Religion is an Outdated Necessity

In the past, religion served two functions: to explain life and to provide order. Our species has evolved enough to execute these functions with rational means. We can explain the development of our complicated world without simple answers. We have a system of statutes and social expectations that provide peaceful boundaries. Our empirical understanding of the universe has progressed to a level that no longer requires a Creator that must be followed by penalty of damnation.

When considering religion, the dichotomy of doubt and faith emerges. Faith provides useful theoretical benefit. In practice, it offers more meaning in afterlife than in life, which contradicts the instinct to survive. If we exclude the impossibility of an afterlife - especially one as magnificent as Heaven - we become unafraid of death; without this, life becomes devalued. We lose purpose, except to faith itself. Further, when one has an ability to repent their sins, immoral actions become inconsequential. These two factors combined create an environment that can justify war on the basis of faith, especially when faith is twisted from its intention and taken to extremes. In a world where multiple faiths all exist in disharmony, faith allows itself this possibility.

Faith allowed the Romans to conquer Europe. Faith allowed Europeans to commit mass genocide against Native Americans. Faith currently allows the Israeli army to keep Palestine under brutal occupation and faith currently allows the United States to spread its ongoing and unwanted global influence through force. And then faith excuses itself.

In a world where there is so much still unknown, faith remains stationary. It is stubborn to new ideas and savagely enforces old ones. It does not form opinions, its opinions are already formed, and even when conditions change it will already have determined its position. Doubt does the opposite; it says that it does not yet understand, and more importantly, doubt allows for further explanation. Faith is an unproven back-up plan whereas doubt points out the consequences of its failure. And doubt adapts.

Religion is unnatural and must be taught. This is no different than science, except that most science can be proven through repeatable experimentation. (The Big Bang Theory, for example, is a particularly difficult experiment to repeat; however, it is still easier to recreate this than the first few pages of Genesis.) Science is based on empirical data, which is compounded knowledge over thousands of years of observation. Religion, however, is not empirical. It has no evidence, no observation. When presented with this, religious people tend to fall back to it being a matter of faith. But faith cannot survive.

There is an enormous difference between spirituality and religion. Spirituality is a method for living one's life in balance with self, others, and with nature. It is a basis for being good for the sake of goodness, not for fear of eternal punishment. Religion is faith in the certainty of something that is absolutely uncertain. It is a true or false answer to an essay question. I live my life spiritually and believe in what I can see and feel. I do so with the understanding that there is more to this world than I am aware of, more than I could ever perceive. But I do not pretend that I have an answer.