Meerkat Prompts: Do I practice Religion?
The WordPress Prompt of the Day offered this one, and it was too interesting to pass up.
The short answer is no. The long answer remain no, because organised religion holds no appeal to me. Virtually every version of every major religion is incompatible with my morals and values. This is not to say that there aren’t some good elements to religion, because there are, but all too often the general message is ‘without total obedience, you will be condemned to an eternity of suffering’. That ain’t an especially great means of encouraging the ‘right’ behaviour (whatever that is).
My viewpoint has also been shaped by some unpleasant experiences with the devout. I have been harassed, lied about, and demeaned by so-called pious men of God. They display their hypocrisy in their cruelty, and then act as though they can wave away their antics by uttering a prayer, or speaking of their faith, as though that absolves them of their wrongdoing. This sort of ‘get out of jail card’ is lazy, and lacking in integrity. It grants the means to avoid responsibility for anything.
Then there is the social side of things. My encounters with fanatics have taught me that they believe only they have a right to a voice. Only the religious should be allowed to shape society, to represent it, to share opinions and beliefs. I have seen some spectacular whinging whenever someone of the LGBT community offers up their views. You’d think that the religious were being rounded up in camps and held at gunpoint, every time any group they don’t like exercises their right to speak! This epic double-standard has further eroded my… let’s ironically call it faith, that organised religion is a good force for society.
This is not to say that it’s all bad. The community my wife and I discovered during the reading of our wedding bands is among the kindest I have ever found. This small Church held its doors open for anyone, and offered nothing but love and respect to those who walked through them. There was no firebrand preaching, instead the sermons were regularly about showing each other compassion. This is a trait sorely missing among the fanatics I have dealt with down the years.
I should make it clear, my experiences are not limited to Christianity. I have encountered pleasant Muslims, and cruel Muslims. One particular individual might as well be the Muslim equivalent of the long-term Christian troll I’ve been dealing with. It seems that dishonesty and cowardice are traits that cross religious boundaries, so to speak. These people have no idea to interact with others, and certainly fail to persuade me that their belief system is worth converting to. If anything, the aggressive posturing fanatics are leaving me secure in my choice not to follow organised religion.
