RELIGION: GOOD OR BAD?
"I can't do that" or "No, I don't eat that!" are just two of a host of phrases heard everyday by people of different races, languages and religions all around the globe. When asked the question: "Why?" the famous answer is this: "It's against my religion." Religion, as defined by the Chambers School Dictionary, is ‘the belief in, or worship of, a god'. However, for some the grasps of religion dig way deeper than mere formal and ritualistic worship. To some persons, religion is what motivates them, thinks for them and even pushes them toward certain abnormal actions and practices. In these persons daily life, all their actions are governed by the question "Does this reflect well on my religion?' or "Would my religion approve of this?"
There are more than 4200 religions in the world with the majority of the major ones being further divided into different groups. For instance, in the Christian religion, there are over 125 different denominations like the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Presbyterian, Pentecostal among much more. Even some denominations of different faiths have branched off and claimed to be Christian.
In all of those 4200 religions, there exist different practices that are adhered to by the members. Some are unique to one religion while a lot are shared among them. Some are normal and are welcomed even by strangers to the faith like the prohibition of fornication, murdering and lying while others warrant alarm like the practice of beating oneself for the day's sins with wire rods until signs of blood, using animal blood in rituals or starving oneself for a dangerous period of time. Yet, others are amusing to non-practitioners like the wearing of certain ‘special' underwear.
Ultimately, the question comes to mind "Would they have practiced those things if they weren't involved in the religion?"
What gives religion this high authority over persons? Why does it receive the strict adherence from its members that it silently demands? - A privilege that no secular human could receive. What is it about religion that propelled sane teachers in the Bible Belt to anoint their students with Holy Water during an Algebra class? What is it about religion that moved an upstanding pastor to butcher three dogs because they chewed his cross? What is it about religion that is destroying and dividing nations across the world?
How can religion on one hand preach that persons shouldn't murder and lie while in the same breath encourage and ‘anoint' soldiers who they claim are fighting a ‘righteous' war? How can religion preach that fornication is wrong and still sit back while their leaders molest young, innocent children? What is it about religion? Do its bad outweigh its good?
"Religion is an insult to human dignity. With or without it, you'd have good people doing good things and evil people doing bad things, but for good people to do bad things, it takes religion." This statement made by Steven Wienberg obviously doesn't project religion in a good light. Nowadays, religion is synonymous with hypocrisy, false prophets and teachers, dishonest gain and other unflattering, ungodly words. Would we be better off without religion? Should we ,then, abandon religion altogether?
No one knows. However , when asked the majority of persons agree that the possibility of having a Supreme Being and Him desiring organized worship during this period is too great and risky to just abandon. Some say that humans have an inborn desire to rely on and feel protected by an All Powerful Being. Whatever the case I'm sure that you'll agree with the Georgian poet who said "To each, his own."