Stop trying to comfort yourself by swallowing religious rubbish. Since society and religion ask us to tolerate many things we dont particularly like for the common good, the scientists interpret this finding as evidence of a particular kind of self-control. Seriously, if you have insomnia, try reading religious texts before bedtime. I think that religion was created by people and for people. It also explains why most religions call themselves way of life. Thats the kind of nonsense religion pushes on people. The values of liberal and open democracy appear to be losing ground worldwide to xenophobic ethno-nationalisms and radical religious ideologies. Meanwhile dopamine, a type of neurotransmitter, is involved in the experience of wanting. Youre a moron believer. It seems, therefore, that religions evolved to reinforce a sense of community cohesion, something thats extremely important to our wellbeing and survival. The more we collectively abandon all religion, the better off this planet will be. Over the course of this century, illiberal democracy has been growing. These enormous benefits mean not only that religion has enduring appeal, but that religious practices make you fit in the evolutionary sense and thus they tend to stick around. Karl Marx, for example, considered religion to be contrived by the powerful to keep the powerless effectively enslaved. Every king made his own laws. Thats why all religions espouse laws of life. Such people cannot be trusted because theyll violate their proclaimed values with the weakest of excuses. Many religious teachers (i.e. Explain why or why not. To understand the need we need to port ourselves 2000 years hence leaving behind our prejudices and beliefs. Religion thenalong with the belief in a moralizing Godwas a cultural adaptation to these challenges. Would you seriously consider this sort of structure a good cause worthy of your hard-earned cash? And that would be a very different world indeed. Like opiates, endorphins produce a sense of bliss bordering on ecstasy, calmness and warmth, relaxation and trust, while elevating pain thresholds. With 2.4 million monthly readers, thats a lot of people I could potentially enslave convert, not to mention how much I could fill the Church coffers by soliciting indulgences donations on their behalf. As such, we see only the things we need to see in order to get through ordinary life (or what ordinary life was for our hominid ancestors). Nobody really knows how many religions there are on the planet, but whatever the number, there are at least that many theories about why we have religion at all. For example, Christianity is largely based on pagan rituals. After two years of the pandemic, when our collective physical health has been prioritised, it is now time to focus on these benefits to our spiritual health. And you just can pick up anything you want and eat it. Its hard to fail when you have a loyal force of lifetime indentured servants who work cheaply and then yield their life savings to you when they die. The bill may read suggested donation, but its still a bill. Real compassion doesnt arise from believing in God, from practicing various rituals, or from studying the concept of karma. Youre smart enough to realize that earth is probably a lot older than 10,000 years and that pre-marital (or non-marital) sex is a lot of fun, but some B.S. Although the most popular religions are very old, L. Ron Hubbard proved the process can be replicated from scratch in modern times. In Hungary, a revanchist expansive nationalism is advocated by the ruling national conservatives (Fidesz) and far-right Jobbik party (claiming rights to protect large communities of ethnic Hungarians in nearby countries). Is there perhaps some essential element of the human condition that needs to believe in something without evidence? Religion is great. Freedom from resentment and pain can follow the decision to let go. Religion offers a reason to hate or love others, depending on one's purpose and interpretation of these biblical texts. Even religions cosmology and moral injunctions are highly open to interpretation, which is why universal religions, at least, are so adaptable over so many different peoples, places, and times. True compassion is a matter of conscious choice, and that requires the absence of force-backed rules and laws. If they didnt swallow the prevailing wisdom about gods and spiritual leaders and such, why should you? You may find it intimidating at first, but its quite refreshing once you get used to it. There we find that youth strongly support the governments call for restoring the national cohesion, lost with the fall of Mikls Horthys pro-fascist regime (1920-1944), and for rooting out cosmopolitan and globalist values (grotesquely caricatured in government-sponsored posters of the Jewish financier George Soros). "Nones" may be disinterested in organised religion, but that doesn't mean they are militantly atheist. Its very difficult, requiring mental exertion and self-control. She wrote her first short story at the age of six, about a lost dog who meets animal friends on his journey home. This is also why it is nonsense to say, as many political leaders and social commentators do, that this or that religion is fundamentally or in essence for peace or war, oppression or liberation. The _ga cookie, installed by Google Analytics, calculates visitor, session and campaign data and also keeps track of site usage for the site's analytics report. When you substitute religious teachings for truth, you mistake shadows for light sources. This effect seems to be especially strong in the context of rituals, as has been shown experimentally in religious services in the UK and Brazil. A highly conscious person would reject membership in such an organization as patently ridiculous. Surely theres safety in numbers. Youre unclean. If you value the ideal of unconditional love, you wont find it in the practice of religion. Unitarians don't have that finished version yet - but anyone joining us can be part of . Marx thus rejected religions role as a pacifier that promotes the common good and considers it rather as an opiate (Opium des Volkes) that inhibits the masses from freely exercising their reason, will, and productive ambitions and abilities. Does this mean we cant be friends anymore? Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. It will erode your self-trust by explaining why youre unable to successfully manage life on your own terms: You are unworthy. Have you ever wondered why religious teachings are invariably mysterious, confusing, and internally incongruent? Another way to think of self-control, perhaps the most familiar, is delayed gratificationresisting immediate temptation to wait for a greater reward later on. Believe stories about dead bodies coming back to life. But religions transcendent values and symbolic rituals blind people to exit strategies, no matter how immediately reasonable or rewarding, and whatever the stress or costs. Surprisingly, it was never picked up by any major publishers, but did spark her passion for books. Blessed are the merciful (if you catch us doing something wrong, let it go). Why do you think hotels put Bibles next to the bed? First, youll waste a lot of time filling your head with useless nonsense. