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Religion Without the Big “G”
By Reina Desrouleaux
God(noun):1 capitalized : the supreme or ultimate reality: as a : the Being perfect in power, wisdom, and goodness who is worshipped as creator and ruler of the universe b Christian Science : the incorporeal divine Principle ruling over all as eternal Spirit : infinite Mind (webster)
Religion(noun)1 a : the state of a religious <a nun in her 20th year of religion> b (1) : the service and worship of God or the supernatural (2) : commitment or devotion to religious faith or observance(webster)
Religion has been a system of belief for thousands of years. Its been around ever since people needed an explanation for why the sun sets, or why the seasons happen. With those questions in mind, gods were created to explain those phenomenons.
Many religions today are based around a god, or stories that relate to a god. The “person” who is considered to be god is an almighty powerful spirit who controls and watches over all. Even though a god in a religion provides comfort and guidance for those who follow it, what if religion did not include a god? I don’t mean to be disrespectful or demeaning towards your faith or religion, but what if at the epicenter of the ethics and morals of a religion was not a god?
In a religion a god is seen as a father figure. It is an entity that signifies guidance, reason,life , and death. It is also seen as a ruler over all that is living. As positive as that is, It can also be a fire that ignites the worst in men. Religion has been used as a justifiable reason for colonization, and wars even. It was not necessarily the ideals of religion that seemed to justify those imperialistic ideals in governments, but more along the lines of who was considered to be the god in the religion. Because of the stature of a god in a religion, propaganda would then be used by governments of opposing religions in order to encourage war, and rile up their citizens. If the god in a certain country was not your god, then the ethics and moralities of the people in that country were not right. If their beliefs were not right, then those people were either not fit to rule themselves, or they were evil scumbags who need to be taught a lesson.
When people are raised to believe that there is only one true and all others are false idols, pride also grows with these beliefs as you see yours to be the one and only and all others below. Wars usually start over this when one starts to use propaganda by saying ” oh look at them , they are worshipping false idols, they are evil, this just proves to see that war in fact is needed”.
With all these points in mind, wouldn’t life just be easier if religion was just a set of rules? No one to necessarily follow or uphold, no pride? What would the world be like if there was no god in the first place? just morals, and ethics?
If you talk to God, you are praying; if God talks to you, you have schizophrenia. –Thomas Szasz
I find it interesting that the meanest life, the poorest existence, is attributed to God’s will, but as human beings become more affluent, as their living standard and style begin to ascend the material scale, God descends the scale of responsibility at a commensurate speed. –Maya Angelou
Sources
http://www.mindpleasures.com/Quotes/Potpourri/God/God2.shtml
http://www.mindpleasures.com/Quotes/Potpourri/God/God3.shtml
Devin Doherty
January 23, 2010 at 10:44 pm
All this debate honestly does not matter. Religion is quite plainly stupid. It doesn’t matter what you believe, whether you think a dead guy is the son of god or aliens infest your soul, it doesn’t matter. It’s all completely moronic.
Nicole
January 20, 2010 at 10:17 pm
I believe that any religion taken to its extreme form can be extremely disastrous. However, I’ve also seen that a religion which provides “codes of ethics” can cause for many people to become better members of society and justify actions for the common good. Religion can bring peace of mind to those who feel the need to understand the unknown, and religion inspires millions to do great things. The important thing is to not get too carried away by the standards of a religion to the point where it is damaging to someone’s well-being. I’m all for religions of all sorts, but I don’t think that “radical religion” could possibly help anyone in any way. Radical religion is the same thing as brainwashing. It’s a really bad idea, but unfortunately a part of reality.
Aaron W.
December 12, 2009 at 11:14 pm
I’m not quite sure I see your logic. If I am correct that you are saying that the problems caused by religion would vanish if the idea of a God was eliminated from that religion, I don’t understand what you mean. FIrst of all, what is religion if not the service of a God? And secondly, if religion were to continue without a God, what would cause people’s bad practices in the name of religion to cease? They commit terrible acts not just in the name of a specific God, but in the name of a specific religion.
Reina Desrouleaux
December 24, 2009 at 8:52 pm
” what is religion but the srvice of a god” i feel like religion is no longer a set of beliefs being practiced, but something done in the service of a higher power,and thats basically what you just said. many religions have the same rules and ethics, but different gods. so then when someone does something terrible in the name of religion, its in the name of the god of that religion.
Aaron W.
December 25, 2009 at 12:02 pm
Actually, contrary to what you said, the sets of rules and ethics are not always very similar between religions. Sure, many of them share the basics; don’t murder, don’t steal, be kind to your fellow man, but often they have major differences. For example, take the consumption of alcohol. Islam regards this as a sin. Judaism has an entirely different opinion. There are many occasions on which Jews are required to consume alcohol, and a few on which some Jewish authorities would even say that Jews are commanded to become drunk. This is just one example, but there are many more. Even religions that may seem similar, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, have many, many differences, which can often cause conflict. A set of rules and ethics without the service of (or at least belief in) a higher being is a philosophy, not a religion.
Aaron W.
December 30, 2009 at 8:10 pm
Also, three of the greatest mass murderers in history (Stalin, Hitler, and Mao) were all staunch atheists who worked hard to wipe out religion.
