We Have To Respect Their “Deeply Held Religious Beliefs”.
That’s what we’re always told when people use “deeply held religious beliefs” to excuse all manner of attitudes and behavior including anti-gay legislation and refusing reproductive health care to women. So obviously we can’t refuse to respect this, as it was done in the name of the villagers’ “deeply held religious beliefs”.
An infant boy was married off to his neighbors’ dog in eastern India by villagers, who said it will stop the groom from being killed by wild animals, officials and witnesses said on Wednesday.
Around 150 tribespeople performed the ritual recently in a hamlet in the state of Orissa’s Jajpur district after the boy, who is under two years old, grew a tooth on his upper gum.
The Munda tribe see such a growth in young children as a bad omen and believe it makes them prone to attacks by tigers and other animals. The tribal god will bless the child and ward off evil spirits after the marriage.
“We performed the marriage because it will overcome any curse that might fall on the child as well on us,” the boy’s father, Sanarumala Munda, was quoted as saying by a local newspaper.
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The dog belongs to the groom’s neighbors and was set free to roam around the area after the ceremony. No dowry was exchanged, the witness said, and the boy will still be able to marry a human bride in the future without filing for divorce.
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Marrying off a two year old to a dog (neither party can consent, mind you) because he grew a tooth? Hey, it can’t be wrong–it was done in the name of religion.
But I thought it was same-sex marriage, and the alleged destruction of religion in society, that was going to cause people to marry their animals. I’m so confused now.
