Baskets, Bonnets, Bunnies and Egg-Cellent Blogs

Someone once asked me: “What did you give up for lent?”

I responded: “Catholicism.” 

This was not a censure of a specific organized religion; it was a condemnation of them all!

It also transpired when I was in high school. I had reached the end of wit; and vowed to never return. 

Indoctrinated into a Chrisitan household did not cause infirmity; it merely fatigued my sense of fairness, while it fed my aversion to assembling in the name of safety. A net had been cast over my ability to discern the life of Christ, who seemed like a respectable chap, and what appeared to be an arrogance of opulence.

I was dismayed by the incessant requests for suspended disbelief, aggressive absolutism, and consistency in encountering bottomless coffers.

It was not merely my Roman fathers of apostolic alignment who were rustling my frock; it was all these institutions of insufficiencies being less involved with their altruistic output, and more concerned about their 501(c)(3) tax exemptions.     

So why did this opiate commence? Theories are torrential.

Birth: They are born into it, and thus are persuaded to believe and obey at a very young age by their parents, extended family, and surrounding communities. Over time, a high birth rate usually becomes the primary source of any global religion’s adherents.

Community: Animals survive and thrive in packs or tribes. Humans are no different. As a “tribe” we can fight off predators, distribute work, and make advancements. Religions often provide the social and moral framework for a populace to thrive.

Identity: Religions provide identity to their members.

Meaning and Purpose: People do better when their lives have a sense of meaning. Religions provide a clear sense of purpose.

Spirituality and Inspiration: Life can be arduous, painful, and tedious.  Religion can excel at making people feel inspired and uplifted through music, sermons, or service projects. It also can help people feel hopeful, unconditionally loved, and accepted, instead of rejected.

Ethics: Religions provide a moral structure and a set of life lessons that can help to simplify and guide choices.

Fear/Answers/Explanations: Life can be uncertain, terrifying, and violent.  These realities can lead humans to feel insecure about the present and future. Historically, religions have stepped up to provide explanations for the unknown.

Simplification/Order/Security: Freedom can become complex and even paralyzing. Religion can help simplify life’s decisions by telling you what to think, how to behave, and by furnishing order and structure. This can create a feeling of security.

Absolution: In Christianity, this is a pronouncement of remission, (forgiveness), of your sins to the penitent.

Certainty, and the Belief of Being Chosen: It must be wonderful to experience a removal of cognitive dissonance, and believe you are one of God’s “chosen” children.

Death: We all fear death – our own and that of our loved ones. Religions usually assuage this existential fear by promising their members a glorious afterlife with their beloved family and friends.

The preceding was not an agnostic atheist sermonizing or demonizing the evils of prophetic profiteering, it was a humanist merely sharing a point of view. Begrudging those who find solace in coordinated convictions is ignorant and petty. Here’s to their resilience.

For now, I will continue searching for my beautiful reward. 

Did You Know? Organized religion, marked by structured practices and institutionalization, is generally believed to have emerged during the Neolithic Revolution around 11,000 years ago. This period, coinciding with the shift towards agriculture, led to population growth and the formation of larger settlements, necessitating more formalized systems of belief and governance. The earliest evidence of religious ideas is found in artifacts from the Upper Paleolithic period (50,000–13,000 BCE), but organized religion with established structures and institutions is more closely linked to the Neolithic period.