I think religions could be cool as a system of “basic education” in terms of morality and philosophy, in the same way that schools teach you some basic scientific knowledge with the full intention that it is a simplified model that will be replaced if you decide to further study those topics in college.
Problem is, the current way religions work doesn’t allow for anyone to grow out of those simplified beliefs 🤷
That’s not necessarily true for all religions. In Hinduism and Buddhism, for instance, it’s fully understood that a lay understanding of the faith is not the same as what a monk would have. Seeking enlightenment is a different path from the life of a householder. In the same vein, Christian mysticism, kaballah, Sufism all have that same tendency towards further spiritual study and the path of an aesthetic.
The problem is with people listening to fucked up preachers and then deciding they have all the information they’ll ever need. The problem is with Christians, not Christianity. The religious, not the religion. The religion itself is a neutral thing, just about regardless of the religion we’re talking about. It’s the people that make it what it is, and those people are varied. Religions are internally diverse, by their nature.
Religion is important though. Ultimately for one to live a fulfilling life one needs to tend and maintain their mental, physical and spiritual health. Religion is how historically most have maintained their spiritual health (and mental health too), and in modern times organized religion doesn’t have a monopoly on spiritualism, so people can find whatever worldview and practices that help them maintain their peace with the universe and their place in it. But importantly, many people do still turn to religion for their mental and spiritual health
Dude, if we just didn’t have Christian straight up utopia. Like, please rapture and leave the sane people behind.
The world would be a better place without Abrahamic religions.
I think religions could be cool as a system of “basic education” in terms of morality and philosophy, in the same way that schools teach you some basic scientific knowledge with the full intention that it is a simplified model that will be replaced if you decide to further study those topics in college.
Problem is, the current way religions work doesn’t allow for anyone to grow out of those simplified beliefs 🤷
That’s not necessarily true for all religions. In Hinduism and Buddhism, for instance, it’s fully understood that a lay understanding of the faith is not the same as what a monk would have. Seeking enlightenment is a different path from the life of a householder. In the same vein, Christian mysticism, kaballah, Sufism all have that same tendency towards further spiritual study and the path of an aesthetic.
The problem is with people listening to fucked up preachers and then deciding they have all the information they’ll ever need. The problem is with Christians, not Christianity. The religious, not the religion. The religion itself is a neutral thing, just about regardless of the religion we’re talking about. It’s the people that make it what it is, and those people are varied. Religions are internally diverse, by their nature.
Religion is important though. Ultimately for one to live a fulfilling life one needs to tend and maintain their mental, physical and spiritual health. Religion is how historically most have maintained their spiritual health (and mental health too), and in modern times organized religion doesn’t have a monopoly on spiritualism, so people can find whatever worldview and practices that help them maintain their peace with the universe and their place in it. But importantly, many people do still turn to religion for their mental and spiritual health