Religion: Over 1 Billion Served
Ashby Smith“If a watch proves the existence of a watchmaker, but the universe does not prove the existence of a grand architect, then I consent to be called a fool.” This famous quote by Voltaire is congruent with a vast number of people’s beliefs throughout history. From pre historic times to the present day, man has pursued explanation of existence, and the world around him, through God or gods and ultimately through religion. Through this pursuit, we have created intentional and unintentional consequences that I believe have overstepped the purpose for which religion was created.
Why do people become ill? Why does water sometimes fall from the sky? How are we able to walk, talk, breathe or even think? Today these questions seem a bit trite. Disease, basic human functions, and nature’s interaction with man are all topics that have been heavily researched with countless publications fully explaining them. With advancements in human knowledge, it is very likely that if you have a question about something past or present, the answer can be found among the vast variety of sources available around the world.
This availability of information did not exist in the infancy of the human race. If you did not understand something in those ancient times, you asked an elder. These people were able to give advice in hindsight because they had already experienced the things in question. Life, death, natural occurrences and human creation, however, proved to be extremely difficult to explain through experience. With necessity being the mother of invention, and understanding their natural world being very necessary, religion was born. If one became ill, the gods were angry, for we had no understanding of germs or sterilization. If there was a drought and no crops flourished, ones town must have been impure, for the knowledge of weather patterns and seasonal shifts were unknown at that time. These functions were intended to happen. They could not explain their natural world and with these new concepts a more comfortable grasp was attained. On the un-intended side of the spectrum, the formation of religion would build a powerful tool for the user of it.
There may be no better way for someone in power to maintain and broaden that power than through religion. Once a “body of believers” is built, that group is instilled with the morals, teachings and practices of that religion. With the absence of structured law, these elements served to bind the group as a whole, whereas any deviation by a member would result in non acceptance by the group. This serves not only to unify a group of people and hold them accountable to a set of pre-defined rules, but it also limits thinking that would break away from the norm. This unintended oppression of free thought was somehow widely accepted through out history, and into today.
Christianity is the most prevalent religion in the world today, and has historically had a substantial following. Christians believe in a man named Jesus, born of a virgin, who claiming to be the son of God, died for the sake of all humankind. He traveled and preached, proclaiming that he was the savior of man, and heaven could be reached through faith in him. This was not well received by the heads of the church, because his teaching directly contradicted the accepted doctrine of that time. He was crucified for his message and branded a heretic. After his crucifixion, scripture states that he rose from the dead on the third day after his burial. His simple message of love and faith was widely accepted. First by the poor commoners, later by the aristocrats and finally by Emperor Constantine in Rome, ironically the place of his crucifixion. With Rome’s acceptance of Christianity, the religion spread widely.
Christian beliefs and moral obligations set out criteria for how one should live. The social cohesion shared by so many people proved to be a very effective tool in gaining support for a cause. If one is a potential candidate for a group of people who love cheese with all their heart, the best way to gain support for ones cause, whether relevant to cheese or not, is to express your undying love and compassion for cheese. If the cause in a practical sense has nothing to do with cheese, but is present in a way that puts cheese in the foreground, and the actual cause in the background, a greater number of people are able to be reached for the cause. Of course this has nothing to do with cheese, and all to do with God or Jesus, however, by removing the names and the sacredness attached, one can see the practical application of religion as a political tool. It was a tool used to gain wealth, land and power at the cost of thousands of innocent lives in the Crusades and is sadly used today, on a smaller scale, in overshadowing political issues with religious overtones.
If one were to walk into many Christian churches, pre election, and ask for an opinion on President Bush, one may hear qualities like “God fearing”, “Christian”, or “family values”, qualities shared by all Christians. Christians as a whole see these traits as being inherit in someone who will do the honorable and Godly thing, therefore, support was rallied through a network of believers for his cause. Some of these people blindly accept what they were told about the person and policies, and don’t do actual research as to why their leaders may be making these suggestions. Issues such as stem cell research, prayer in school and violence are clouded by religious overtones. These issues are complex social problems that require much thought and research to effectively solve. All too often opinions on morally touchy subjects are reverted back to biblical teachings without much considerations for the context in which those passages were written, or the relevance to the issues’ future impact on society. If the church takes a firm stance on an issue, a member of that congregation is likely to take up that position without much thought. In cases where members may think a different way, usually those opinions are kept quiet in fear that by deviating from the shared beliefs they will be viewed badly by their fellow members, therefore, hurting their social status within that group.
Social acceptance of religious thinking continually changes, as it should. At one time in history it a was perfectly common to “buy your way into heaven”, and go to church just to see a thorn form Jesus’ crown. This practice of selling indulgences and displaying holy relics as advertisements to gain members was commonplace until Martin Luther. He concluded that these things were wrong and that one could gain entry to heaven by faith alone. Apparently these marketing tools are all abolished, and churches present day do not use them to grown their congregation, or are they?
In this present day “reformed” bible preaching church, Christians have done the very thing that is supposed to make them different. Plush seating, multimedia presentations, and elaborate buildings, maybe even ice hockey rinks, replace their holy relics of thorns and such. People may have exchanged money for salvation back then; however, they are currently living with the misconception of salvation through tithing and church attendance, throwing out their beliefs during the times between.
Organized Religion today remains a major political tool, possibly more powerful than ever. It hinders a scientific explanation of the world around us by replacing reason with blind faith and orthodox doctrine. People are too eager to accept what a trusted religious figure tells them to be moral and just. Many people are confused about religion, accepting what society tells them. We are taught subtly how we should behave and think through religion. Also we are conditioned to think that religion is the only avenue to being a good, moral person. People want to be perceived as good so they naturally associate themselves with a religion, Christianity being more prevalent, so they do not feel the stereotypical ridicule when someone states they are not Christian. The problem lies when people all too often accept the beliefs and suggestions of that organization with little questioning. I am in agreement with Voltaire that God is real. However, God gave humans logical reasoning abilities and with those I believe we have clouded the purpose of religion. Religion is not the only tool that can help explain our world, rather, it is used as a powerfully clever marketing tool to rally support for a given cause. God have mercy on us all.