I have nothing against religion. As a child I went to church every Sunday morning and Wednesday night. I went to vacation bible school every summer. I memorized songs, bible verses, and prayed religiously. (pun intended) I’ve attended Baptist, Catholic, LDS, and non-denomination churches. I have read about Buddhism, Muslim, Taoism, Islam, and Satanism. All of them actually have similar aspects. I have yet to find one organized religion that doesn’t have a level of hypocrisy.
All religions believe that they are the true religion. They are quick to sell you on why everyone else is wrong. They all have a set of rules that must be followed. Following these rules is usually not easy and requires a certain level of sacrifice. Nothing can be proven. They center around belief and faith. There is no guaranteed formula to reach the desired result. Sometimes bad things happen even if you do everything right. And good things happen to bad people. Many devoutly religious people are unhappy. Many people without religion are happy. Now there is no arguing with someone who believes. Despite their own observations, thoughts, or feelings, they will believe.
I wanted to figure out how and why people have such blind faith. I have asked each person that I have met how they knew or why they believed. I received very similar answers. Either they grew up with religion as and integral part of their upbringing or were expected to believe that way by their family or social culture. Others faced a specific event in their lives that they started searching for something. They had a psychological need that was unmet that could be filled with religion or it provided purpose to their life. I have yet to meet a person that was happy and healthy and had a revelation that their brand of religion was true. This includes accounts from religious texts. Is religion a psychological coping mechanism so we don’t have to be accountable to and for ourselves?
I can understand the need to have a set of rules or guidelines to follow. It helps you stay on track. This can be proven when I try to eat healthy. If I just wing it, I quickly lose my sense of commitment. If I have a set of rules, I am more likely to be successful. If we are to follow this set of rules that dictate how we should live our lives, where did these rules come from? Unfortunately, they were all written by people. These people say that these rules come from a higher being. Even if I believe that they were acting as a medium with a divine entity, how do I know the true intentions of these beings? Why doesn’t a divine being visit anyone now? There is no proof. We are just expected to take it on faith.
I can understand the need to belong to a group. We are all social beings in some way. Identifying with a group gives you a sense of belonging. This perpetuates the desire to follow the set of rules given by religions organizations. You follow the rules and people want to associate with you and you get rewarded by the group through promotion of accolades. This works in other organizations as well. Why do you think gangs are prevalent? Religions offer social activities that entrench the members in the beliefs and also separate them from non-members. This creates an us-against-them mentality. Members only want to be around other members because they are their support system, pseudo family, and the only ones that understand their beliefs.
Creating an us-against-them mentality helps keep members stitched in. It increases membership because members put pressure on non-members to join. It also creates distain for those who have differing views. Since the beginning of organized religion, there have been wars fought in their name. This is the most important aspect that makes it difficult for me to believe. It is the largest level of hypocrisy that most individuals choose to ignore in order to have something to believe in.
Every individual that I have met that follows organized religion are hypocrites on some level. Either they drink, smoke, curse, or commit adultery, and then confess their sins on Sunday. Most often this creates an internal conflict that leads to an internal misery. This misery or internal conflict is projected onto others. It either leads individuals to overcompensate through servitude or becoming highly judgmental of others to feel better about their own short comings. This is the paradigm that I struggle with the most. The idea of picking and choosing which parts of the religion to follow and which parts to ignore when its convenient. If an individual truly believes, then they must follow all the rules or at least strive to meet the values or intent of the religion. If this isn’t the goal then how can they claim to be devout? Or are these individuals lying to themselves? Does religion serve a purpose for these individuals but maybe its not what they think? Is religion a way to meet psychological needs and that is why individuals find different types of religions based on their own psychological deficiencies?
Even individuals who aren’t religious find their own rituals to practice. This can be seen in athletes, overeaters, scrap bookers, etc. They practice their hobby/behaviors religiously. The practice of doing something or hyper focusing on a practice or outcome becomes a religious habit. These individuals believe that an outcome will make them happy or feel accomplished. When someone feels depressed or lonely, we suggest they get a hobby. This focus on a hobby or the belief that it will make use feel better allows us to create a self-fulfilling prophecy. Does this belief in practicing rituals, no matter if they are religious or not, really create the outcome or are we just tricking ourselves? Is it psychological? Do we create our own destinies or is there something greater?
Path of Totality 