Religion is something that divides a lot of people and I don’t just mean into different camps of different religions but also between those who think religion serves a purpose and those that think it does not. Or more accurately those who think religion has utility for man and society and those who think it does not. I wanted to take some time here to flesh out the concept of religion and talk about some of its uses and abuses.
How it can be used to add more to a man’s life and a societies functioning, how it can be helpful but false, how it can be helpful and “true” at least in the “mythological” sense, and how different religions change depending on the times. Too often I see people brush religion off as superstitious nonsense. They tip their fedoras and throw it away thinking themselves superior for doing so.
While missing a whole lot. Humans are religious creatures. If we don’t follow a “mainstream” religion then we’ll just make something else our religion. It’s just the way man works. All men, not just dumb ones, not just lowest common denominators, all human beings work this way. From the highest IQ to the lowest. From the most creative to the least. Some may be more swayed by this “instinct” than others but it’s always there, and that’s not a bad thing.
Religion & Societal Stability
Let’s start by taking a look at religion at a societal wide context and its uses there. There are many things that glue people together blood ties, national ties, racial ties, cultural ties, shared hardship ties, and religious ties. The more of these ties a state can forge the more unified that a country/empire/nation is going to be. Thus the utility of having a state religion. When everyone’s on relatively the same page or can at least understand the same page it forges unity, and there is power in true unity.
Another thing about religions is they serve as a counter measure to human nature. They used the carrot and stick of heaven and hell or karma or whatever else is come up with by priests the control the populace for better. The ten commandments, all those thou shalt and thou shalt not serve to curb human nature and get people to behave in more productive and better ways. In the real world stealing and lying may get you ahead, depending on how you do it. Ask any politician.
However when one thinks those things could land them in hell or denial to heaven then they’ll change the behavior. It may be a complete falsehood but it’s way has been called a “noble lie”. And from a society wide standpoint it has great utility making things function and getting people to work together. Granted this only works so long as people believe in the religion and that generally means not studying it all that much. Which thankfully for those wanting to use the religion to help society function, isn’t all that many it people.
Religion & Personal Achievement
But what about on a personal level? You can say okay well that’s good and all but what about me personally? Now I have a couple things to say here. First off I think that what works on a societal wide level works at the personal too. Whether its the discipline of Islam or the devotion of Christianity. You can use religions to forge yourself into greatness to become something more. Even when using the society wide version of religion.
Whether you believe in Yahweh, Allah, Crom, Odin, or whatever if that believes spurs you on to more, to try more, do more, accomplish more, be more. Then to me it’s a good thing and a needed thing. We as humans need something beyond ourselves to motivate us, to help us move beyond the base level of things. Whether it’s because we don’t want to be seen as a coward for eternity or because we don’t want to be seen as a bad person for eternity.
Religion can forge greatness out of a man when used in the proper context. Without religion man can end up chasing his base natures round and round, never getting anywhere. Whereas with religion a man can focus and work for something more. It can also keep one from nihilism, depression, and work to fight against suicide. That’s why I’m always skeptical when someone says they don’t believe in anything after but still believe in doing good, that’s just foolish. Why? Bad is more rewarding and if all man is is propagating his genes and sparking the pleasure center of the brain why do good? It makes no sense, but that’s a whole other discussion.
The Changing Nature Of Religion
Religion can also be used in bad ways, as can anything else humans get their hands on. It can be used to control and put animosity between people that otherwise wouldn’t be there. But in the end its inevitable and can be good when harnessed and used properly. Maybe you don’t like any particular religion, that’s fine. Study them all and understand that there’s great differences in how different sects of a religion, much less the religion itself behaves.
I’ll use Christianity as an example. In mainstream Christianity the Jewish people were the original chosen people of God. However you have branches of Christianity such as the Black Hebrew Israelites that say those of African descent are the chosen people of God, and then you have Christian Identity who say that people of European descent are the true chosen of God. And so on and so forth. Religion is more flexible than people think. Find what works for and energizes you. One that makes sense to you and holds up to you.
It could just be the Crom/Natural God. Where the strong survive and the weak perish and the world itself teaches you what is right and what is wrong. Or it could be that combined with facets of other religions. Again it’s a complicated thing and to me no single one is going to get everything right, but there will be those that are closer to your truth and those that are not. Religion far from being all bad or all good is a complex and ultimately human thing. Don’t dismiss it entirely and throw the baby out with the bathwater. Understand the foolishness and limitations but also the good things about it. You’ll be rewarded for it, and in this life, and who knows, maybe the next.
