Religious Scholar

We must all become critical thinkers: discovering the truth for ourselves, based on research and analysis, complementing our innate sense of knowing, intuition and "gut feeling."

I fear, though, that the field of critical thinking is being usurped by conservative sceptics (Christopher Hitchens springs to mind). Why can a person not follow a belief system such as an organized religion and still be a critical thinker? I often recommend that my students read Erasmus if they want to discover a powerful intellect supported by a believing heart, or, in our time, the Dalai Lama or Pema Chodron. 

The conservative sceptics who extol critical thinking are often men, citing examples of female behavior and practices as the disastrous consequences of uncritical, hysterical minds. I sometimes wonder, reading these men's works, whether we have gone back to the Dark Ages when women were considered unruly beasts at the mercy of devilish forces (which today we would label "hormones").

Critical thinking is what will save our planet. But only if it is balanced with inner reflection, study and cultivation of wisdom, and emotional warmth (called love by some believers, compassion by others). Critical thinkers may be believers or sceptics, men or women. There is no reason to force this separation. Both impulses, joined in harmony, will lead to greater understanding and a more peaceful, happier world.