Religion is Holding Humanity Back
By: Hera Tihk
I had always thought this country was set up on some basic but powerful concepts. One of these, and one I feel is more important now more than ever, is that we as a people will be free from the Government participating in, endorsing, or restricting, any religion whatsoever. The reasoning behind this idea is simple. Throughout history, when religion and government combine, no good is done, in fact it usually ends up in the people believing that God supports their Government, and no other. This leads to the belief that they can do no wrong, because after all God is on their side. This mindset inevitably leads to the killing of people whose opinions are not alike, all in the name of God. This is the most ridiculous thing I can think of, and yet it’s a re-occurring theme in history, and unfortunately going on right here, right now.
I find it appalling that our President has outright said, God told him to go to war, and that he, as well as millions of other Americans believe that God is on our side in the War on Terror. I find that appalling because that is exactly the way the Islamic Extremists think. I believe this way of thinking goes against the very concept of the separation of Church and State. It is quite clear that whenever the two mix, death and suffering happen, no matter what religion, what god, it always seems to end in either side believe that his god is the “real” one, and the other is the “fake” one, therefore they need to kill the other for not believing. I believe a person might come to this conclusion because they have to believe they are right, otherwise their core beliefs are wrong. This they will never admit, because it means admitting that their “afterlife” is no longer real.
This ideal is very powerful, and the thought of losing their idea of the “afterlife” is so scary, instead of admitting they are wrong, they go to extreme lengths to enforce that their idea is absolutely true. This results in the belief of ideas in contrary to actual facts, and ending in someone being perfectly capable of taking another’s life in order to somehow prove that their ideals are true. It’s just plain absurd.
This is why I truly believe that Religion in general is holding back Humanity. I see religious people deny scientific fact, simply because they feel that God trumps all, and they cannot do anything that they feel is against the will of God. This form of ignorance is what is holding Humanity back, it’s the same mind set that cause some people to believe that the Earth is flat, or the center of the Universe. These people also believe that God sent Global Warming to punish us, or that using stem cells are somehow akin to playing god. These people are suppose to be the upstanding moral citizens of our Country, yet they are willing to let me, and my children die, because they think that their god sent Global Warming to punish us, or that God told them to go start a war and kill thousands, and send thousands to die in a foreign land.
There has to be a great sweeping change in the various religions of the world, specifically the way their dogma is applied to real life, and the interference of “religious truths” with actual truths. This, I really don’t see happening, at least in a great sweeping fashion, and if it does, then I can only hope it leads to what I would love to see happen; religion being replaced by rational thought. There is no way humanity makes it much longer if the Religions of the world don’t take a back seat to education and rational thought. As long as religion remains the force it is, and people believe they have no choice in the matter, or that the choice may affect their eternal happiness, then they will be willing to kill for their beliefs, and we the rest of the world will forever pay for their ignorance.
In order to change religion, we must understand religion, where it comes from, and understand that the stories in our religions are not solid facts, but colorful stories, written to inform the general public of the early centuries and before. We must understand that these people were not educated like us. In those times there were not schools, you would be lucky to find a hand full of people in the village that knew how to read, and even fewer that could both read and write. These people were tradesmen and apprentice. They learned specific skills to a trade and not much more. These people were also limited on travel, and it would be understandable if they might never have seen a Rhino or something from Egypt or Africa, if they were living in the Middle East. Most people walked, horses and the like were expensive, and cost money for upkeep. These people did not have the ability to understand some complex metaphysical mumbo jumbo, but might understand a story about a sheep herder, or a carpenter’s son. They may be able to understand that they ought not to do something, because it offends God, but not the idea that it may be harmful to them for reasons unseen like a disease.
It should be realized that the texts each religion holds dear, was not meant for word for word interpretation, but was meant to instill certain ideals and morals, as well as guidelines for society, and
physical health. It was also used as a tool for controlling a large group of people. It seems to have
worked great for Moses and the exodus from Egypt. The Catholics used religion to rule the world for
a very long time, a point in history we refer to as the Dark Ages. The Taliban is using it to send suicide
bombers to their deaths in the name of Allah, and to a certain extent George Bush is doing the same
with the Christians of America. Is it not time that we step forward from this, and look to reason, to
science, which is nothing more that a set of rules based on reason and observed fact. Let’s usher in
the Age of Reason, and stop fighting over outdated concepts.