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Subject and Expectation:

Why do some Humanists choose to speak out against Religion? Please welcome our newest guest author Jessica Barahona from the United States. Mrs. Barahona draws a clear comparison between the institutions of human slavery and religion .

Introduction

Since the beginnings of The Small Town Humanist movement, there have been some that have voiced their opinions as to the amount of attention that is devoted to discussing religion. Some have said that there is too much time devoted to this, that Humanists are supposed to be loving and understanding of all. While we completely agree with this philosophy, we have reacted by putting out this statement to help clear up what STH stands for and why we feel the way we do about how religion has affected this world and stands in the way of our evolution and further development as a human race.

Jessica has joined the ranks of STH with an even deeper analysis of how Religion has enslaved our evolution for far too long, encouraging us with her extremely powerful words to view religion for exactly what it is. She puts forth a fair comparison between the days of physically-executed human slavery and the psychologically-executed mental slavery that has been perfected over the centuries by the institution of religion. Without further delay, we give you Jessica’s moving piece…”The Slavery of Religion.”

The Slavery of Religion

What do the institutions of religion and human slavery have in common? One similarity is that they have both contributed beneficially to society at one point or another throughout history, but both institutions have done so at indefensible cost. Slavery, prominent in the southern United States, benefited the economy as a whole, bringing unprecedented wealth to the US South while providing the slaveholders and their families with economic security. The downside to this prosperous economic scheme is pretty obvious–human slavery is not a voluntary institution; the slaves didn’t have much of a say in the matter.

Human beings were stolen from their homelands, families forcefully broken apart, individuals sold like merchandise, subsequently becoming the property of the slaveholder. We needn’t go into much detail of the horrific nature of human slavery as we are now well-aware of its atrocious nature and can look back in horror that the system was once EVER tolerated. The fact that not ALL slaveholders mistreated their slaves in no way excuses the fact that the institution of human slavery is WRONG, based on a foundation that violates every imaginable human right.

The Institution of Religion

We can look at the institution of religion in much the same way. Long ago, religion provided isolated communities of people with a way to bond and created a semblance of order and obedience to authority. Since its inception, it has inspired the faithful to compose beautiful poems and songs and to create masterpieces of art and architecture. But just because religion has proffered some beautiful gifts to society doesn’t mean they haven’t come at a cost.

The cost of religion is both personal and societal and, in both cases, grossly exorbitant. Where human slavery is a physical affliction, religion is a subtle form of slavery–a mental slavery not as easily recognizable as corporeal slavery. Instead of physically abducting a human and controlling them bodily, religion relies on an insidious form of abduction that slowly robs a person of the mental capacity to reason when faced with facts that interfere with their faith-based beliefs.

While slaves were physically punished for attempts at escaping their enforced servitude, religious adherents are psychologically punished from the very first doubtful question they ask as a child. Both are victims of mandated loyalty and are beaten down physically, mentally and/or emotionally by any attempts at freedom. A few of the most obstinate will eventually fight their way out of servitude in search of a life of freedom, but the majority will be subjugated into a state of perpetual submission, oftentimes so broken that they feel helpless without an owner, a master to pull their strings and will eventually learn to stop fighting and simply feel grateful for any scrap of attention bestowed upon them.

Psychologically Enslaved by Religion

While not ALL religious adherents suffer apparently from the effects of religion there are MILLIONS who do, some of whom helplessly recognize the symptoms while others live on in innocent ignorance of their enslaved state. Most religious people have very little say-so in the religious beliefs they hold as the majority were force-fed their religious beliefs from before they were old enough to reason their way through any of the beliefs, in a form of ‘teaching’ known as indoctrination. The fact that not ALL believers suffer in tangible ways doesn’t excuse the fact that the institution of religious indoctrination is WRONG, based on a foundation that violates a human’s right to religious choice before the age of reason has been attained.

Just as slaves were physically manipulated to obey their masters, so too are the religiously indoctrinated psychologically manipulated to obey their authority figures (their god/clergy/parents). Neither victim is asked if they want to participate; they are exploited while in a vulnerable state and feel obligated to acquiesce. While human slavery is easier to identify as a human rights violation, religious enslavement is trickier to categorize as such due to the difficulty in assessing the internal effects of its inherent psychological abuse.

This, perhaps, may help explain why slavery was more easily and readily seen as the human rights violation that it is. Psychological abuse, on the other hand, is a much more gradual form of abuse that affects the afflicted in ways often difficult to recognize by both the inflicted and the onlooker.

This is the true danger of religion. It has had centuries to fine-tune its armory of psychological warfare, so subtle and effective that BILLIONS of people around the world are representative victims of its power, often completely unaware of their affliction. They are subtly beaten down emotionally to the point of feeling so broken that only the love of their imaginary god can make them feel complete.

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Who Benefits from Religion?

Who benefits from this system? Certainly not the religious victim. Certainly not the invisible god whose existence has yet to be proven. Perhaps the religious and political leaders who use the religion as a tool to advance their careers and provide their livelihood benefit from the perpetuation of religion?

That is not to say that all religious leaders are manipulative and in it for self-aggrandizement. There are those who truly believe (as they were indoctrinated to do so in their youth as well) and truly want to guide people to a life of fulfillment with the ultimate goal of securing a heavenly afterlife.

A glaring problem with a life spent in pursuit of this goal of ‘not really dying after you die’ is the fact that neither any god nor any version of heaven or hell have ever been proven, so people are LITERALLY spending their lives dedicated to imaginary beings and imaginary realms, based on promises that no earthly human can honestly make.

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For those who have escaped the grips of religion and those who were never in it, this dedication to a fantasy is seen as a vast waste of time and resources when there are real world problems that need addressed. This is something humanists care deeply about and feel the need to address. This is a reason many of us speak out against religion—in the hopes that someone will break free from their religious trance and see how it has enslaved their mind and allow them the freedom to use their energy towards advancing human needs over religious desires.

Humanist Activism to Offset Indoctrination

It took passionate human rights activists (and, unfortunately, war!) to dismantle the oppressive system of slavery in favor of the human right of FREEDOM. Humanists hope the same fate for the oppressive system of religion, but without the violence of war; rather we hope to create a ripple of internal discomfort, an unsettling inner struggle that eventually will lead to a realization, admission and acceptance of reality. Regardless of the fact that some people benefit from religion (just as the slaveholders benefited from their slaves), we are all obligated to speak out against the dangers so that everyone can benefit from a society that puts human rights over religious rites.

This is why humanists feel compelled to speak out. It’s not to be controversial or to upset anyone’s way of life that may bring them cultural comfort, social acceptance or peace, but to educate the millions of people suffering from the effects of religion, to let them know that religion is a VOLUNTARY institution–not a mandated one–and to provide them a safe outlet should they need it.

Humanists want to stress the importance of the idea that humans are more important than unproven gods and–as yet—all gods remain unproven. Humanists want to help people see that religious indoctrination is a form of mental slavery, a violation of human rights just as slavery once was.

Hopefully, some day in the near future we can look back in awe that the oppressive system of religion was once EVER tolerated.

Thank you STH!

I extend my sincerest thanks to The Small Town Humanist for allowing me to participate in their beautiful mission of encouraging honest conversation about religion and its impact on self and society. I hope to contribute to the conversation by creating thought-provoking content that encourages both introspection and meaningful dialogue. I am grateful to The Small Town Humanist for the work they are doing to promote humanism and hope to continue helping them spread their encouraging message.

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