Risks of Religion

Published: Fri, 05/22/20

Lets talk about religion and how dangerous it is. Last week I wrote about conspiracy theories and highlighted their potential dangers too. In a way religion is quite similar. If you know me you might be aware that I have been a life long member of the Methodist church. I am pretty sure that the past ten weeks is by far the longest period I have ever gone without attending worship on a Sunday morning. I should also have preached three times myself since the 22nd of March when the first service was canceled.

I have also been known to follow what are commonly called conspiracy theories and very interesting many of them are too. The problem is not the search for alternative answers to the official narrative, or that religions offer to connect us with the higher forces in the Universe. The search for knowledge and a desire for spiritual connection are essential for human development. The problem is our tendency to get comfortable at a particular level, find an echo chamber where we hear what we like to hear, and stay stuck there. When Karl Marx called religion, ‘the opium of the people’ he was making a valid point in that religion may stop people thinking for themselves and look to priests for authority. Those same priests may not be thinking much either. The problem is that it is easy to point to an organization you are not part of, or have rejected, and criticise it as an opium pushing, mind controlling cult. The real issue is that
religion is actually just a set of principles which is constantly manifesting in the minds of people who may then go on to inflict their beliefs on others. Marx may have had some valid criticisms of the 19th century church but Marxism as applied in Soviet Russia was used to create a way of life which brutally applied the key principles of religion. It could certainly be argued that Marxist Communism is in fact a religion based on a dogmatically atheistic rather than a theistic view of the universe.

The three principles of religion can be summed up as:

1. Belief in something, or perhaps someone, which is promoted and shared within a group.

2. Practices and rituals which adherents of this belief system are supposed to demonstrate in their lives.

3. Sanctions for apostasy (renunciation of a religious belief or affiliation), heresy (espousing a belief or doctrine incompatible with the ‘official’ doctrine), or blasphemy (showing contempt or ridicule of the beliefs and doctrines of a religion.)

Traditionally we associate religion with a belief in a god and how believers think about this god and what his expectations might be for his followers, or indeed, all of mankind. The Spanish Inquisition (the one no one expects, if you remember) is just a well known example of enforcement of sanctions. The treatment of ‘counter revolutionaries’ in Soviet Russia or Mao’s ‘reeducation camps’ in Red China served a very similar purpose.

I would suggest that the intention of a secular and pluralistic society, as we might hope to find in a modern western country, is to permit freedom of belief, allow such rituals and practices as do not cause harm to others, and stringent control of the sanctions. Eg, burning heretics at the stake or stoning blasphemers to death is not supposed to happen. In other parts of the world, for example Pakistan, religious sanctions are rigorously enforced by the state and violent actions by individuals and groups against apostates frequently condoned.

The principles of religion are a powerful weapon of control by those who understand them. This weapon works particularly well on those who are not consciously aware of these principles and how they can manifest in many different forms. My particular concern at present is the widespread belief in the Corona Virus, the rituals such as ‘social distancing’ which we are expected to observe, and the police patrolling parks and beaches to ensure that these rituals are being observed with threats of fines and other sanctions for those who do not comply. The police also receive complaints from members of the public who are outraged at those who are not practising in accordance with official doctrine, sorry, guidelines. Heretics and blasphemers who use platforms such as Youtube to post information which contradicts the official doctrines find themselves banned and their content deleted.

This whole Corona Virus business is looking very much like a new religion to me. Or, to put it another way, whoever is managing this episode understands the principles of religion and how to use them very effectively. But isn’t the advice and measures based on science? I don’t know, I could argue that Theology is a science too, it has an ology in the word so why not? I am not medically or scientifically qualified and I can’t see any consistency in the opinions of those who are. My specialist interests are religion and spirituality, combat arts and conflict management, and applying fundamental principles to real life problems. If you care about these things I do have a degree in Religious studies as well as qualifications as a Lay Preacher. Twenty eight years of working with Stav has enabled me to recognise fundamental principles at work in many situations.

In each case the primary challenge in making sense of the world is to drill down through the bullshit until you find the fundamental principles which are at work. Being human we would rather not do the hard work of really drilling down to bedrock. It is easier to accept a belief we have not really thought about or add to the bullshit with a half baked theory of our own. Even if we get involved in discussion we need to remember that debating bullshit is like wrestling a pig. You both get covered in crap and the pig enjoys it.

