Because today is Sunday …
🙂 As I advance in years, I start realizing what religion is all about.
Religion is supposed to standardize belief. With the aid of stories, rituals and symbols. Rituals have to be practiced. They serve such purposes as clearing you from sins. The processes describe how you can create mysticism and spirituality.
The “system church” uses religion systemically in order to preserve the “right”, or, even worse, the “only true” belief. In order to achieve this, said belief is standardized.
“Certified believers” are generated. They must submit to the system. This process gives and multiplies the power of the system. And, like all social systems that have de-personalized themselves, churches work towards one final goal: strengthening their own power and securing their own survival.
And, incidentally, they are quite successful, aren’t they? After all, some religions have a “life cycle” of several millennia. Enterprises seen as social systems with a business purpose and usefulness often only survive for a few decades, in rare cases centuries.
But the more such a system de-personalizes, the less it will be taken seriously by enlightened persons. The “system church” counters this by using elements designed to stir basic emotions in humans: beautiful ceremonies, mysticism, spirituality and, where necessary, magic.
Criticism from outside is met with the killer argument: tradition. And they also pull at your heartstrings: what we basically want is some respect for all those countless generations who lived and believed similarly. And who even died for their belief. What a sentimental wolf camouflaged as sheep!
It so happens that I think belief is something very personal. And that there are no two people in the world who actually believe exactly the same thing.
To be sure, there might be similar values, expectations, interests and needs between two individuals or in groups. Sometimes there are probably moments of immense shared empathy, during which people actually feel united. Which can cause happiness and give you a feeling of security and comfort. Perhaps such a thing as ecstasy through “being united in your belief” exists.
But still every human will have to answer the question of the meaning of his or her own life alone. Just like we all, in the end, have to walk the final path unto death alone.
After having written this article, I understand a little better why I am often not feeling very well when I think of our society trying to plan, standardize and certify EVERYTHING.
RMD
(Translated by EG)
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