Having been born in the Middle East and having spent my first thirteen years of life there, added to living in a religious household until moving out of home for university, I have been exposed to religion and its dynamics enough to understand, to a certain degree, the mechanics of spiritual dogma which involves unified worship of one proposed deity. I have seen both sides of the religious coin – charities inspired by worship centres, good deeds done for the sake of pleasing one’s God, acts of respect toward family and friends among other positive actions that inspired by the religion which the actor follows; but also opinions of racism, sexism and bigotry fuelled by the holy scripts of religions, discrimination against others who do not share the same worldly view as oneself and oppression against those who act in such manner that the dogma does not approve, i.e. skipping prayers, not fasting, dressing against the Godly norm, indulging in supposedly impure sexual acts and so on. I have lived the culture – day in, day out, and I have swung back and forth between both ends of the spiritual stance – from being an avid follower of the religion, to dismissing it a couple of times, which has eventually led me to the angle I today view religion from.

Today, I can, without any doubt, say that I dislike religion and every form of impact it has on humans.

There are many reasons for people to be religious to begin with; the first and major, in my opinion, is being bestowed a certain set of beliefs by one’s parents/caretakers. Religious views are transferred to the baby from his/her caretaker(s) in the same manner cultural identity is passed on, which makes it very difficult for religious individuals to abandon their beliefs – religion is indeed a part of their culture and persona, and letting go of such ideas, for many, is equivalent with letting go of oneself as they know it. Another reason is the effect of living in a certain culture where a certain religion is dominant, and this in itself is a side effect of humans being social creatures.

For some individuals, being a follower of one faith is the same as being a part of a group; a community where one is valued and loved. If we adhere to our current society and follow its norms, we are more likely to be positively perceived by other members of our social circle. Assumedly, very few of us want to be the “black sheep”, the odd member of the pack and the discordant of the group. In addition, without such a feeling of belonging, many people may and will feel lost in a world that barely makes sense, a feeling that takes us to yet a reason to embrace any particular faith.

The world is a huge place with so much going on and so little explained. The idea of not having a purpose and the existential dilemma following such a realisation are very traumatic, and I cannot deny that the everlasting question “why am I here?” has tortured my irreligious self more than I’d like to admit. People ask questions that science is yet to explain, so the answer is often derived from elsewhere, which, in this case, is one specific religion. Whether others should believe said answers to be credible or not, it is not for me to judge. I can although claim that I’d rather live with the uncertainty of this world’s origin, than embrace a superstitious idea and accept it as the truth, and that is a different subject for a different day.

Let’s not forget people who marry into religions, embrace faith following traumatic experiences or to fight back illnesses, both physical and mental, and those who simply get astonished by the philosophy of a religion to the point where they accept it and follow it. Oh, have I mentioned all forced conversions, albeit the fact that they are much less significant in today’s society.

For me, all of the reasons above make such little sense and have very little to do with logic, which is the word that is key when it comes to trying to make sense of the purpose of the existence of humanity. Religion, after all, is a part of culture, and an attempt by human beings to explain the world around them. Obviously, dismissing these spiritual ideas is very easy today, as many of them clearly contradict the collected knowledge of everything around us. Ideas of Gods creating the universe in days, ideas of certain humans descending from a certain body part of a God, forming different casts consequently, ideas of Gods marrying humans and giving birth to half Gods – such beliefs used to be the best explanations for the vast world that surrounds us. The emergence of such ideas is mainly due to not knowing any better, in lack of better terms, and with all the scientific knowledge available, they are easily refutable. Three thousand years ago, though, I would probably be writing about how not believing in Zeus makes so little sense, because no better answer was out there for man. Therefore, I find it rather shameful for the fully grown men of 2014 to believe that a man two centuries ago walked on water, or that a man rode on the back of a winged horse to the heavens. What’s even worse: believing that these men require you to believe in something you haven’t seen, or else, burn in hell and face God’s anguish.

As mentioned earlier, religion is often up there with cultural identity in terms of importance for many reasons – a fact well known by many leaders throughout history, and a fact that has been exploited time and time again for reasons that are the furthest from divine.

Religion teaches people to be obedient, humble, and non-questioning. It teaches you that you, as a human being, are a born sinner. It teaches you that you need guidance; that you need salvation; that you need help. It tells you what God wants from you and how he wants it, and it also shows you how. Pray. Pay church tax. Go to your closest worship place. Fight for your leaders whom are guided by the word of God. Religion addresses insecurities and sensitive spots in the human being and utilises it perfectly – it feeds on fear of punishment, the fear of delusion, the fear of death and the fear of the unknown. It preys on the traumatic realisation that one’s closest, after death, will vanish with no trace into oblivion. It adds up all of the above into the ultimate mind control tool that has been used over and over again, throughout the ages, to satisfy the vile and selfish needs of selfish leaders. Follow me and I shall guide you to victory. Follow me and I shall show you the way. If it wasn’t for fear and insecurity, how else would someone believe that someone they can’t see can and will punish you for not believing in him, although you have all the right in the world to?

