It's Not Just Monotheism.

Here's some disquieting news out of India, courtesy of the BBC. I sometimes tell myself that monotheism, because of its exclusivity, rather than religiosity itself, is the cause of many of the world's current woes, but here are the polytheistic Hindus to remind me that I'm wrong. The problem in India seems to be a faction that equates Hinduism (itself a debatable mix of cults) with Indian national identity and demands reverence as a matter of national solidarity. They've expressed themselves noisily in the past, from protesting Richard Gere's smooch with a Bollywood actress a few months ago to complaining about an allegedly disrespectful portrayal of Hindu gods on the Xena, Warrior Princess TV show. It's all in keeping with the unfortunate trend in Islamic lands that would suppress irreverence in the name of respect. It's something some groups in America, particularly the Catholic League, would like to get away with, and it helps explain why secularist or atheist writers like Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchens seem more militant in their irreverence these days -- and why more people are reading them.