What do you think of when you hear the word religion?

[Neonatal RRT]

When I think of organized religion...

1. I don't like being part of a physical group, so socially, I could never meet in a place of worship.
2. I need something a bit more physically tangible. I'd rather have a book in my hand than read from a computer screen. I would definitely need something that would activate my primitive mammalian sensory system in order to believe in God.
3. I don't like being led. I am not a follower.
4. Even though I have some instinctual need to be part of a group, I am enough of an independent thinker, that I tend to pull back when it comes to any sort of "group think" or "ritualistic behavior".
5. Holy books are full of life lessons and history. However, problems occur when it comes to interpretation and application in today's world. Human beings can pull literary quotes out of context of a much larger story and do evil things to others. Yet, our Holy books can give us the foundations of what is morally right and wrong. The problems I have with Holy books reside in the fact that they are written and interpreted by humans.
6. If there is a God, one God, where did He/She come from? Did the Great Creator have a creator? Are there several Gods? Is He/She a multi-dimensional being? On one hand, if there is a Great Creator, and given the vastness of our universe(s), it would seem that He/She would be far, far greater than what humans give Him/Her credit for. The Holy books appear to be far too limiting in their understanding of God. Is/are the universe(s) a small environmental enclosure (like an aquarium) in a much larger world of Gods? On the other hand, knowing this, it would seem that the Great Creator would almost certainly have a "hands off" approach and simply let life on Earth and all the other planets in this vast universe run their course, whatever that may be. Any one life on this planet Earth, or on the millions of other planets, would be so imperceptibly small. This idea that He/She is "micromanaging" our lives and that any one of us could possibly talk to God, at least in my mind, seems ridiculous, but clearly "the faithful" need something to believe in, that their lives can be "intervened upon" by begging (praying).
7. Then, there is this concept of a "soul" or "consciousness" that can leave our "meat sack" after it dies. Is this something that humans created in order to calm our fear of death? Is there a 4th or 5th dimension where our consciousness then resides? Is this the scientific reality that our ancestors called "Heaven" and "Hell"? Is this where we meet our ancestors? How would we recognize them? Can these dimensions be breached and give rise to the phenomenon of what we call "ghosts"? Are souls amongst us right now, present all the time, and our primitive, limited, mammalian sensory system completely unaware? What kind of sensory system and consciousness does a soul have? Can our soul enter a new body (reincarnation)? If so, then why, and by what phenomenon are conscious memories wiped? OR is all of this an illusion and a deception in order to calm our minds around the fear of "nothingness", that there truly is an "end"?
8. Is the simplest answer is the most obvious one? There is no great creator, we live for a brief moment in time, and then it all ends. Currently, I tend to believe in the simplest answer in my mind, and as a result, I believe that life has value. I don't have a fear of death in the sense that it invades my thoughts, but having the belief that it is truly "the end", I have the upmost respect for it.
9. What would happen to all the souls if the Earth were to be destroyed in some cataclysmic, astronomical event? What if humans simply run their duration on Earth and become extinct? Do we simply become trapped in the 4th or 5th dimension, the realm of souls, what we imagine to be Heaven and Hell?

Obviously, I have the sorts of questions that cannot be answered with any sort of tangible or scientific explanation we can come up with right now. Until then, "I don't know." might be the better intellectual position to be in.

 

[Tom]

I think of the word as meaning a creed based on spiritual principles, but it also has gained an alternate meaning of anything followed intensely or very strictly. For example I remember someone saying they considered Tolkien's Middle Earth as something like their religion.

 

[Wolfnox]

Isn’t that the bunny I ate last week? Think his name was Timothy.

 

[Sasha22]

I think of groups dressed the same and moving together in the same direction, which I look at from the outside. I think of either warmth, coldness or violence.

 

[Wolfnox]

I think of groups dressed the same and moving together in the same direction, which I look at from the outside. I think of either warmth, coldness or violence.

Even Santa’s?

 

[Sasha22]

Even Santa’s?

It's gotta be one of those three...

 

[Ella Spell]

I think of the philosophy of Religion, meaning metaphysics, ethics, and epistemology. How did we arrive on the planet, what is the nature of truth, do we have free will, and what happens when we die. Religion began as an appeal to the cosmos to make sense of these philosophical questions, and as an exercise in humility and connection between all people.

I don't think of true religion as prescriptive. I respect world religions which focus on treating people well, or feeling connected to faith through a higher purpose, but I don't respect religions which are dogmatic or don't evolve with the needs of their followers. I don't believe in Hell beyond guilt and our personal conscience, but I do believe there is a metaphysical connectedness of all energy in the universe. That means, I believe also in the power of prayer and positive thoughts.

 

[lovely_darlingprettybaby]

I

A variety of words come to mind when I think of the word: Religion

I concede that humanity wouldn't be as advanced as it is now without Catholicism. There was an age when the ONLY means/vehicle to educating people were the monasteries. That was long before to Great Schism, so Western Civilization literally was advanced almost solely by way of the Roman Catholic Church.

I also concede that in present times people can often (certainly not always or all people) find and gain positive benefit from being part of a community of people they find at the church they belong to.

However, apart from that all the other words that come to mind for me are very negative related to Religion. It's understandable for people that grew up in a religious cult like I did and needed to undergo Religious Trauma therapy like I did to finally be able to live a post-trauma life. I don't focus on what I've lost from all of those years even though I certainly could; I focus on the freedom, serenity, self-acceptance, acceptance of others and enjoying being present in the moments of the remainder of my life that I do now. Religion can have some positive aspects, however it can also be downright horrible; I avoid people who refuse to accept that it can be both.

