In a recent interview, “Succession” star Brian Cox slammed the Bible and religion in general in a scathing rant.
Cox, an Emmy-winning actor, expressed dissatisfaction with the way religion controls people and picked apart details he found bad in the Genesis creation story.
Worst Book Ever
During an interview with “The Starting Line Podcast,” Scottish Actor Brian Cox didn’t hold back his disdain for the Bible and people who believe in it.
“The Bible is one of the worst books ever, for me, from my point of view. Because it starts with the idea that out of Adam’s rib, this woman was created, and [people will] believe it cause they’re stupid enough,” Cox said.
Brian Cox’s Beliefs
Cox is reportedly an atheist who has negative views of not just the Bible and Christianity, but other religions as well.
“Human beings are so f—d, basically… because they’re so stupid,” Cox said. In his view, religion takes advantage of human stupidity to sell people useful false stories.
Religious Horror
In the interview, Cox describes how religion has led us “led us into all kinds of horror.”
The horror Cox references are ongoing conflicts in the world and past atrocities. “The same things are being repeated again and again in belief systems which do not serve,” said Cox.
Holding Us Back
In Cox’s view, religious rules and systems hold humanity back from each other and inhibit progress in society. A common anti-religious view shared among some atheists is that religion restricts the ability of people to question narratives and discover more about the world.
“Religion does hold us back because it’s belief systems which are outside ourselves,” Cox said.
Patriarchal Control
Another criticism put forward by Cox is that religious control goes hand-in-hand with patriarchal control. Religion as he sees it fights against a more natural and better society.
“[Religious beliefs] are not dealing with who we are. We’re dealing with, ‘Oh if God says this and God does that,’ and you go, ‘Well what is God?’ We’ve created that idea of God, and we’ve created it as a control issue, and it’s also a patriarchal issue,” said Cox.
Striving for Matriarchy
Cox takes this idea a step further, insisting that society needs to make a move towards matriarchy or a more woman-dominated society.
“We have to go more towards a matriarchy because the mothering thing is the thing which is the real conditioning of our lives,” Cox said. “Our fathers don’t condition us ‘cause they’re too bloody selfish, but our mothers have to because they have an umbilical [cord].”
Honoring Women
Cox broke down what he saw as propaganda in some religions that are designed to keep women restricted in society.
“We have to honor [women], and we have to give them their place and we’re resistant to that because it’s Adam and Eve. I mean, the propaganda goes right way back,” said Cox.
Acknowledging Religious Benefits
While Cox acknowledges that some people might need religion for the benefits it provides, he also thinks that religion doesn’t need to lie to people to have the same effect.
“They need it, but they don’t need to be told lies,” Cox said. “They need some kind of truth, and that is not the truth … It’s a mythology.”
America is Losing Religious Tradition
People in America are quickly becoming less religious over time and increasingly report religion is less important to their lives.
Gallup data has shown that now 74% of Americans feel that religion is losing influence in American life, compared to that number being 55% just 10 years ago.
Shrinking Religious Influence
A report from the Public Religion Research Institute (PPRI) last year found that only 16% of American survey respondents said that religion is the most important thing in their life. This number is down 20% from the previous decade.
Despite Cox’s worries about stifling religious control in society, it seems like such strict religious thought is going away on its own.
Atheism in America
Although the number of people who are more actively religious is quickly shrinking, these people are not necessarily becoming anti-religious style atheists like Cox.
In February, Pew Research reported that only 4% of US adults identify as atheists, a number which has only risen one percent compared to 2014. Instead, many Americans are engaging with religion and spirituality in a more casual way, with some groups flocking towards decentralized faith practices like astrology and mixing different religious ideas together.
