A Problem of the Exploitation of Religions' Power

On religion seems perfect if you are good, just, and pledge your allegiance to a higher power you’ll be rewarded with salvation or reincarnation or better yet a family. Whether you live in an Orthodox Jewish community or you occasionally visit the YMCA there’s a comfort to be found in belonging to a family of like-minded individuals who believe what you believe. However, whether these ties that bind compensate for the war and hatred towards other sects that the institution of religion spurs is to be seen.

Religion is a creation of man most monotheistic religions begin in the exact same way a man has an inexplicable relationship with god, then disciples surround him and spread the good word.

Even atheists cannot argue against many of the ideals of major religions such as peace, mutual respect, inner strength, etc. But organized religion is hardly just a system of ideals organized religion demands allegiance to a higher authority “Once the pope is there, Christ is forgotten; once the church is there, the Buddha is killed and murdered.

It is always on the corpse of a Buddha that religion stands,” Shree Rajneesh acknowledges in on the Corpse Ufa Buddha, Religion Stands that men exploit the power of religion. In India, the Hindus believe in peace and love your brethren, but the caste system that once held a stranglehold on Indian culture is still present. After many reforms and laws to undo what centuries of classist society did to india’s people men at the bottom of the caste such as untouchables still struggle to rejoin society.

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To this day untouchables are still shunned, beaten, threatened or worse. Not only did religion create tension within societies but between nations themselves(0n the Corpse of a Buddha). Leaders have used religion as a means to start many of history’s most devastating wars. The crusades was a series of holy wars speared by the catholic church that waged over the holy ground of Jerusalem for two hundred years. Many Christians wanted money; many wanted power, but the death toll remains innumerable. The holy land is still contested over to this day, this conflict drastically increases the chance of nuclear armageddon as radical Muslim groups develop nuclear weapons to take back what they see is theirs Rajneesh claims that existence should be “feminine” and that organized religion is “male”i Figurative, of course, Rajneesh means to instill concrete qualities to abstract ideas.

Instead of reaching new levels of truth or awareness, organized religion, like men, seek more power a song by Comedian and singer/songwriter bo burnham satirizes the beliefs of certain religious groups(0n the Corpsem)‘ Bo Burnham’s song, God’s Perspective, emphasizes some of the absurd elements of organized religion. “The books you think I wrote are way too thick”, Bo Burnham sings about the Bible, Koran, Torah, etc. These books were after all written by men themselves who were apparently a conduit to a higher power. He adds that a person doesn’t needs “a thousand metaphors to figure out” how to be a good person Most of the stories in these holy books are outdated moral tales; some of which conflict with our modern society. An instance would be when Abraham almost kills his son Isaac and we learn to never doubt an authority figure no matter the orders they give us“ Bo Burnham then brings up that certain religions such as Islam or Judaism abstain from pork, adding “I created the universe, you think I‘m drawing the line at the“ deli aisle?”r It isn’t crazy to wonder why an all-powerful and omniscient being would be concerned with our dietary habits, or really anything we do.

If god created us and is all knowing then surely he can forgive our flaws or the fact that we enjoy a little bacon from time to time. Some of these restrictions were implemented by people of power for political and economical reasons. Cows have been worshiped in India since approximately 200 AD the government started a myth that cows were sacred to keep the lower class from eating one of India’s most prominent food sources. Religion is powerful and can endow masses of people with the same ideologies and goals which makes it a powerful tooI(Burnham)r “Belonging is being emotionally encircled by your relationships with others”, says Marietta Mccarty in How Philosophy Can Save Your Life. Part of what makes being part of a religion so appealing is the connection to other people who prays to the god you pray to being part of the same team. It is the same power that fuels nationalism.

The reason we salute to a special flag designed for our country, celebrate independence day, and watch baseball (the american pastime) is that it unites us under one name America. America gives us a sense of belonging and security, and in return we support her. Men who worship the same god and celebrate the same holidays have a special bond that’s why a room full of strangers can sing a hymn and feel like a family. While religion has been abused by people in power and some of the biblical lessons are outdated, religious families still care for and support each other. Maybe religion is an indispensable tool that we’ll never evolve past(Mccarty) men will always wage wars whether they are fought by nations or ideologies. There are an infinite number of reasons a war could start, and even though many of them have been caused by religion, a world without it wouldn‘t necessarily be any more peaceful. The ideals of the pious are strong and guide them through their lives it is the religious institution that fails them men need to rely on the pillars of peace and wisdom rather than the scepter that arms them against heretics.