Religion. The dogshit with a gold nugget inside.

OK...Religion.I honestly don't know if now is the best time to tackle this mother. There is a LOT of doctrine, superstition and downright irrationality concerning god-talk, and that's just with the atheists in the room.

But here goes.

Religion has, traditionally, been a lot of bullshit. I'm talking western history here; from Judaism to Christianity and its offshoots of Catholicism and (to a lesser extent) Protestantism. Here's the thing about religion. Many people are quick to label it as an inherently bad thing. But that is because it cannot shake its shady past (forced abortions, forced births, the crusades, killing witches, protecting pedophilia, repressing our desires, creating hatred between religious communities...need I go on?).

The problem is that Religion in our history has become tied up with the power structures that have dominated humans in the past. Usually this came in the form of some guy wearing a robe telling us what we a) were not allowed to do or b) what we had to do to not piss god off. This worked very well for those doing the dominating; I personally don't wish to piss off an all-powerful and egotistical entity, and would probably comply (if I believed in this kind of god), even if it meant tilling the king's earth all day, going home and not fucking my wife for the rest of my life.

This kind of 'religion' (read: domination) goes against what it means to be human. It denies us of our essential needs, and then chastises us when we inevitably slip up. This creates guilt (as it is a social fact in these kinds of structures that Everyone believes in the same 'god') and a desire for future compliance, so as to be a 'good' person.

A key area where all of these 'dominating' religions have gone wrong is their claims on Ultimate Truth. Each of these unhealthy religions claims to be the one true religion; one religion to rule them all. Its bullshit. Each of these religions also claim that God is unknowable; how can anyone possibly have a claim on truth, bar God?

These institutions have pulled the shroud over past societies' eyes, making them believe that humans are evil and that the church is the only form of redemption. It is one of the most destructive and pervasive lies out there. It's still out there and kicking; although instead of the church we now have 'regulation' (read: domination).


Here is the thing about religion (or better–spirituality). Its fundamental message–the message that spans every religion out there–is a good one. It goes a little something like this: humans are perfectible yet imperfect, humans strive towards go(o)d but can never completely comprehend or attain universality. That humans, in the scheme of things, are both significant and insignificant.

These are good messages: not only for our mental health but for the interactions between us and larger society. At the end of the day, a belief in god is the belief that humans can never authoritatively say that we have a 100%, no-doubt claim to Truth. We can strive towards truth, but ultimately the cosmos goes deeper than our faculties of understanding will allow. We will never 'know' what it is like to be a single atom. We will never 'know' what happens to our beings when we die (until we experience it). We can only commit ourselves to acknowledging our own imperfect worldviews, and trust in god that the whole thing doesn't come crashing down in the meantime.

Peace be with you, motherfuckers.