So, how do you deal with religion? The only way is to recognise that the principles of religion are a powerful and time proven system for manipulation of your body, mind, and soul on a very deep level. There is only one way to deal with a manipulator and that is to decide that you will not believe anything they tell you about themselves, or anything they tell you about you. In fact if a manipulator tells you it is raining go outside and see if you get wet, if they tell you it is Tuesday, check the calendar. Preferably have as little to do with them as possible.

Is there is a purpose to what is happening to our world right now? All I can hope is that this time is an opportunity to wake up to how we are manipulated using the principles of religion. Once you know you are being manipulated stop collaborating with it, it is simply the real life version of choosing the blue pill or the red pill.

regards

Graham

PS I wrote the piece below with the intention of sharing it on social media. If you have time to read it let me know what you think.




Dear Covid 19 true believer, (CV19TB)

What do I mean by ‘true believer’? I mean that Covid 19 has become your religion in the sense that you believe that the virus is a real thing as the WHO describes it. You believe that there are certain rituals and practices which must be observed to show that you take Covid 19 seriously. You also believe that heretics and non-believers who are getting a bit impatient with living the Covid 19 life are going to bring down the wrath of the disease on all of us if they don’t toe the line. You get particularly angry with blasphemers who are not convinced by your scripture and priests. You call them statistics and scientists, but that is not how a Covid 19 non-believer (CV19NB) sees them, sorry, just the way it is. Worse still is that you probably have the zeal of the new convert, since all CV 19 TBs are new converts by definition.

So, how does an outsider see your new religion? You have a belief in the evil virus. You observe rules, rituals and practices which are supposed to placate the virus, and make it less likely to harm you. The government is also doing its best to enforce said rules, rituals, and practices and you no doubt approve.

As a true believer you have had about 10 weeks now of media encouragement and government support for your new religion and I am sure you are feeling good about it. Religions do make true believers feel good, that is why they are quite popular. The problem we have now though is that the country (the whole world actually, but lets keep this focused) needs to move forward. As a CV19TB you probably want things to carry on just as they are. You tell yourself, and anyone who is getting a bit impatient with lock down, that it will all be okay when we have a vaccine. I am sure the prospect of the jab brings you great comfort since it means that salvation is at hand.

What you might have forgotten is that we live in a secular society. What does that mean? Put simply, you have the right to practice your religion and expect a reasonable degree of toleration and respect. However, you do not have the right to force your rules, rituals, and practices onto anyone else. Jews and Muslims have the right not to each pork. The same groups have no right to stop anyone else from eating whatever they like.

So, CV19TB, how are you going to live alongside Covid 19 non-believers (CV19NBs)? You may not have even realised that such people existed. I assure you they do and they would like to be treated like any other non-believer in a secular society. No one has to explain why they do or do not believe in CV19, anymore than they should have to explain why they are, or are not, a Muslim, Buddhist, Christian or Druid. It is their private business either way, the only issue is; how CV19TBs and CV19NBs are going to get along in our secular, multicultural, multi-faith, tolerant and inclusive society? You do believe in tolerance and freedom of choice don’t you?

The only way forward is for the CV19NBs to be allowed to get on with their lives as they see fit. I know that as a true believer you may see it as your duty to warn against provoking the wrath of the virus. You will be afraid that CV19 will wreak death and destruction as a just punishment for such presumption. Non-believers do appreciate your concern but please keep it to yourself. The non-believers are making a conscious choice and are willing to take their chances. Most non-believers knew that they were not going to live for ever anyway and they would rather live the life they do have to the full.

So, if the true believers are going to allow the non-believers to take their chances with the wrath of Covid 19, what will the CV19NBs do in return? The polite thing to do is to return the compliment. If CV19TBs would just wear something to indicate their dedication to CV19, one of those pretty masks should do the trick, then the CV19NBs will be happy to respect your self imposed rules, rituals and practices. Obviously CV19TBs will not be attending any social, sporting or cultural gatherings of any kind and CT19NBs won’t be inviting you anyway, it would be cruel to put temptation in your way.

CV19NBs will also stay away from your home and will willingly give you your full two meters of social distancing at all times. In fact the distancing will work both ways, I don’t think gullibility is physically contagious but you can’t be too careful.

So, at last a way forward. Not back to normality as a new religion has to be accommodated in our secular society, but with a bit of mutual respect and tolerance we should be able to rub along.

Yours in healthy skepticism

A CV19NB