianity maybe the church should have done a better job when it was in power

[byler-is-endgame7]

dnd byler is something that can be so personal

[kropotkindersurprise]

October 14, 2022 - A statue of Ayatollah Khomeini is torn down by protesters in Neyshabur, Iran, on the 28th day of protest following the death of Jina Mahsa Amini at the hands of the religious police. [video]

[thatonesongyouretryingtoremember]

[ID: the Russian officer who Steve subsequently beat up with Glasses+mustache Mikhail's face edited on : end ID]

[evergardenwall]

a while back, i saw an anon arguing in an ask that secularism could be used as a tool of oppression; the blogger who had received their message responded that in such cases, it was rather christian-centrism, citing the example of france, and... i didn't how to put a proper addition to the post into words at the time, but i felt like there was a slight misunderstanding of the situation coming from both sides.

even though the blogger was right about the fact that (cultural) christianity is hegemonic here, catholicism* is far from influencing politics as much as evangelical christofascism in the us, or any religious institution that's closely mingled with politics in theocratic regimes.

it's not the main force driving the bullshit we've been getting in the last years; or rather, the rhetoric used to discriminate religious minorities, and in particular muslims, is not rooted in christian-centrism, although still in the context of christian hegemony. but it's not laïcité in its original meaning either -- the bigoted politicians who pretend to be pro-secularism deeply misunderstand what it actually is about.

indeed, i'd personally argue that france's current islamophobic policies are specifically rooted in anti-clericalism and racism (and unfortunately, these ideologies are not just someting we have deal with from right-wingers, but from some people in the left as well**) , and go against the principles of the 1905 law, which officially separated the churches (plural, as in organised religions) and the state.

*not to say that tradcaths aren't an issue anymore (unfortunately, they are), but they don't have the same political power today than in the early 20th century.

**they are often dubbed 'la gauche laïcarde' by those who (rightfully) criticize their racism, but, surprisingly, 'laïcard' was used to refer to the actual pro-secularism left in the 20th century who advocated for religious freedom and were nicknamed 'socialo-papalins' the same way leftist politicians who voice their opposition to racism today are called 'islamo-leftists' by the far right...

(more under the cut; as a disclaimer, i am not muslim myself -- additions from muslim users who want to bring their perspective on the topic or correct anything are welcome.)

laïcité and anti-clericalism

the 1905 law was meant to ensure freedom of conscience and guarantee the free exercise of religion. it states that the republic does not recognize, pay, or subsidize any organized religion; expenses related to the exercise of faith have been removed from state budgets, departments and municipalities, with exceptions in schools, colleges, hospitals, asylums and prisons as to ensure the free exercise of religon in public institutions. (this has changed with more recent laws, as religious signs are now banned in schools, though.)

while this law was being debated in parliament, a mp named chabert proposed an amendment that banned religious clothing (more specifically, it banned the cassock worn by priests) in public, accusing those who wear it of proselytism, representing the anti-clerical faction. another mp, aristide briand, argued that banning a certain type of clothing because it is religious would go against the principle of freedom of conscience, because expressing your spiritual beliefs extends to your bodily autonomy and getting to express them through what you wear (!). this amendment, concluded briand, could thus lead to intolerance.

aristide briand and jean jaurès, who took part in writing the 1905 law, then managed to break the 'catholic bloc' in two to isolate extremists (who were obviously not thrilled by this law, given they believed in 'france is a catholic nation' shit and stuff, yknow); and by writing it in a way that was inclusive, allowing the majority of catholics to keep practicing their religion without the state getting involved as long as they agreed to respect civil tolerance, they got the moderate catholic mps on board for the separation of church and state-- which was decisive for the law to finally get approved.

they wanted the state to consider religious bodies like just any private actors, instead of something that has to be controlled or funded. in addition to this, the reason why they chose secularism over anti-clericalism (which, remember, is not only against the involvement of the church in state affairs as well, but also against public manifestations of faith to the point of wanting to ban any religious sign in public spaces) is because they understood that asking people to abjure their religion would be counterproductive, and reinforce their faith as well as breed more extremism instead. to them, the best tool against the involvement of religion in politics is a public secular education for everyone (because before free public education was a thing, kids were most often schooled by the church, and, well...this education was Not neutral)...

the connections with today's debates

...and today, we are seeing people re-using this same anti-clerical rhetoric when debates about religious signs arise, except against muslims this time. muslims as inherently proselyting by existing (unlike, you've guessed it, the manifestations of cultural christianity present everywhere, and that's where christian-centrism Hits ✨), and incapable of agency because... racism (with a sprinkle of sexism when it comes to women wearing hijabs), but in the name of 'laïcité' this time... when the policies they're advocating for such as banning headscarfs and modest swimwear in public spaces do not respect the principles of the 1905 law.

bans are not going to actually help the women in conservative communities who are actually being forced to wear them; instead, they are also dehumanized and denied agency by those pretending to save them, and we must not fall in this trap of believing that is actually secularism (which was not mean to be oppressive, re: the historical explanation above), or dismiss it as a simple manifestation of christian-centrism alone.

we have to repoliticize the issue, properly address the ideology behind recent islamophobic legislation, and fight it by advocating for bodily autonomy and freedom of conscience instead of debating on the semantics of religious signs and whether or not they're actually oppressive themselves / are worth being banned and in which contexts, etc.

