Religion 2.0
I am someone who believes that religion needs to be updated constantly. By who you ask? I'm not sure, but it needs to be updated.
Let me start by saying, there is nothing wrong with religion nor would I ever question the need for it. I myself am a practicing Hindu, I respect all religions, people’s requests that stems from their religions and find it difficult to embrace the concept of atheism. I did so in my teens though, and I lasted about a week. But I digress. To me, the common and fundamental purpose across all religions is to give some form of meaning to life. And in this attempt, religion shapes our perceptions of the world, of what is right and wrong, and serves as a way of harmonising and uniting groups of people. To make us feel like we are not alone. We all know and have seen by now that people can live without religion. But a religion cannot exist without its people. When something is both constructed and construed by people, I think it’s only fair for it to be in tandem with them. The people of today, in no means have any similarity to the people that existed around the time religion, religious texts and religious institutions became well established. So pretty much since the beginning, from a theist’s point of view. We don’t have the same challenges, the same societal formations, or even the same resources as the people of yesterday. Yet to date, most of us base our lives on religious texts that were established by societies that lived in a world different from ours.
It’s with these religious texts that we have in our hands problems similar to the conquests of yesterday. You see, it’s only natural for humans to assess the similarities and differences of another person in front of them. It’s basic survival instinct, the need to assert our superiority over someone who is different from us. It has been reinforced over thousands of years. And of course, one way people have asserted their dominance and continue to do so, is religion. Not just against groups that have differing religious beliefs but within one’s own religion in a battle of who’s more Godly. Social media, which could have served as a form for people to understand, become aware and respect each other’s beliefs has only driven the wedge deeper. Homosexuality and abortions are the common punching bags for people to assert their superiority, with the tagline “God said”. I’m more spiritual than I am religious and I would tell you without hesitation that I have my own conversations and relationship with God. But even to me, the “God said” is a little iffy. Did you personally meet him? Where was this meeting held? Why wasn’t I invited and more importantly, if you’re Hindu, which one was this meeting with?
The plague that’s sweeping the modern world is the “I’m offended” plague. If you are offended for the right reasons, like if someone told you that you have to pay a luxury tax for your sanitary pads, by all means, go ahead and get offended. I would be too and I’m going to walk next to you holding a placard that says “No Uterus, No Opinion” (Anyone knows where that’s from?) But you can breathe to offend someone today. And the demand for an individual’s basic rights, causes outrage.
“Gay marriage ruins marriages!” You know what ruins marriages? Divorce. If you don’t believe in or agree with two men getting married, don’t marry a man if you are a guy, and don’t go to a wedding where two men are getting married.
“God hates abortions!” But how does another person’s abortion affect you? Which woman anticipates an abortion? You don’t get one like how you get a pedicure. Do you have any idea how much physical, emotional, psychological and perhaps even religious support a woman needs to get through one?
“Here take this pamphlet on converting to this religion because ours is the only one that sends you to heaven!” Did I ask you for information on your religion or did I tell you that I want to be sent to heaven?
“Theism is stupid. There is no god” Well, I don’t walk up to you and tell you atheism is stupid and you should believe in a God.
If you ask me, all these religions, and religious texts, they are just like the languages we communicate in. The end goal is the same, to communicate, and in the case of religion, to God, but just the methods we employ to do so is different. This doesn’t mean one is better than the other. I highly doubt religion would ever be irrelevant. We have no qualms in saying that a child is of this religion, and inducting it into the religion’s doctrine. But we don’t say that a child supports this political party. We don’t convey the different ideologies to a child. Both hold a heavy role in society, and both can do a lot in shaping a child’s perspective, and in the process of raising it to form its values. The only reason religion prevails over political systems and affiliations is because of its simple antiquity, the amount and extent it has embedded itself across different cultures and families. And it’s for this reason, religion is, and will, continue to be treasured, and respected.
The people of today, need as much of a moral compass, a guiding light and some form of organised faith, as the people of yesterday. The astronomical advent of science, and man’s attempt to establish himself as the superior being on the planet, or man’s attempt to play “God”, whichever works for you, is making us go “Wait a minute” on the ethics and morality front increasingly so. So maybe the people of today actually need religion more than ever. Just for that little re-assurance, a little faith, and a little sense of support in our fear that we are on the path of self-destruction. And this commonality among us, is the reason we should all be respectful of each other’s religions. Because at the end of the day, we want the same thing, and we seek the same thing, it’s just the path that we take that is different.
Also, it would be nice if the source we seek is in tandem with the challenges of the people today, and has some pointers for us to navigate with.
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