In my childhood and adolescent years, I was a religious person. Then, one day, almost all of a sudden, I realized that religion is a bogus propaganda and its prey is the weakness of the mind, and that there is absolutely no evidence of a god. For a few years, I searched for some evidence or finding concession that I could give to a religion but could not find anything to offer. Ultimately, it became a question of truth or lie. I decided to live hopelessly but in truth than to live in comfort surrounded by lies. I do not claim to be a torchbearer of any society, country, or religion that I should be ashamed of any failings coming out of knowing a truth. People burden themselves by unnecessary associations and I am not one of them.
However, for a long time, I did wonder about why people from every walks of life and every region of the world are religious. I think I finally found the answer.
A mind tends to think on the same path that it was set in the very beginning of its development process. Therefore, a Muslim believes that his/her religion is the greatest and only true religion; a Hindu thinks the same about Hinduism and so on. The funny part is that they are neighbors and they see each other every day but never question as to how was it possible that two completely different religions could be the only true ones. He never thinks why he is so vehemently supporting a particular religion. He does not possess the bandwidth to understand that it was mere a chance that someone is born to a particular religion. There is almost 99.999% chance he is advocating the religion he was born into. The reason behind this diehard support is a well-formed (not well-informed) mindset from which he cannot get out. The stronger the impact of something on a mind, more solid the encasing of that mindset, harder it is to get out of it. You guessed it right that religion has the strongest effect because of its very design as it deals with death and afterlife. There is nothing scarier than death and nothing more promising than afterlife. If you got both, you would be stupid not to cling to them even though, deep inside, you have a doubt. A religion has gotten that "formula" perfected. You would see that, no matter what religion you pick, death and after-death are central themes. As one grows older in the frame of mind, his belief system gets even stronger day-by-day.
Is the teachings of a religion is the only cause that people stick to it? I do not think so. You need both a doctor and a patient to have this perfect union. Guess what there is no better patient than a human being. You cannot teach religion to an animal but to a human being, that learning is natural.
When you dig deeper into thinking patterns of human beings, you would find that we are all "religious". Even the atheists are "religious" people. The difference between an atheist and a theist is merely semantic. If you consider "formation of a mindset" and then "following of that mindset", which are the hallmarks of a religious person, then all of us are religious. Whether we follow Christ or whether we follow a particular trade (such as being an engineer, historian, lawyer, ...), the difference is superficial. I understand that, in a classical religion, we have God, Heaven, Hell, etc. and the day-to-day mindset could be void of those notions, but just as a classical religious person, most of us never question why we are doing something and whether this is what we are meant to do. For example, a politician remains a politician until his death, an engineer remains an engineer until he retires, a priest remains a priest, etc. So, 99.999% of us are not questioning our profession or what we do or what we do not do. We are creatures so susceptible to follow a rut. That rut is, in fact, a religion in a broader sense. Even when we change the trade, it is mostly to make more money or help some more people or to become more famous. The rut never leaves us and we never leave that rut. We never question the very existence of why we are continuing to do something. We possess a tendency to run with whatever we have and make fame and money from that trait. Never questioning whether that trait is putting me in a rut. We have to understand that we are patterned into doing a particular thing and we find comfort in it (just as we find comfort in a religion and do not want to leave it). When Steve Jobs keeps bringing newer and sleeker designs of phones and computers, he is following a "religion" of design and engineering. He is in that rut. And, that is where he dedicates his life every day just as a priest in a church would dedicate his life in a church rut. Both of them are identical in the sense that both of them are following something (whatever that may be) so "religiously". Neither of them is looking left or right. The difference in these two followers? Semantics. Who is to say who is more disillusioned? The lifetime that Steve Jobs dedicated to bringing that iPhone, I can simply go to a store and buy it. The difference is that one is selling and then other is buying but both activities are focused on the same iPhone. Steve Jobs is in the rut of designing better iPhone, and the person who is buying the iPhone, he could be in a different rut. Nonetheless, both of them are in some kind of rut. We all are rutters (if that is a word).
So, if we do not want to be religious about anything, we have to question everything about us, every thought that comes to our mind. Even then, probably there is no escape from it. How can you escape from a mind well? We have to accept that fact, as humans, we are very limited in our capacity to escape. We are more or less like a robot and, that is why we can continue to do only what we have learned all along. If we continue to do something and find a sense of comfort in it, then we are the same as a religious person who continues to pray and find comfort in it. We are all the same. Not much difference. We all are in some kind of rut - some call it religion, some call it philosophy, some call it engineering, some call it science, some call it lust of power...does not matter what you call it - fundamentally we all are doing the same thing - we all are religious people. This is what humans are - religious morons. And, that is why religion is so ubiquitous.
