On Religion

Guns are an enigma. It can’t be denied that guns and other modern weapons cause more deliberate death and destruction than anything else. But in some situations, wouldn’t you want one? In the right hands, guns can do wonders. They can force otherwise destructive people to do the right thing. When aimed well they can force stupid people to act intelligently. Without guns there really would be no ultimate hope for getting large amoral corporations to obey environmental laws. “Stop! Or I’ll say ‘Stop!’ again!” There is a place for guns.

If all you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. Guns are compelling to those at both ends. If you have the biggest gun, why reason with someone? Aside from old age, war and genocide are the major killers of our age. How do you keep guns in the hands of those worthy to wield the power of life and death? Is it possible? Not as far as we know.

I’m sure you’ve noticed that religious folks tend on average to be happier than the rest of us. They tend to be more at peace with themselves, knowing that they are part of some great plan, and that they are doing the right thing. How could that not delight?

Religion speaks to a very fundamental part of many people. It is more appealing than cigarettes! But it is also the first and greatest weapon of mass destruction. Religion is a means to control peoples’ minds, to tell them how to behave and what to believe without having to tell them why. There is no more powerful force on earth than this ability to have people behave as you tell them to without need to justify.

What has religion done for us? There are those who are happier because of it, especially the poor and wretched folks who really do have nothing to live for. Certainly, religions usually specify moral codes that, while overly restrictive, illogical, and incomplete, can prevent followers from doing much that is truly sociopathic. Arguably most great art was inspired by religion, although many artists would doubtless have found other outlets for their creativity. Charitable donations and good works? I’m not so sure, since generous people tend to donate their time and money where it is most needed anyway. But religion has comforted and uplifted billions.

At what cost?

It has often been claimed that religion has inspired countless people to good deeds, noble thoughts, great art, making the world a better place. This is a dangerous argument: by the same token, religion has inspired countless people to bigotry, murder, terrorism, suppression… Moreover, in the absence of religion it is much easier to justify a noble act than an ignoble one, but since any act that a religion can justify becomes noble, the existence of a religious mindset levels the playing field between good and evil.

A single person acting in isolation is unlikely to do a great deal of harm. A person who controls many has much greater power. As a means for control, religion is unsurpassed. Not only does it tell people that they need not think, it often actually tells people that they must not. Faith! Belief in something for which there is no proof, and that reason cannot justify. Who determines these beliefs? The master of the religion. And in a culture in which people are taught not to question, all that is required in order to be a master of religion is that one be a clever social engineer.

But faith goes deeper than that. The fact that there is such a thing as faith (the belief in something without the need to justify it) destroys our minds. It is impossible to live as a rational being if you base significant life decisions on ideas about which you are forbidden to think!

And yet, many people won’t think. There are plenty of people who don’t enjoy thinking, or just those who are too busy thinking about something really cool to want to bother to re-derive a personal code of ethics. If they follow one of the standard ones from the religion of your choice, they probably won’t stray too far from sociable behaviour. Of course, following a moral code involves a great deal of thinking, but that thinking tends to be simpler, or at least to sneak up on you.

In the right hands, religion can provide odd but passable ethics, a sense of purpose, fulfillment, and peace, inspiration… In the wrong hands, a deep-seated tendency to discourage independent thought and an infrastructure for mind control. On balance, is religion worthwhile?

Are guns?