Ideology of perfectionism abounds but legislation alone cannot eliminate violence against women

On 12th January last a 23-year-old Irish primary school teacher Ashling Murphy was attacked and killed while jogging along the Grand Canal, near Tullamore, Co Offaly. We were all shocked, her family and friends devastated. Vigils were held throughout the country. Campaigners called for an end to violence against women.

A Government press release stated: “There is no place in our society for violence, particularly violence against women. It cannot and will not be tolerated. The safety and security of women is at the core of our society’s values.”

Minister for Justice Helen McEntee spoke of new laws to be introduced. Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tánaiste Leo Varadkar spoke of the need for societal attitude change, for change of a culture "that creates the conditions for violence against women". There was talk of eliminating all forms of violence against women in our society.

Just a few weeks ago, there were two more killings, described as having "a potential homophobic motive" by the Garda; the people of Sligo, and of Ireland were again shocked.

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The passage of the marriage equality referendum in 2015 was supposed to have been a sign that homophobia had been eliminated in Ireland. The urgency to introduce legislation so that hate-motivated assaults can be systematically recorded was again mooted.

Progressivism and perfectionism

In the increasingly secularised society that Ireland is becoming, the ideology of progressivism and perfectionism abounds. People, good people, seem to believe that laws and societal change will eliminate homophobia, violence against women, paedophilia, the murder of children, sometimes by children, and the myriad of other unsavoury things that happen on our little island, in our world.

The Bible is an account of people trying to understand the many forms of human violence against a background of hope

What has theology to say? Quite simply that legislation will not eliminate violence against women, hate crimes, homophobic murders and assaults, the abuse of children.

Theology and theological anthropology invite one to look deeper. The Bible, the theologian's first “textbook”, is well-understood as an account of people trying to understand the many forms of human violence against a background of hope.

Genesis, the first book of the Bible, speaks of the beginnings of violence. The story of Adam and Eve speaks of the breakdown of the relationship between women and men; the account of Cain’s murder of Abel speaks of fratricidal murder.

Murder, hate and misogyny have been part of the human condition since “the beginning”. The theologian’s term “original sin” refers to the interlocking complexity of evil, so visible in our world. Legislation will not eliminate “original sin”.

‘In love with wars’

Recently, Pope Francis, commenting on the war in Ukraine, noted "the pattern of war has imposed itself again . . . As humanity, we are stubborn. We are in love with wars, with the spirit of Cain. It is not by chance that at the beginning of the Bible this problem is presented: the 'Cainist' spirit of killing instead of the spirit of peace."

This is the way things are, but not the way things are meant to be. Theology, at its best, will speak to society and say keep your eyes open, watch the news, know what is going on in Ukraine, Syria and the many other places of conflict.

Do not be lulled by the ideology of progressivism, of perfectionism – but do something, act to make a difference. Theology reminds the world that the first story is not that of violence but of creation, judged good, and indeed “very good” after the creation of “male and female”; and the last story is that of resurrection to eternal life.

Hope urges one to action, amid the darkness that often seems to overpower our lives and our world

Theology supplies a language of hope, not optimism. Optimism’s inclination is “to always look on the bright side of life”. While this may be all very well in the short term, long term it may mean turning a blind eye to emergencies that are ready to hand and lurking (think of Ukraine, for instance).

Theology seeks to articulate a resource of hope that is more realistic. Hope speaks of possibility, not perfectibility. Hope urges one to action, amid the darkness that often seems to overpower our lives and our world.

That theologians are part of the conversation in seeking to interpret and reform the world and Irish society is an argument that will be made at the forthcoming Festival of Theology to mark 10 years of the Loyola Institute of Theology in Trinity College Dublin.

The festival opens at 6pm on Thursday, May 19th, with a public lecture by the institute’s inaugural director, Prof Cornelius Casey, entitled ‘Theology in a Conversation about Hope.’