Not to forget: many religions go against the core nature of human beings as sexual mammals. Especially sexual needs are dampened to the point of sexual frustration by many sets of belief. Look at the Middle East and certain parts of Africa and Asia and you’ll see how out of touch people are with themselves and their sexual needs. The forbid on many sexual desires, like the homosexual and premarital ones, have rendered many people guilty for what they can’t control, and made them act in a manner that clearly indicates sexual frustration. What’s even more problematic is the way societies affected with such issues address these problems: they attempt to cure the symptoms instead of the causes. It is like brushing dirt under the carpet – instead of acknowledging that such issues have their roots in a flawed belief system that oppresses the sexual needs of society, reforming said system and promoting a correct, healthy image of sex and relationships, a lot of talks are held against masturbation, pornography and flirtation. Segregation of genders is enforced, shaming individuals and guilt-tripping them for acting upon their urges is common practice and the result is often a catastrophe. What makes the situation tenfold worse is the fact that the same individuals that face this mistreatment also look at the other side of the fence through pop culture – the West is portrayed with its liberal stance on all sorts of issues, sexual included, on TV screens, in songs, and in all forms of literature, to a different society with different circumstances. This either alienates the observing societies toward first world countries or makes such groups of people grow a sense of self-loathe. Either way, the outcome is negative energy that could be avoided (although I find it very good that the youth of mentioned parts of the world should learn about how others have it, since that this will ignite the spark of change for the better). There are many more examples, than the sexual one, on how religions contradict the physiology of the Homo sapiens sapiens, but the one presented above is probably the most recognisable among them all.

There are more issues about religion that could be addressed and they would probably make this already long post even longer. The core idea at hand is that religion, despite all its positive aspects, should be dismissed and abandoned for the greater good for all societies around the world. Some might argue for having everyone practice their own beliefs in the comfort of their own homes – that is fine, but let’s not forget how religions tend to be contagious to following generations, through the mean of parents that don’t give their children the privilege of choice regarding spiritual orientation. A lot of these religions, to mention an issue with them being passed on to our children, directly contradict scientific theories, and exposing further generations to the lies that religions contain wouldn’t benefit a human race that is destined to reach greatness.

I dream of a world where conclusions are reached via the means of reason, curiosity and appreciation of the mystery that is life. I find it rather insulting to portray the Creator of such a vastly majestic universe as a worship-demanding tyrant, for the lack of better terms (this doesn’t apply for our fellow Buddhists), and if the Creator did exist, I can’t help but imagine him shaking his head in disappointment at how blatantly humans picture him in the same frame as what humans love to be ruled by, an angry dictator. Maybe that is the whole point – many times has it been shown that humans would rather have authority controlling their lives and telling them what to do, and humans will actively make sure that there are rules to be followed and someone to hang upon for salvation. It makes sense – stepping up to own one’s mistakes and admitting that one can control their own life is a rare ability among people, and having a God that rules you and tells you what to do is very comforting for many. It may be appealing to some to view this life as a “test” where one needs to act well and pass, but that steals a whole lot of beauty from our only proven chance at consciousness and patronises it. It lifts a whole burden off the shoulders of the struggling and gives them light at the end of the tunnel, but is it worth it? If everyone acted like this life isn’t more than a mere test, then I find it difficult to see anyone making the best out of their lifetime. Close your eyes for a second and give this point a little serious thought. Imagine how different the world would be if everyone worshipped their individual Gods, satisfied with the half-logical, fairy-tale like explanations of holy scripts and prepared for an afterlife that can very possibly be non-existent.

Life is short, and life is indeed hard, but that does not mean that life isn’t beautiful. Life is a gift and I find it criminal to limit all beauty surrounding us to the will of a God to test his creation, or a simple path to enlightenment where all joy eventually leads to suffering. It is saddening to see how many tend to focus on the empty part of the glass instead of enjoying the water inside it – we are here and we are alive. Especially today, when the living standard is better than it has ever been, we have a golden opportunity to enjoy our brief moment on earth. Isn’t it rather silly to worry about what a proposed creator, with nothing to back up his existence, would think if you missed a prayer?