when racists -- both individuals and lawmakers who have political power in their hands -- respond to legitimate backlash by saying 'but it's not about race, it's about religion, i'm allowed to criticize islam teehee', they're saying this because 'direct' racism is becoming less socially acceptable to show, so targeting expressions of islam has become the easy way for them. at least, that's how i understand it; just see how le pen has 'softened' her discourse on the topic, even though if you closely pay attention to her program and speeches, you can still spot her white supremacist ideology. we must not fall for their trap.

lastly, i just want to make clear that when i am talking about islamophobia here, i am referring to a specific kind of bigotry in the context of western countries, and not to people who were raised muslim and ended up not agreeing with the beliefs of this religion anymore on a personal level and/or are calling out conservatism in their communities, fighting oppressive regimes in countries where islam is hegemonic (ex: iran), etc. their voices and experiences are also important. do not blindly over-correct every muslim woman talking about the misogyny she might face in her community for islamophobia, folks

[ muslims are welcome to add onto this post; fellow white people, do not clown in the notes. ]

sources / additional readings in french:

françois malaussena on twitter - joaogabriell.com - éric piolle's (mayor of grenoble) interview with the fnlp - slate.fr (1) - wikipedia (1) - wikipedia (2) - the fnlp - slate.fr (2) - slate.fr (3) - wikipedia (3) - wikipedia (4) -

[katyspersonal]

Also I just thought of a couple more things

1) Lore says that Ludwig saw the flickering lights of Guidance when he closed his eyes (in the darkness). Depending on the timeline, it could have been the inspiration for Willem and the Choir to use the Blindfold! Because they learn that Great Ones will show them the way if they trust them like this by sacrificing their own vision.

2) I can actually totally see Ludwig and Laurence both having serious descent in their sanity (if you can call a Bloodborne character that...) after Hunter's Dream was created! Like, what if after Moon Presence left with Gehrman, hard (if possible at all) to perceive? Maybe since then Ludwig's sword stopped giving off that light and it "helped" him to go more erratic with the hunt in hopes to be shown the way once more, and maybe Laurence started to grow way more corrupt without that spirituality aspect left in his life and with just holy blood as his method to connect with something big? Not saying all their misery happened because they learn that Great Ones will show them the way if they trust them like this by sacrificing their own vision.

3) Under assumption that Laurence never put on the blindfold because "I will be fine I can have my own agency and still not screw up unlike you heretics", it makes even more sense for him to consume too much blood, since Byrgenwerth's sedatives that help to handle presence of Eldrich Truth better ARE based on the blood

[fideidefenswhore]

Five years later the Commons renewed its attack and presented a bill for the wholesale disendowment of bishoprics and greater monasteries, ‘because of priests and clerks that have now full nigh destroyed all the houses of alms within the Realm'.

The hostility of London toward the Church before Anne Boleyn (Wyers, Maxine)

[moontheoretist]

He climbs the cool, shallow marble steps up to the platform on which Andraste’s statue stands. Beside it, near her lectern, is Grand Cleric Elthina. She has a reputation for making herself available to the people of Kirkwall, for practicing fairness and compassion in all her dealings. Yet Kirkwall’s streets still run rife with crime, overflowing with refugees and the poor. Anders has not yet seen any of the Chantry’s many generous donations filter back down into Lowtown, let alone the Undercity. What he does know is that it was Elthina who sentenced Viscount Threnhold to imprisonment after his attempt to oust the templars from the city: deciding to answer with force the age old question of whether the Chantry and her military branches were in fact as politically neutral as they claimed to be. Anders knows it was Elthina who gave Knight-Commander Meredith, as her direct subordinate, the authority to appoint the next Viscount, Dumar, in an unprecedented move in Kirkwall’s troubled history. The Grand Cleric has a reputation for magnanimity. She’s a woman of the people, people say, and she stands on her platform and looks down on her cathedral so that every Maker-fearing resident of the city can see it. Anders looks at her and sees a very clever politician.

A Song of Love From Long Ago by Lesetoilesfous

This couldn’t be put into words better than it is here.

[mourning-again-in-america]

British when the south americans first developed anti-colonialism: drake_yes.png

British when the Indians developed anti_colonialism: surprised_pikachu.jpeg

[britcision]

Okay but the number of people talking about how this permadeath is going to be different or something new that the other campaigns didn’t have just

The fucking Molly erasure

The fucking Bertrand BELL AS IN OF THE HELLS erasure

We’ve SEEN Critical Role do dead-pc-stays dead stories

They’ve literally done one EVERY SEASON

And sure, they did them differently the previous two times, because different groups have different dynamics, but we Know how they tell this story

Just say this one feels different to you cuz it’s the one you’re doing live and I can respect your opinion

But sweet fucking jesus don’t try and pretend this storyline is somehow new if Laudna stays dead

Every. Single. Campaign.

Laudna’s even lined up perfectly for a Lucien/Delilah comeback further down the line

Marisha REVIVING Laudna after a couple sessions would be newer and more different

You can feel however you want about that, prefer whatever you want, but trying to pretend this would somehow be a totally unexplored point of story is so fucking boring

It’s a CR fucking trademark, Liam’s had one, Tal’s had one, Travis had one, Marisha gets to pick if it’s her turn, “death having consequences” means literally nothing here

We’ve even already had one IN CAMPAIGN THREE

Death has consequences no matter what Marisha decides, and it is only Marisha’s decision

Half the fucking table has done a permadeath story, we’ve actually had more of those than “edgy warlock had a pact without their knowledge and rebels” cuz Percy didn’t officially multiclass

You can play your game however you like but sweet fucking christ can we not have the exact same “debate” every time a PC dies

You weren’t original when Molly died, you weren’t original when Bertrand died, and now you just look silly