I see it exactly the same when it is rigid and repressive and non inclusive that is when I find it wrong.
But I like the church traditions and history and hymns are beautiful and think that faith in God and loving others and loving together in peace is very relevant for all.
I do not think peace is just a thing that happens overnight for me I do believe in God and think it is His wioo for when it happens and us humans can only do our best when we are alive.

 

[lovely_darlingprettybaby]

Finally! A religion I can get on board with! I presume just out of shot there's a kitty statue too?

Well that's pretty much how it is people want bunnies more than Jesus.
You know you would not want bunnies eating ur spinach but it seems people would prefer bunnies and not mind the earth being destroyed.
So they can eat their bunny spinach and drink their camel milk in peace

 

[MildredHubble]

Well that's pretty much how it is people want bunnies more than Jesus.
You know you would not want bunnies eating ur spinach but it seems people would prefer bunnies and not mind the earth being destroyed.
So they can eat their bunny spinach and drink their camel milk in peace

It is written, that the more we worship bunnies, the more powerful they become. They will beam rainbows from their eyes and use their power to reverse the climate crisis!

 

[BewilderedPerson]

I find it to be man made, something which belongs in the home and places of worship, not in the government or our laws.

 

[AprilR]

It is a way of life. I am glad it exists, bc to me it is a way for self development and keeping the worse part of human psyche in check

 

[All-Rounder]

I would rather have the bunny apocalypse, rather than the religious one. In a game there was such a bunny apocalypse actually. This is not from the game, but I like it.

 

[All-Rounder]

Through religion I understand all the indoctrination, money farming of religious cults, usage of sincere belief to gain, the way people and I was fooled into believing in mythical things and accepting it as real, something that cannot be verified and never happens in the actual real world, the way faith healers operate by having accomplices whisper information to them, the cognitive dissonance with the scripture writings and fallacies the brain is susceptible to, and I see the trained individuals in debating religion in a way that is convincing, even if the argument does not stand when it is exposed to scrutiny in a logical sense, it is based on blind faith and they know they are doing it. To me it is no better than a real life trickster playing mind tricks or a mentalist, who is trained to actually fool the brain into all sorts of beliefs.

Religion changed my family in a way it can never go back to the way it was; my dad committed suicide with the hope of a better afterlife when it became clear that mom wasn't going to take him back and I was feeling better after escaping his rigid rules. Faced with the truth of reality against his beliefs and perhaps inconsistencies as the lord was supposed to take care of him, or faced with what he thought was a revelation that his life here is over, he did the unthinkable.

Religion has distanced him from his family for a long time, he would not be down to earth, but down to some stories he truly believed in, and through these stories of slavery and obedience, he has forced his family to obey without questioning and without wanting to. Being forced into these things as a child and especially female child has taken a big toll on me mentally and in the way of fitting in to normal society.

 

[All-Rounder]

I have no reason to believe there is any rule in any religious faith that would add to the already known and more complete rules that propagated humanity and kept it safe and okay before religion occurred in the world (where using wives like objects who should have no say is not okay as it is in the Bible). And the laws after religion that interdict a lot of religious "fairness," inclusing the human abolishment of slavery, slavery which has been supported throughout the Old and New Testament.

I have no reason to discredit the damage religion does to people, and patternizes and limits thinking, questioning. I have reason to look at theocractic countries and see the mess they're in, and the primal state they have remained in where human rights are not there, and secular ones and see they're doing far better.

I have reason to fear religion being pushed to extremes and killed over and for and it is happening today. And I have reason to hope that, like me, others will be able to sever the roots of religion, escape it, deal with the trauma left behind and heal into a better person, a more loving and a closer person to the hearts and the benefit of the people.

 

[Captain Jigglypuff]

I begin to have flash auto bad memories I’ve had involving churches and religion in general. I also question why would a supposedly “loving God” allow such horrible things happen to me throughout my life and cause me to suffer while those who have hurt me continue to go unpunished and keep having good things happen to them.

 

[All-Rounder]

Religion was a disease that I have had for a long time, that my parents had placed on me as the only one and the truth when I was much too young to make decisions for myself. This has affected the way I thought, the way I perceived the world, the types of relationships I got into, what I accepted done to me and how I viewed and blamed myself and others. This has affected my philosophical ability for a long time, the ability to judge others which was very essential especially for me because I'm naive and autistic. This has allowed me to ruminate negatively over sins, punishments and feel generally bad about myself without understanding what is going on.

The "cure" of religion was more than I hoped and wished for, and I'm very happy for it.

I don't think that belief is worthy of respect or acceptance. I think that I should respect truth and evidence.

 

[AprilR]

To me, religion was my relief from an empty and joyless world. When i was a child i often felt like i was in a desert, without any water. I went to school, my grades were good and that was it. There was no happiness or understanding or beauty in the world. My parents were materialistic and pragmatic people who were not really emotional.

When i met religious people and read about religion, it made me feel like i belong in this world. Even though people dont accept me there is a God that made me and i belong in this world that he created. And the loneliness and meaninglessness is easier to bear.

 

[Vindiesel]

Pre-government human planning outdated thinking used to exploit people for money, push them into compliance and knock down some hedonistic competition by rules. It gives them a sense of direction to navigate/quench their fears of the inevitable which is death and the unknown predicated on no real evidence with superstitious stories and 10,000s of gods to choose from. Delusional optimism. It’sa great business plan and tax free.

I thought about starting up a drive thru church. Roll up get your communion and go home and toss that cash in the basket. Communion is open from 9-5 on Sunday’s.

 

[Masked Man]

I think of a few different things when I think of religion:

1. I think of an effective way to influence and control the masses
2. I also think of an effective method that allows different sorts of predators access to these same masses

I think at some point, religion can be beneficial to an individual.

However, like many other things, this has been corrupted by those who seek power.