Religion is Dangerous

Bill Maher, an American stand-up comedian, social critic and political commentator, has often voiced his opinion regarding religion. One of my favorite quotes from him is: "I think religion is a neurological disorder."

Reading various pieces I have saved over the years I came across this one reprinted in The Memphis Flyer and written by columnist Ed Weathers. The article is quite lengthy and I have picked what I believe are the most relative portions to include here. The Memphis Flyer does include the caveat that it does not reflect the views of that publication. However, I can add it does reflect mine.  

Religion is superstition. It is mankind crossing its fingers. Its sole functions are 1) to comfort and console those who cannot bear the suffering and death that are ultimately the lot of every human being, and 2) to offer meaning in a world where meaning can never be established. 

On balance religion has made the world a worse place. It has generated magnificent art and wonderful music, and spectacular architecture, and millions of people have, over the centuries, done good and beautiful things in its name, but on balance it has not been good for the world. Those millions of good people would have done just as much good without it. Mother Teresa would have been saintly without the New Testament. Martin Luther King would have been a paragon of eloquent courage without being baptized. Ghandi would have overturned an empire leaning on his walking stick. Virtue would exist without Christianity or Judaism or Islam or Hinduism, which in their vanity and vaporishness, are no different than the Roman's belief in household gods or the Druid's belief in tree spirits. A magic act is a magic act, whatever robes we clothe it in. But because of religions like these the world has experienced centuries and centuries of backwardness and unnecessary suffering. Throats have been slit in their name, hearts exploded, the best minds distracted or destroyed, sweet people tortured, millions of children sent horribly to oblivion.  

It Has To Be Said 

Perhaps the worst of religion's dangerous superstitions is the notion of the "holy" place. That this patch of earth or that building or that city or nation is somehow sanctified by some god has left us with the bombs and guns and bodies of Kashmir and Belfast, of Bagdad and Jerusalem. What is land but land? What is a building but a building? 

There are wars enough when "holy" is not part of the picture. There are land wars and economic wars and grudge wars and wars for no reason anyone can understand at all. But religious wars are the most tragic, because they are built so deeply on a deluded sense of righteousness. Have non-believers started wars? Of course! They have started wars for land or politics or pure villainy. But I don't know of a single non-believer who has killed simply to make others stop believing. Stalin you might say? No, he killed for power. On the other hand the world has thousands, millions, who will kill, and have killed, in order to make someone else believe as they believe. 

I wish the Near and Middle East would suddenly be flooded with a sea of atheism. I wish other areas of the world would overnight experience religious amnesia. How much more at peace the world would be. 

A man truly awake does not need religion. He doesn't need gods. He doesn't need miracles. He doesn't need holy lands here below or celestial heavens up above. For him, life in this universe is itself holy, as is every patch of ground and every path he walks. Life itself is enough of a miracle. To believe in a god who made this life is to believe in a miracle even greater than this miracle. Who needs more than one unfathomable miracle? Existence is a fluke, a freak, a wonder, a dream, a bizarre uncanny thing. Our own conciousness of this existence is so incredible, a phenomenom that I don't understand why anyone feels the need to believe in anything else more "spiritual." It's all "spiritual." It's all true magic. Why add imagined magic to explain the magic that is right before us? 

Religion is dangerous. It needs to be said. Our politicians won't say it. Our commentators won't say it. The power of self-censorship in this God-fearing country is too strong, freedom of speech be damned. I can say it here because this audience is so small and I have little to risk. (Will fifty of you read this? Will 500? I have no business you can boycott and no office you can vote me out of.)

Nearly all my friends are believers. Nearly all of those I love are believers. Most of them are generous and kind, and their religion gives them hope and comfort and pleasant society. I have seen many good works born in synagogues and church pews. But the non-believers I know are just as kind, just as loving, just as hopeful, and they have given just as much comfort to those in need.

To add this one person's view, I once read that a myth is based on something that no one has ever seen ... and this is how God got so far.

Have a great week and always open your mind, question and think.