Look
up the definition of religion in the dictionary and you’ll discover several definitions
under the one word. Here is one in particular: “something one believes in and follows; a point or matter of ethics or
conscience.” When the concept of religion comes to mind I’m sure most
people think in terms of an organized, specific, and fundamental set of beliefs
and practices
generally agreed upon by a group of people or sects. But it occurred to me that with the above definition in mind everyone has a religion. Ask an atheist what his/her religion is and he/she will tell you, “I’m an atheist.” All religion really is, is a system of beliefs. But whether a person defines their beliefs by a known system such as Christianity, Paganism, Buddhism or Islam, or uses more abstract and vague terms to describe their own unique set of beliefs, or whether one flatly denies the existence of a higher power (this, I may never understand, although I am humbled by humanity’s endless diversity), how one views the nature of reality is really one’s religion. There is certainly a substantial amount of unfavourable attention that has been had concerning the subject: Jihads and holy wars, hypocrisy, superstition, fear, fanaticism, ignorance, blind acceptance, self- righteousness, rigidity, inquisitions, dogmatism, cruelty, prejudice, persecution, animal sacrifice, human sacrifice, book- burning, witch hunts, conformity, morbid guilt, insanity, even genocide just to list some that fall under the broad spectrum of atrocities committed and conditions endured for the sake of religion. How is it, I wonder, that an atheist might have a more highly developed sense of Christian morality, for example, than say, a Catholic who routinely attends mass or a Protestant who faithfully attends church? The problem is not religion, the problem is people. People tend to be dogmatic. An atheist can be just as dogmatic about unbelief as a believer can about belief. Therefore, it is not religion or beliefs that we need to shake off, it is dogmatism.
generally agreed upon by a group of people or sects. But it occurred to me that with the above definition in mind everyone has a religion. Ask an atheist what his/her religion is and he/she will tell you, “I’m an atheist.” All religion really is, is a system of beliefs. But whether a person defines their beliefs by a known system such as Christianity, Paganism, Buddhism or Islam, or uses more abstract and vague terms to describe their own unique set of beliefs, or whether one flatly denies the existence of a higher power (this, I may never understand, although I am humbled by humanity’s endless diversity), how one views the nature of reality is really one’s religion. There is certainly a substantial amount of unfavourable attention that has been had concerning the subject: Jihads and holy wars, hypocrisy, superstition, fear, fanaticism, ignorance, blind acceptance, self- righteousness, rigidity, inquisitions, dogmatism, cruelty, prejudice, persecution, animal sacrifice, human sacrifice, book- burning, witch hunts, conformity, morbid guilt, insanity, even genocide just to list some that fall under the broad spectrum of atrocities committed and conditions endured for the sake of religion. How is it, I wonder, that an atheist might have a more highly developed sense of Christian morality, for example, than say, a Catholic who routinely attends mass or a Protestant who faithfully attends church? The problem is not religion, the problem is people. People tend to be dogmatic. An atheist can be just as dogmatic about unbelief as a believer can about belief. Therefore, it is not religion or beliefs that we need to shake off, it is dogmatism.
In
the light of the above, I think I totally disagree with the first speaker,
dogmatism in itself is not a problem, like you rightly said, “the problem is
not religion, but the people”. How then should we shake off dogmatism? What is
a dogma? According to Encarta Dictionary of English, dogma is; a belief or set of beliefs that a religion
holds to be true.
Although,
religion is a system, it still goes beyond that, even to the extent of
embracing it as a set of principles that must be cultivated at all times! It
is the acknowledgment of a special deity or ‘deities’ and divine involvement
in the universe and activities of human life.Conclusively,
the problem about life affairs among the various religions is the bane of
becoming an extremist-fanaticism. That is only the major setback that is
corrupting the polity of the human mind, if as a Christian, I recognized the
importance of living together and been united, then I should not do things
that will put the next person in a situation that will inconvenient him/her.
It also applies to every religion be it Christianity, Paganism, Buddhism or
Islam. It should be taken note of that if as a Muslim, I hold my belief as
the best, then I should go ahead to practice it but be ultimately sure that the
other person is not being hurt! I think what we need to employ is the system
of Dignified Persuasion (moral suasion). As a matter of fact, I don’t have to
force you to come to terms with me in the aspect of my personal inclinations.
For example, the idea of Holy War (Jihad) is totally an issue of concern as
far as this discussion is concerned. Think about it.
Materials
and excerpts are duly appreciated.
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Nice one, keep it up!
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