Adventures in Religion
An interesting discussion is happening over on A Blog About Nowt. *(asterisk) encourages the question whether religion is worth it, or if it is simply a large boogeyman used to excuse and justify human rights abuse.
As an ex-Catholic I have witnessed how religion is used to control and manipulate people. It's the easiest way to do it en masse. And if you are able to make people feel really bad about themselves just so that you can use it against them and get them to do what you want them to, then that is pure evil. Many religions claim to promote love and tolerance, yet many of the adherents do not live this way at all. In fact, wars are waged in the name of religion.
What organised religion does is not that much different from an abusive partner:
1. Self esteem is broken down and dependency on the abuser is enforced
2. The victim is isolated from other people and told that certain individuals are bad influences or wrong for them
3. A set of rules needs to be followed. If they are not, consequences are dire
4. Complete unquestioning devotion is the only behaviour tolerated. Anything else will result in dire consequences
5. Any behaviour that deviates from the rules and views of the abuser will not be tolerated and will result in severe punishment
Does that mean that all religion needs to be outlawed? No. I believe our freedom to choose to practice whatever Faith we want is a fundamental human right. Enforcing that faith on someone else, however, amounts to abuse.
I practice Nichiren Buddhism. Yes, I see it as a religion. Yes, I devote myself to chanting twice a day and living my practice as best I can. It is a Faith based on respect, tolerance and compassion. Is it the only Faith that works? Do I need to enforce it on anyone else? No. I have no right to do that. For me, freedom is something that is very important. What I do not respect is people blowing themselves up or waging war or committing violent and depraved acts in the name of religion. Because I don't like hypocrites.
What are your thoughts?
Oh no... I came here to get away from my blog!
ReplyDeleteI don't really think there's any sort of solution to this "problem", radical or otherwise. Organized religion pisses me off, and religion (as opposed to philosophies) in general frustrates me due to its lack of credibility. And yet so many people buy into it...
If I were to devote myself to any "religion", it would be Buddhism, because I just can't believe in a god.
* - I was going to post about our weekend and the lesbian movie we watched, but I had to go and get on my soap box.
ReplyDeleteI like Buddhism because it really emphasises how WE are responsible for our own lives, not some bearded old white dude up in the clouds.
A lot of people don't believe in astrology or feng shui but there are those that do. We believe in reincarnation. Not everyone does. I adopt a live and let live philosophy and I try to be deeply respectful of all life. (With the exception of rapists, wife beaters, pedophiles murderers and telemarketers. Not very Buddhist.) Which is really a humanistic approach at the end of the day.
I found it interesting that you mentioned an abusive partner because as you were describing religion in your second paragraph, the first thing I thought of was abusive parents.
ReplyDeleteI too am not a follower of organized religion. I think of religion as a crutch for many people who can't take responsibility for their own lives and feel it must be predestined or some such thing. Note however, that this in relation to Christianity, Islam, Judaism, etc. Religions without a central all powerful being, in my opinion, tend to be more open, accepting and less controlling of their "members" or followers.
The point about war and religion is an important one. More people have died in the name of one god or another than for any other reason in history. Its interesting to note that the religions involved are typically Christianity, Islam, Judaism, etc. One of the common threads in all of those? Tolerance, compassion, and forgiveness. Too bad they don't follow their own teachings most of the time...