Yea, definitions! Sorry,
Nin, but this group likes to dissect and define everything before getting around to responding to your original point. Just the way we are
.
I was taught a wonderful definition of religion when I was 12 years old. It is:
what we do because of what we believe.
This is personal
religion, as distinct from institutionalized religion. In other words...what actions do we take that are inspired by our own beliefs? We all do stuff for that reason, and it may never include "going to church on Sunday" or variations thereof.
What we believe is our faith. Do we believe in God? Do we not? If so, what kind of God is he? What is our relationship to the divine? What meaning does this question even have? What makes an action moral? What is important in life? Etc, etc, etc. But we can sit at home and think and believe these things, and no one would ever know.
What we
do about our faith (whether it makes sense, is good or bad) is religion. Whether it is refusing to wear a strapless dress or praying in the morning or having our kids baptized or not eating pork or donating our old clothes to Goodwill or not buying stuff made in sweatshops...or yes, setting off a bomb at an abortion clinic or embassy. When our beliefs translate into action, that's religion -
our religion.
Before I turn a spotlight on humanity, I like to at least take a peak at my own life. Usually, I do so briefly and silently (I know, shocking - I can be silent!), but this time I think I have to be a bit more forthright. In my own life, is religion a good thing or a bad thing? The actions inspired by my beliefs...do they help me? Do they help others? Without getting into details, the good outweighs the bad. But it's not a simple scale to create. What pulls me away from the bad? What drives me to it? What is the strongest motivation for me to be selfless and good? In other words...my life isn't static. I cannot erase religion from it. But how are my actions being shaped by my beliefs, and how much denial goes into this? Tough questions!
If I cannot come up with pat answers for
me (whose life, thoughts, beliefs and actions I know intimately), I will probably have trouble coming up with a good, general answer for the world. Religion, in and of itself, cannot be labelled "good" or "bad." Erasing religion is impossible - people will always act on their beliefs, whether they are good: human freedom, respect for everyone's dignity, etc...or bad: "we are better than you," and "I deserve ***"
As far as religious institutions go, there are good and bad ones, and most of them have a checkered history. But yes, members of the
same church helped perpetrate the Holocaust...and died in it. History will always have its Osama bin Ladins and High Inquisitors. Excusing such people would be absurd...and so would equating them with every person who has ever been part of organized religion.
As much as I find anarchy attractive (everybody leave me alone!), I think that the entire purpose of living in a society governed by laws is that 'excesses' brought on by power and money being concentrated can be...held in check. Not corrected, because people will always be clever and devious. But held in check. But that does not answer the question of how you can
inspire people to be good, loving, tolerant people.
The world's problems do not have just one answer. Getting rid of organized religion is not going to have any impact on the homicide-a-day in my city. That is directly tied to the thriving drug trade - which happily ignores all the local places of worship (mostly storefront churches). But to be less flippant...it wouldn't solve the problems in the Middle East, either. Obviously, religion has a huge role there...but it isn't just about religion. Give everyone amnesia so they don't remember that they are Muslim or Jewish or whatever the Kurds are....and that might help, but it isn't going to
change the situation of who gets what land (and what water). Former Yugoslavia can find plenty of things to hate each other for in addition to religion.
And yes, the Europeans never would have gone on Crusade if it hadn't been preached and endorsed by the Church - the main (though hardly only) motivation was religious. But the Reconquista would have happened anyway. And that is not all the Church did in its long history in Europe...they preserved Roman law (well, sorta) and many other things that led to modern European civilization. The good and the bad are hopelessly intertwined.....
Nin, I know your experience of religious people hasn't been positive. But keep in mind that the ones you meet online are sharing what they believe...what they do about it is something different. That is easier (or more honest) to see in personal aquaintances.
