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| Jimmy Swaggart, American Evangelist |
Wikipedia estimates that there are about 4200 religions in the world. Religion dates back to 4500 BCE. That is, human beings worshipped one god or another for some 6500 years. That’s pretty long period of time for any species not to be affected by an entity. Why does the human species remain as savage as it was in spite of all that worship, all those divine contacts, infinite hymns and rituals – seemingly utterly unaffected by that divinity?
Two years ago, Christian Today reported
that the “ten happiest countries in the world are among the least religious”.
The report which was based on a detailed study also mentioned that “the most
unhappy countries in the world are also among the most religious”.
Isn’t there something seriously wrong? Gods are
obviously doing no good – not anything worth mentioning at least – to humankind.
On the contrary, they are doing much harm. Evil keeps mounting in direct
proportion to the number of gods and religions. Yet the primary purpose of
religion is to provide us with “a sense of peace, serenity, and loving-kindness,”
according to a scholar of Semitic religions, Karen Armstrong. Religions seem to
be producing just the opposite of what they are supposed to.
We cannot wish away religions and gods, however. They
will continue to wield their powers as long as humankind exists. They do serve some
practical purposes such as give meaning to an otherwise terrible life and promise
what Karl Marx famously called “the pie in the sky”. It is easier to endure
life if you believe in god(s) and the pie in the sky that awaits you as a
reward for all your pain here.
No one would have any problem with gods and religions
if they were only providing good things like spiritual meaning and psychological
solace. The problem is they do a lot more harm than good. There is more strife
than peace, more hate than love, more bleakness than inspiration, because of gods
and religions. Probably more wars have been fought in the name of gods and
religions than for anything else. Even Hitler’s devastating hate had a
religious target like his contemporary Indian avatar’s has too.
What’s the solution to all this? I see only two viable
solutions. One, anyone who misuses religion, anyone who does any serious crime
in the name of religion, should be divorced from his religion and sent to a
correction home where he or she should be educated or counselled or treated by professional
psychiatrists. Religion that commits crimes is a mental disease.
Two, banish religion from public life altogether. Religion
should be a personal affair. Of course, there may be temples and other places
of worship if people find them useful in their spiritual quest. But they should
remain private affairs of the concerned communities. Nothing about them should
enter the public domain in the form of processions or rallies or speeches
through loudspeakers… Give people the chance to let their religion touch their
hearts instead of their solar plexuses.
But who will do all that? Our own leaders are sick
people infected with perverse religiosity.
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| Indian version of an Evangelist |
I have lived on this planet for over 60 years and have
seen all sorts of religious people. I am ready to throw a challenge to anyone.
Take any excessively religious person – one who does anything evil or even positively
extreme in the name of his religion and god(s) – and subject him to
psychoanalysis. The result will definitely be an autopsy of insanity of some degree
or another. Every religious fanatic is a neurotic. Quite many are psychotics.
Ready to take that challenge?
PS. Written for Indispire Edition 361: We have so many religions and
gods. We have had them for millennia. Yet we as a species haven't learnt basics
of spirituality. What's wrong? #SpiritualLag
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