All religions should come with a warning label
In western nations we speak often about the need for freedom of religious worship. However, this needs to be balanced with the very real risk religion poses to society and individuals.
Sometimes I feel like I don’t believe in God the right way. This feeling comes exclusively from religious teaching from my younger years and exposure to Christianity as an adult. I thought the problem was with me because I constantly wanted to question the obvious inconsistencies and hypocrisies within organised religion. Christianity has replaced true faith with faith in the institution of religion. God is no longer God. God is religion.
So today I’m discussing the types of warning labels that should be mandatory on all places of worship, much in the same way we have warnings on cigarette packets. The reason for doing this is because of the untold harm that religion does to people right across the world. We only ever really hear how wonderful religion is and how we should tolerate other people’s beliefs. While I agree with that, I also know that all religion is, at its core, a lie.
I mean that in the way people misunderstand, misinterpret and misrepresent religious ideas (and religious facts) to construct a religion. If their followers are few they are sects and cults, but if their followers are many (no matter how true the belief) they are a religion. This makes writing about these topics at times difficult because you will naturally offend various religious groups being discussed. I write about religion to explore, not offend, though. So of course, I could be completely wrong and your particular religious beliefs are correct and I am wrong.
Not to be taken literally
The worst thing you can ever do is take religion too seriously. The very worst you can do is take it literally. There are many true events and descriptions of events that may contain some truth. Others are debatable. No witnesses can be called to definitively say which religion is correct. They all claim to be. No the others are liars they all seem to scream in their own way. Usually through a religious text.
Take the Bible as an example of a Holy text, revered by millions around the world. However, it is filled with inaccuracies, depicting mental illnesses as “demons” , or claiming a man died and rose from the dead (and even raised people from the dead) then for someone not raised Christian it all seems a bit far fetched. Who knows, it could all be true (and I’m ok with that) but my faith demands that I use wisdom to understand where the Bible really comes from.
Human creativity. So don’t ruin it by being so literal. We can all accept it has had a profound affect on humanity (both good and bad).
May cause mental illness
Certain people can be affected by religion and many of these have existed within the Christian tradition. It is no wonder that a common symptom of many mild to severe mental illnesses is religiosity. Curiously though, religious belief is related to better outcomes for patients with psychosis. So it certainly still functions as a coping mechanism. However, for those who find religion a traumatic experience, it can be bad for their mental health to become involved in religious service and community.
There are of course many great outreach programs run and funded by Christians, but the inclusion of religious doctrine can be problematic for some. Of course there is a big gap between those who may experience negative symptoms from being involved in religion and the average Christian. Religion itself owes a lot to mental illness. Many contending famous Holy men like Jesus and Mohammed indeed suffered from the terrible affliction we now call mental illness.
We have two stories that speak of the isolating and confusing nature of mental illness. One is the story of Jesus in the wilderness. Where, most likely due to fasting for a long period, experienced a psychotic episode. This is the famous part of the bible where Jesus contends with the devil (which doesn’t exist)! The other is Mohammed in the cave, where the Archangel Gabriel speaks with him. Again, this is a mythical creature and if a patient presented with the same symptoms as Muhammed in a modern mental health care setting they would be diagnosed with psychosis.
So just be aware of where many religious ideas come from. Other people’s mental illnesses.
May cause extremist views and behaviour
When religious ideas are taken too seriously (or taken literally) then the end result can be extremist views and even violent action. The most famous is of course modern Mujahideen or Islamic Terrorists (as they are known in the west). Known for events from September 11 through to the October 7 attack on Israel, these people use the religion of Islam to excuse violence. Then of course we have the forced conversions that have been a part of religion from the beginning.
This is all fueled by extreme interpretations of religious texts. While the majority of Jews, Muslims, Christians, Hindus, and Buddhists (and any I have missed) seem to get along ok despite differing religious beliefs, however, they all have extremist believers.
May cause alienation from family and friends
When someone takes on serious religious beliefs it can alienate them from friends and family. This is the reverse of what happens when children of religious households abandon the faith. They may be seen as weird and this will in turn push them further into religious belief and practice. This isn’t to say anything negative about religion, just an observation of what unbelievers, infidels and pagans think of a believer of different faith.
Then of course religious beliefs may simply clash with the religious beliefs of family and friends. This can cause trouble for people who have converted to a new faith but family shares a different faith.
I think the lesson here is to not take religion too seriously, especially among family and friends. I hope you have enjoyed these few warning labels I would put on religion. Do you have any warning signs you would use?
Thanks for reading and HAPPY NEW YEAR and a safe and prosperous 2024 to all of you!