Any
discussion of religion invites misunderstanding and conflict. No discussion of
religion will make sense until the importance of group identity is understood.
Humans may sometimes look like individuals, but the truth is that all humans are
members of local groups that determine what they know, how they communicate and
how they treat other humans. Each local group develops stories, beliefs and
rules. Collections of local groups with special beliefs into larger
organizations are often described as “religion.” Members of local groups are
described as “religious” if they recite group slogans, attend meetings and
celebrations.
"Religions" often claim special privileges for their members so that the term “religious” is used to claim advantages and superior moral authority where none actually exists. The idea of large multinational organizations called “religions” is misleading. At best, the idea of religion is a fuzzy category that implies more coherence than can be found in the real world. Religion is a convenient fiction.
There are several problems with strict religious orthodoxy. The first problem is that humans must learn to live in a complex world that includes people of diverse beliefs and different affiliations. The challenge is to become adapted to a larger society while maintaining loyalty to a local group. Often religious groups claim special privileges and moral superiority. While these claims are spurious, the idea that religious beliefs can be equated with superior morals is stubbornly held and must be refuted. Inside a religious container, you are consumed by the specific language and beliefs of the religion, its symbols, assumptions and claims.
There is a voluminous literature that describes, explains and advocates affiliation with one or other of the religions. In the worst case, if you live inside a theological construct you are committed to fixed beliefs that persist beyond any reasonable currency, resist revision and review. To others who live outside your container, your beliefs are false. Membership in a religious organization limits freedom and expression of thought and often disables friendly, intelligent interaction with other groups. Strict religious orthodoxies in many countries retain political control and leave little or no room for personal freedom, nor democracy. Orthodoxy also creates belligerence. The penalty for opposing strict religious authority is death.
For idealists who assumed that progress toward free, rational and secular societies would be a natural evolution, the re-emergence of belligerent Christianity in the US and belligerent Islam in many parts of the world has been alarming.
Lilla stated: “For more than two centuries, from the American and French Revolutions to the collapse of Soviet Communism, world politics revolved around eminently political problems. War and revolution, class and social justice, race and national identity — these were the questions that divided us. Today, we have progressed to the point where our problems again resemble those of the 16th century, as we find ourselves entangled in conflicts over competing revelations, dogmatic purity and divine duty. We are disturbed and confused. Though we have our own fundamentalists (in the USA), we find it incomprehensible that theological ideas still stir up messianic passions, leaving societies in ruin. We had assumed this was no longer possible, that human beings had learned to separate religious questions from political ones, that fanaticism was dead. We were wrong…Even the most stable and successful democracies, with the most high-minded and civilized believers, have proved vulnerable to political messianism and its theological justification. "
You may enjoy social benefits when the family belongs to a religious organization affiliation with other members, regular meetings, picnics, rituals and assistance coping with three key events of a human life- birth, marriage and death. Religious affiliation in many countries is essential to obtain social status and economic privileges. However, the social and political benefits of belonging to a religious organization override any inclination to self-determination and freedom.
From Human Nature by Stephen Gislason
(Lilla, M. The Politics of God. NYT August 19, 2007 (adapted from his book) The Stillborn God: Religion, Politics and the Modern West.)
"Religions" often claim special privileges for their members so that the term “religious” is used to claim advantages and superior moral authority where none actually exists. The idea of large multinational organizations called “religions” is misleading. At best, the idea of religion is a fuzzy category that implies more coherence than can be found in the real world. Religion is a convenient fiction.
There are several problems with strict religious orthodoxy. The first problem is that humans must learn to live in a complex world that includes people of diverse beliefs and different affiliations. The challenge is to become adapted to a larger society while maintaining loyalty to a local group. Often religious groups claim special privileges and moral superiority. While these claims are spurious, the idea that religious beliefs can be equated with superior morals is stubbornly held and must be refuted. Inside a religious container, you are consumed by the specific language and beliefs of the religion, its symbols, assumptions and claims.
There is a voluminous literature that describes, explains and advocates affiliation with one or other of the religions. In the worst case, if you live inside a theological construct you are committed to fixed beliefs that persist beyond any reasonable currency, resist revision and review. To others who live outside your container, your beliefs are false. Membership in a religious organization limits freedom and expression of thought and often disables friendly, intelligent interaction with other groups. Strict religious orthodoxies in many countries retain political control and leave little or no room for personal freedom, nor democracy. Orthodoxy also creates belligerence. The penalty for opposing strict religious authority is death.
For idealists who assumed that progress toward free, rational and secular societies would be a natural evolution, the re-emergence of belligerent Christianity in the US and belligerent Islam in many parts of the world has been alarming.
Lilla stated: “For more than two centuries, from the American and French Revolutions to the collapse of Soviet Communism, world politics revolved around eminently political problems. War and revolution, class and social justice, race and national identity — these were the questions that divided us. Today, we have progressed to the point where our problems again resemble those of the 16th century, as we find ourselves entangled in conflicts over competing revelations, dogmatic purity and divine duty. We are disturbed and confused. Though we have our own fundamentalists (in the USA), we find it incomprehensible that theological ideas still stir up messianic passions, leaving societies in ruin. We had assumed this was no longer possible, that human beings had learned to separate religious questions from political ones, that fanaticism was dead. We were wrong…Even the most stable and successful democracies, with the most high-minded and civilized believers, have proved vulnerable to political messianism and its theological justification. "
You may enjoy social benefits when the family belongs to a religious organization affiliation with other members, regular meetings, picnics, rituals and assistance coping with three key events of a human life- birth, marriage and death. Religious affiliation in many countries is essential to obtain social status and economic privileges. However, the social and political benefits of belonging to a religious organization override any inclination to self-determination and freedom.
From Human Nature by Stephen Gislason
(Lilla, M. The Politics of God. NYT August 19, 2007 (adapted from his book) The Stillborn God: Religion, Politics and the Modern West.)