However, for a long time, I did wonder about why people from every walks of life and every region of the world are religious. I think I finally found the answer.
A mind tends to think on the same path that it was set in the very beginning of its development process. Therefore, a Muslim believes that his/her religion is the greatest and only true religion; a Hindu thinks the same about Hinduism and so on. The funny part is that they are neighbors and they see each other every day but never question as to how was it possible that two completely different religions could be the only true ones. He never thinks why he is so vehemently supporting a particular religion. He does not possess the bandwidth to understand that it was mere a chance that someone is born to a particular religion. There is almost 99.999% chance he is advocating the religion he was born into. The reason behind this diehard support is a well-formed (not well-informed) mindset from which he cannot get out. The stronger the impact of something on a mind, more solid the encasing of that mindset, harder it is to get out of it. You guessed it right that religion has the strongest effect because of its very design as it deals with death and afterlife. There is nothing scarier than death and nothing more promising than afterlife. If you got both, you would be stupid not to cling to them even though, deep inside, you have a doubt. A religion has gotten that "formula" perfected. You would see that, no matter what religion you pick, death and after-death are central themes. As one grows older in the frame of mind, his belief system gets even stronger day-by-day.
Is the teachings of a religion is the only cause that people stick to it? I do not think so. You need both a doctor and a patient to have this perfect union. Guess what there is no better patient than a human being. You cannot teach religion to an animal but to a human being, that learning is natural.
When you dig deeper into thinking patterns of human beings, you would find that we are all "religious". Even the atheists are "religious" people. The difference between an atheist and a theist is merely semantic. If you consider "formation of a mindset" and then "following of that mindset", which are the hallmarks of a religious person, then all of us are religious. Whether we follow Christ or whether we follow a particular trade (such as being an engineer, historian, lawyer, ...), the difference is superficial. I understand that, in a classical religion, we have God, Heaven, Hell, etc. and the day-to-day mindset could be void of those notions, but just as a classical religious person, most of us never question why we are doing something and whether this is what we are meant to do. For example, a politician remains a politician until his death, an engineer remains an engineer until he retires, a priest remains a priest, etc. So, 99.999% of us are not questioning our profession or what we do or what we do not do. We are creatures so susceptible to follow a rut. That rut is, in fact, a religion in a broader sense. Even when we change the trade, it is mostly to make more money or help some more people or to become more famous. The rut never leaves us and we never leave that rut. We never question the very existence of why we are continuing to do something. We possess a tendency to run with whatever we have and make fame and money from that trait. Never questioning whether that trait is putting me in a rut. We have to understand that we are patterned into doing a particular thing and we find comfort in it (just as we find comfort in a religion and do not want to leave it). When Steve Jobs keeps bringing newer and sleeker designs of phones and computers, he is following a "religion" of design and engineering. He is in that rut. And, that is where he dedicates his life every day just as a priest in a church would dedicate his life in a church rut. Both of them are identical in the sense that both of them are following something (whatever that may be) so "religiously". Neither of them is looking left or right. The difference in these two followers? Semantics. Who is to say who is more disillusioned? The lifetime that Steve Jobs dedicated to bringing that iPhone, I can simply go to a store and buy it. The difference is that one is selling and then other is buying but both activities are focused on the same iPhone. Steve Jobs is in the rut of designing better iPhone, and the person who is buying the iPhone, he could be in a different rut. Nonetheless, both of them are in some kind of rut. We all are rutters (if that is a word).
So, if we do not want to be religious about anything, we have to question everything about us, every thought that comes to our mind. Even then, probably there is no escape from it. How can you escape from a mind well? We have to accept that fact, as humans, we are very limited in our capacity to escape. We are more or less like a robot and, that is why we can continue to do only what we have learned all along. If we continue to do something and find a sense of comfort in it, then we are the same as a religious person who continues to pray and find comfort in it. We are all the same. Not much difference. We all are in some kind of rut - some call it religion, some call it philosophy, some call it engineering, some call it science, some call it lust of power...does not matter what you call it - fundamentally we all are doing the same thing - we all are religious people. This is what humans are - religious morons. And, that is why religion is so ubiquitous.
