Religion

Religion provides a spiritual belief as well as moral and social norms within a given social-cultural system. Religion offers answers to unknowns, from simple things like fire to perhaps the most complex, such as love and life after death. Faith gives us hope when there are only despair and a sense of purpose. So, all-in-all, religion is a good thing.

While most religions espouse kindness to all humanity at their core, a notion corrupted over thousands of years and continues to this day. What is it about religion that adds a strain on society when it should be pulling us together? To begin this answer, I’ll start with a quick timeline and explore from there.

A Quick Timeline

Abrahamic based, first monotheistic religions

Judaism

c. 800 BCE with the Exodus from Egypt and the 10 Commandments
500–400 BCE first books of the Torah and written

Christian

50–62 AD First Christian Council convened
130 AD through 325 AD (Nicaea Council and the Catholic Church
1054 AD Eastern Orthodox split from Roman Catholics in the Great Schism
1139 AD Catholic Priests were not allowed to marry
1517 AD Protestant Reformation begins with Martin Luther
1536 AD Church of England
1823 AD Joseph Smith founds Mormonism

Islam

610 AD with the Prophet Mohammad
680 AD Split between Sunni and Shia branches following the death of the Prophet Mohammad

Other Religions

Prehistory, assume Tribal 100,000 BCE earliest known human burial
Neanderthals 70,000–35,000 BCE with known burial sites
Homosapien 25,000 -9130 BCE burials with rituals, body preparation, and relics found
Active sites of worship begin in 9130 BCE
Stonehenge — 3100–1600 BCE Evolved from Timber to Cremation to final Bluestone
Earliest Egyptian Pyramid 2610 BCE
Hindu 1100 BCE with earliest texts
Buddhism c. 480 BCE
Neopagan revival begins 1960s-1990s

In the United States, the vast majority of religions are in the Abrahamic based realm. There are several different factions between those, each with their ideas on various topics ranging from personal behaviors to beliefs. With each new faction of the base religion and even those without, we find ourselves in a similar situation as politics: money and power.

From the beginning of churches, there has been a desire to become a single force. In early Rome, Jews were given religious freedom but were deemed lower-class citizens and paid higher taxes. The tax burden on various groups continued while religious freedoms were respected.

Taxing is bad enough, then came the oppressions against those who did not hold your specific beliefs. In history, this ranges between tax laws, ownership rights up to the Holy Crusades, the Holocaust, and various racist and terrorist movements.

Organized Religion

In come the Churches, as the various groups came together, so they came apart. Beginning with the Jewish Synagogue, which relied on good Jews to help support its land and holdings, Churches of the others were soon to follow.

Before this, monuments were built by the ruling classes, mostly to enhance their power and linked only to the Gods by proclamation of the current government and general will of the people. These were more public work projects instead of seats of power.

On the other hand, churches came to see that they could control not only the beliefs of the people but also their wealth. The most prominent of these was the Catholic Church that encouraged money to form their flock and demanded it from the rulers and countries as well, that they may have God’s blessing.

The taste of money and power led to the need for more and more converts. So perhaps it is Churches, not religion, that is to blame. You can see Churches as the political parties of religion, so examine closely what your Church teaches and then decide if you are true to your faith or subservient to the Church.

From the timeline, you can see how the conflict arose and should note that almost none of these were religious but organizationally based. Things like the Catholic Church’s expansion, followed by its split into Eastern and Western, the subsequent breaks such as the Church of England and the Protestant Reformation.

The mandate that Priests could not marry, that other Abrahamic peoples were evil. Most importantly, let’s not forget the subservient role of women. All of these things were in search of riches and power, not faith. I know many people from various religious backgrounds and hold them all in high regard; they are happy to discuss even debate the merits of their beliefs.

In Conclusion

For myself, I have to lean towards Wiccan, a decidedly peaceful belief that holds as its primary tenant, “Do what you will, so long as it harms none.” And for the science vs. religion debate, I believe that science is a fact; faith is that which you cannot prove but know is true, and this gap will close as time goes on. However, some somethings will never be fact but faith, such as love.

Having traveled far and wide and worked with many cultures, I have found that people are people, and we have the same life goals. It is a safe environment to grow families, peace for all, internal questions about ourselves, and wonderment that we cannot explain. I think that religion, spirituality, and faith are all essential and support all in their pursuits. Less fond of organized religion when it comes to pushing their agendas.