What I Love About Religion As An Atheist (Part II)
Previously I talked about my love for all the amazing architectural buildings that are a significant part of every religion and how they express the artistry behind faith, along with the spiritual aspect of religion that aids us in numerous ways.
Well, that's not all. There are a lot of other things that I really love about religion and it's wise lessons and the way religious people are in general, (still) as a non-believer.
Cultural Influence
It's quite visible and obvious that religion plays a big role in our culture. It influences our sense of fashion, our social norms, our traditional values, our way of communicating with one another, and our moral ethics.
For example, in Sikhism, it is believed that selfless service to others is one of the most noble things a human being can do. This practice not only builds good relationships inside the culture itself, but also encourages people to help other people who belong to a different religion.
Similarly, every religion has its own set of practices that governs its values, and influence its followers and their lifestyle, which makes every religion give out a unique aura of its own.
Sense Of Belonging
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This is something that I have been witnessing since I was a kid as my mom used to take me to the temple with her. I have noticed how religious people, within their groups, are really social and really easy to make bonds with.
Religious people treat other fellow followers as a part of their own family and do not hesitate even for a single moment to strike up a conversation with a complete stranger.
This is something that we younger generation really struggle with. We need a certain kind of social setting that encourages people to talk to each other. We usually don't like to initiate conversations with other people, especially with people who we don't even know. But religious people, they do it all the time.
Value Of Tranquility And Peace
Even though we humans do fight wars in the name of serving our God, every religion in the world teaches it's followers to walk the path of non-violence and tranquility and to devote themselves to a life of wisdom.
It teaches us the value of silence and quietness and how we can use them as a tool to shut down all the external noise and our own inner voices and simply concentrate on feeling present and alive in the now.
This is definitely an important skill to have in a world that never stops talking and where being silent is looked as a form of weakness, when in reality, it is one of the most important skills for self-discovery and growth.
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Although you certainly have some points, history has shown that religion has too often released the worst sides of human nature.
Its ironic: the foundation of nearly all religions demand a peaceful society, respect for other people, tolerance ect. - but in reality it ends up being the complete opposite.
This comes, because its sooner or later abused as a ideology by some people, who try to gain a personal advantage like money and power. Very similar to political ideologies, by the way. Socialism (communism) was originally meant as a model for a better, fairer society, in the days of extreme exploiting capitalism in the late 19th century. But instead of improvement it ended in a total desaster, also because it was abused.
So over all, I'm not sure that religion is a good thing, if it ends up being a tool for bringing misery to so many.
However, the desire for spiritualism seems to be deeply rooted in the humans, so I guess religion (in one way or another) will always be a part of the society.
Some really interesting points there.
I think it's not religion that's the problem, but how we use it and materialize it. Anything intended for good, if used badly, will still give out a negative result. It's not the followers who are to be blamed for this but the corrupt elites who simply watch the chaos from above and don't do anything about it.
The followers, they just want something to put their faith into. That's how we humans are. We need something to believe in and to idealize, whether it's romantic or religious, so we can feel like our lives have a purpose.
Thanks for the brilliant comment. Really thought-provoking!
Yes, thats what I meant to say as well. Its not the ideology (political or religious) that causes the problems in itself. No rulebook of a religion or political agenda is based on exploitation, murder, supression and such things. If it was, everybody would recognise the founder of such a ideology as total psychopath, and nobody would join such a movement.
In the begining it sounds all reasonable and positive, thats why people follow a ideology with great enthusiasm.
But behind the scenes the movement gets hijacked by people who want to use it as a tool to get power and wealth for themself.
It is, however, debateable if the simple followers are completely without fault. I mean, all this has happend countless times already, so the people should know better where this can lead to.
Thats why I personally dont believe anything and follow nobody. Basically its a concept of "Do nothing". If more people would act this way, a lot of bad things would not happen.
That makes sense, yeah. I guess the followers should start asking questions and recognize that their faith might be getting used for something entirely different. It could be one of the reasons why there are comparatively less religious people these days. They have begin to sense that they are being exploited.
Acknowledging wrong things happening and still not raising a voice against it is just as bad as doing wrong in the first place. So yeah, you made a solid point there.
By the time you complete this series of posts about religion, you will become the most religious man on earth. :D
You are not really an atheist, not even close lol! Pretty evident.
I am, lol. But like the title says, it's only focused on what I love about it, not necessarily what I think about the whole idea. Will make a post about it sometime in the future. Hopefully people are more tolerant of others' opinions by then.
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