Reina Desrouleaux
January 11, 2010 at 6:10 pm
I Never mentioned Hitler or Stalin or Mao. and are you suggestng that I want to wipe out religion?
Aaron W.
January 14, 2010 at 9:54 pm
No, no, not at all. I’m just saying that this proves that many conflicts are fueled not by religion, but by the exact opposite.
Mbernstein1
December 11, 2009 at 10:28 pm
John Benson: Your points are brilliant. I was a moment away from posting your comment on my Facebook page, favorite quotes section, until I realized how awful of an idea that would be.
“‘Wouldn’t life just be easier’ if we could enslave the Africans and make them work on our plantations? I’m pretty sure we called that progress, too.”
Reina Desrouleaux: Very impressive article. A topic such as religion will always foster debate and criticism. You are a good writer, especially considering that you a freshmen and that you immigrated to the United States only five years ago (although, I am guessing that you were raised to be bilingual). Keep the articles flowing.
Reina Desrouleaux
December 13, 2009 at 3:30 pm
Thank you. and I was raised bilingual but only for french and creole. I learned english when I Moved here.
dimitri halikias
December 10, 2009 at 8:51 pm
I’m sorry, but I have absolutely no idea what the point of this article is. Are you saying that religion is silly and only brings on problems? Or are you arguing that god should be replaced by some sort of ethical code?
Reina Desrouleaux
December 12, 2009 at 10:57 pm
I am saying that religion should just be the peace and love and all of that without the god who rules over all. because when it comes down to it in holy wars, and in a lot of problems in history like the spanish who took act in mass murders because of people who refused to convert, it was about the ideals of the religion, which all go back to a god.
dimitri halikias
December 13, 2009 at 9:30 am
wait what? Sure there have been plenty of terrible acts that have been committed in the NAME of religion, but in most cases, these acts would have been committed anyway even without religion simply under another pretense. The crusades began simply as a way for Europeans to grab more land. Al-Qaeda and other fundamentalist groups hate America and freedom for reasons outside of their concept of Islam. History also has countless examples of non-religions/atheist acts of brutality. Just look at the Holocaust, Stalinist Russia, Communist Cuba and China, and the Rwandan genocide. To argue that religion is the source of these disasters is simply inaccurate.
Reina Desrouleaux
December 13, 2009 at 3:10 pm
First i never said that everything in history had to do with religion. and if you reread my third paragraph you would see that I said that governments used their religion as a propaganda to make certain things justifiable.
Reina Desrouleaux
December 13, 2009 at 3:37 pm
and to your earlier comment. I spent five years in a religious Catholic School. and in religion studies we were thought that a God is a divine Spirit who created us all, and Earth as his Kingdom. He sees over all, and can define our fate even though he allows us free will. and in many prayers in different religions they usualy begin with lines of god as their father and king. this is why I see a god in religion to be ruling over all.
dimitri halikias
December 13, 2009 at 6:57 pm
If you agree that religion was just a pretense for these acts and not a serious reason, then why remove god from religion?
Reina Desrouleaux
December 24, 2009 at 8:59 pm
to your later comment its because religion is no longer about practicing a set of beliefs, it became about practicing a set of beliefs as long as it is for the service of a god. and Webster dictionary and Aaron prove my point. Religion has completely been redefined as pleasing your higher power. so when something is done for religion it is done for your god, without the gods most religions are pretty much the same seing as most come from parts of each other.
John Benson
December 10, 2009 at 4:13 pm
The main thing I disagree with, my previous comments aside, is the suggestion that a religion is comprised of morals and/or ethics. (There is a distinction.)
“What if at the epicenter of the ethics and morals of a religion was not a god?”
(By the way, epicenter is not just a synonym for center. It has to do with earthquakes.)
Take away any of the morality tied to Christianity, and what are you left with? A god that loves unconditionally, and forgives sins.
You start running into problems when you try to define what is sin. But if you define sin as the contradiction of one’s own personal morals, then you have a god that is not exclusive, or restricted to any particular code of ethics.
These ideas are vague and elusive at best, and I don’t mean to pretend otherwise. It just doesn’t feel right to me to equate religion and ethics.
John Benson
December 7, 2009 at 10:06 pm
“Wouldn’t life just be easier” if we could enslave the Africans and make them work on our plantations? I’m pretty sure we called that progress, too.
Reina Desrouleaux
December 8, 2009 at 8:54 pm
??
John Benson
December 10, 2009 at 3:45 pm
Ok, maybe that was unclear.
The point I was making is that just because something could make our lives easier, that doesn’t necessarily mean it is a good thing.
Eliminating religion is often considered to be “progress.” Think Karl Marx and the Soviet Union. But the label of “progress” is often used to justify atrocities.
Reina Desrouleaux
December 12, 2009 at 10:44 pm
im not saying eliminating religion,im just saying that religion shouldnt have to be centered around a big dude in the sky ruling over all
dimitri halikias
December 13, 2009 at 9:13 am
But that completely misses the purpose of religion. Religion is by definition a belief in the divine, not an ethical code. And another point, in what religion does god control all?