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Next, you can expect to waste even more time on repetitive ritual and ceremony, such as attending mass, learning prayers, and practicing unproductive meditations. At least Wall Street is honest about its greed and lust. Sign up for a free trial here . You could hardly do worse. Then there are various rules, laws, and practices to learn. The innate desire to help others despite the cost is one of humankind's gifts. Why We Don't Need Religion One of the worst mistakes you can make in life is to attach your identity to any particular religion or philosophy, such as by saying I am a Christian or I am a Buddhist. This forces your mind into a fixed perspective, robbing you of spiritual depth perception and savagely curtailing your ability to perceive reality accurately. Free yourself from the mental baggage, stop looking to others for permission to live, and start thinking on your own. Surely youve outgrown your baby clothes by now. Sin-eating reminds us that, more than anything else, even the most staid of religions in this case, Anglicanism can be associated with surprisingly curious beliefs and rituals. By clicking Accept, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. Among those who were mentally depleted, the ones with religion on their minds persisted longer at the impossible tasksuggesting that the religious priming restored their cognitive powersand their patience in the process. The amount they drank was a proxy for self-discipline. Or "Why do we need religion?" I don't think there is an answer. Or are your current beliefs merely a product of your environment and not the result of conscious choice? We evolved to be able to hunt game, live in relatively small settled communities, trade with neighbors, and grow food. Would you have been conscious enough to find your way back to your current belief system? Stephen Asma argues that, like art, religion has direct access to our emotional lives in ways that science does not. You just met The One or maybe a shady character. How scientific discovery opens our eyes to a world of possibility that is far more wonderful and beautiful than anything religion has to offer. Youll be saved, enlightened, and greeted with tremendous fanfare when you die unless of course all the stuff you were taught turns out not to be true. In order to offer community that works for most people, churches must evolve. You try in vain to integrate such contradictory beliefs, but it cant be done. Ive been baptized and confirmed, and Im the son of an altar boy and the nephew of a priest, so Im sure Ill be fine. Then they asked all the volunteers (using a ruse) to drink an unsavory mix of OJ and vinegar, one ounce at a time. Blessed are the meek (obey). Your email address will not be published. Religion is the off-switch of the human mind. So people thought of common rules and laws. By putting forth confusing and internally conflicting information, your logical mind (i.e. There are many othersor make up your own. Religions are very effective at turning human beings into sheep. Better yet, go outside and do something that really helps people. But there is an extraordinary tool that enables us to truly grapple with the mysteries and complexities of the universescience. But it remains a favored practice of those who pull the strings. We would never know they were there if we relied solely on our senses. Pull it out of the cobwebs, and boot it up. They allow us to utter sentences such as, I know that you realise that Freddie believes that . The other is that religious people are more likely to feel that they belong to a community. APS regularly opens certain online articles for discussion on our website. Religions frequently promote inbred social networks. YSC cookie is set by Youtube and is used to track the views of embedded videos on Youtube pages. The illusion of compassion substitutes for the real thing. Thanks for requesting access to the Be Your Own Authority video. Consider maturity as a reasonable alternative. For example, the Old Testament and the New Testament in the Bible frequently contradict each other with various rules of conduct, yet both are quoted during mass. Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, 2023 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. One idea is that, as humans evolved from small hunter-gatherer tribes into large agrarian cultures, our ancestors needed to encourage cooperation and tolerance among relative strangers. To take one example, our visual world only represents a tiny sliver of the light spectrum. Its entirely possible to enjoy your life without spending so much of it bent over in submission. Set by addthis.com to determine the usage of addthis.com service. Robin Dunbar is emeritus professor of evolutionary psychology at the University of Oxford and author of How Religion Evolved and Why It Endures. 1) Absolute Obedience There may be no greater authoritarian regime than traditional religious institutions. When you finally wake up and realize its all B.S., youve taken the first step towards freedom from this oppressive system. I especially remember listening to a lot of bad sermons; most priests are hideously poor speakers. Ultimately, religion limits the possibilities of human thought and action. Sign up to our Inside Saturday newsletter for an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the making of the magazines biggest features, as well as a curated list of our weekly highlights. All of these volunteers then attempted a set of geometrical puzzles, which, unknown to them, were impossible to solve. Blessed are the pure of heart (switch off your brain). Dump the safety-in-numbers silliness. In other words, its manipulation. When you look at the similarities between religions, they all have a core idea of something being there after death, and in Christianity especially, there is a punishment for doing the wrong thing and a reward for doing the right thing. And if you pick food from others house, you will be beheaded. Consequently, you doom yourself to stumble around in the dark, utterly confused. Left-Handedness: What Is Right-Hand Bias? Fearful of the chauvinism and xenophobia that fed two World Wars, many liberal and progressive Western leaders and press simply denounce national identity or cultural preference as bigoted or racist, and show an ostrich-like blindness to pan-human preferences for ones own. In what percentage of countries across the world is it public opinion that a belief in God is key to being a good person? Now that laws are driven by nations, the need for religions slowly started vanishing. You dont want to be identified with the extreme fanatics, nor do you want to be associated with the non-believers. This leaves the field wide open for the offensive of white nationalist groups of the alt-right, or the far-rights less overtly racist alt-light defenders of Western Culture against the onslaught of Islam, globalism, migration, feminism, and homosexuality. We also need to be careful when interpreting what people mean by "no religion".