How Religion is Detrimental to Human Enlightenment Essay

Religion has bequeathed us with numerous powers to live, breathe in peace, and capture our soul to realize the truth of ourselves and divine. The whole concept of religion lies in the fact that it binds us with our imperceptible creator and enables us to visualize our self and our esteem perquisite hidden power. But to this religion only, we owe extreme form of fundamentalism and fanaticism that since centuries and as far as our history goes have been detrimental to the basic core of all our religions and religious faiths. Religious doctrines of almost all over the world laid down principles of the life for their respective societies: how they will live and follow their religious rituals? These religious practices prepared persons in their respective societies to live in harmony with each other and maintain the cordial ambience with their environment. Almost all the religions of the world adopted their own religious belief systems. But when these systems take an extreme form of fundamentalism and show their aggression and disbelief against other religious groups and faith, they hurt at the most fundamental concepts of human lives on which religions are based. They make religion as the most hatred thing in the world and turn it into the most inauspicious aspect for human enlightenment. Religion enlightens by inculcating within the people the moral values on which the human life and society is flourishing but when the propagators of these moral values use the religious beliefs and religion to instigate their fame and for their own commercial purposes, this religion only becomes a darker phase in their life. Just when 16th century began to shower the new rays of hope on the mother Earth, Niccolo di Bernardo dei Machiavelli, an Italian political philosopher, diplomat poet, playwright and musician wrote, â€Å"We Italians are irreligious and corrupt above others. †¦.. because the church and her representatives have set us the worst example. †1 According to Machiavelli, religion became just a mere tool in the hands of ruling powers to change the mind set of the public according to their own needs and aspirantions. And its happening till today. This world of today is witness to the massive force of ruling class using religion to meet their political and commercial needs. Cotton Mather, writing of a former condition which he would admired to have renewed in his own time, said: â€Å"New England being a country whose interests are remarkbaly in ecclesiastical circumstances, ministers ought to concern themselves in politics. † 2 Further said by Cobb, in the early days, the clergy had a greater influence on the minsteral affairs and the influence was so much that they with their ruling power could bring magistrates and courts too to their dictate. This led number of clergies to misuse the power and made the religion as an instrument of bigotry and superstition. 3 The clergy, political class and other religious fanatics made religion an arena of superstition and doctrine of blind faith that did not believe in the new thoughts of this scientific and highly technological advanced world of today and made religion deterimental to Human enlightenment. Human enlightenment endows the knowledge and awakening of human values and the knowledge of scientific truths and temperament that has made our life at ease. Science wants us to solve all problems of our life through deep regressive thoughts and our own efforts. Atheists began to instigate the adherance to religion and God within us. They believe that no divine power can solve our problem and prayer is just a wastage of time. 4 1 Burckhardt, pp. 272 2 Cobb, pp. 237 3 Cobb, pp. 237 4. Cronish, para 2, Online Edition In fact even Albert Ellis, PhD, said, â€Å"If religion is defined as man’s dependence on a power above and beyond the human, then, as a psychotherapist, I find it to be exceptionally pernicious. Religion, first of all, is not self-interest – it is god-interest. Religiosity is essentially masochism and both are forms of mental sickness. All religions contend that their super-human entities cannot be humanly experienced and that their gods and their principles are beyond science. Religion is†¦ directly opposed to the goals of mental health. †5 Religion beckons us to follow spiritual life but the way religious doctrines are propagated and publicized and mould the mental attitude of the people, they are going even against the moral values that are so basic for a person to be human. The politicians, religious heads and other fanatics are misusing the religious doctrines to spread among human race superstition, blind faith, sins, violence chaos and disorder. History is clear proof to show how since ages poltical rulers and religious heads are degrading the religious doctrines and misrepresenting them to fulfill their own aims and are spreading useless dogmas, corrupt powerhouses, chaos and confusion and thus result in making the religious values as a sole detrimental to Human enlightenment. The religious texts of almost all the religions of the world have been written by humans, that are centuries old, in their own language and style that people of today’s generation are not able to comprehend and take out the extract what lies beneath the hidden text. This lack of understanding belies the own faith and life style of the contemporary world. As Christopher Hitchens in â€Å"God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything† said that as religion has impeded people to treat other persons in a just manner and it is not necessary to learn the basic human values and human relations from religion or religious doctrines. Human relations come 5 Cronish, para 2, Online Edition from human own needs and aspirations. Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens state that â€Å"Religion and churches are manufactured, and this salient fact is too obvious to ignore. †6 And according to Dawkins, â€Å"The manufacturing and growth of religion is best described in evolutionary terms: Religions, like languages, evolve with sufficient randomness, from beginnings that are sufficiently arbitrary, to generate the bewildering – and sometimes dangerous – richness of diversity. †7 And Harris delving into the historicity of the religious tradition and doctrine states that â€Å"The Bible, it seems certain, was the work of sand-strewn men and women who thought the earth was flat and for whom a wheelbarrow would have been a breathtaking example of emerging technology. †8 He further states that it was not even the work of sand-strewn men but several written pieces were pierced together and compiled to give shape to the bible. Further elaborating Dawkins states that, â€Å"Ever since the nineteenth century, scholarly theologians have made an overwhelming case that the gospels are not reliable accounts of what happened in the history of the real world. †9 It implies that the bible and almost the majority of the religious texts were written taking in view the social, culture, political turmoil that were affecting the people of that time and period but that can be relevant to this time and period too if properly interpreted and comprehended. But unfortunately this is not happening, Hitechens wants to tell us that all our academic studies, like â€Å"the sciences of textual criticism, archaeology, physics, and molecular biology have shown religious myths to be false and man-made. †10 Science has proved that all religions are construed by 6 Fish, para 1,Online Edition 7 Fish, para 1, Online Edition 8 Fish, para 1, Online Edition 9 Fish, para 2, Online Edition 10 Fish, para 3, Online Edition men for their own purpose and it was the man of that time and age who wrote the textual books. Titus Lucretius Carus, Roman poet of first century B. C in his magnificent rendered opus De Rerum Natura postered the view that, â€Å"But ’tis that same religion oftener far Hath bred the foul impieties of men. †11 He held the belief that the world was made up of matter and void, and everything in the world is learned and understood purely from nature and that all the religions of the world are born because of the fear that people faced because of the dangers that nature had in store for them in their primitive stage and their ignorance about the world around, about themselves and about everything that were part and parcel of their life. Humans were afraid of fire that is why they started worshiping fire, they were afraid of animals so they made many of the animals their deity. Slowly and slowly, they turned their worshipping into rituals that necessiated them to follow in their lifes. Their religious freedom and beliefs strangled their hold on the people’s freedom. Initially they made this beginning to give protective cover to people against discrimination, persecution and oppression but in this momentum, the religious fundamentalists and fanatics made religion too symbol of slavery, persecution and oppression of weaker sects and women. For e. g. many of the propagators of the religions thought it their right to confer discriminatory attitude against gays, force women and children to cover their face with veil. 12 And above all their rights to threaten to death or kill anyone and everyone who comes in front of their religion. In many religions, women’s place is inferior to men. Rev. Jill Nelson, pastor of the Sunshine Cathedral Metropolitan Community Church, commenting on Leviticus 20:13, said, â€Å"It is grounded in the old Jewish understanding that women are less worthy than men. For a man to 11 Lucretius, Book I – Proem, Line 3-4. 12 Namazie, Online Edition. have sex with another man ‘as with a woman’ insults the other man, because women are to be treated as property. †13 The most essential needs of our human beings are food, clothing, shelter, leisure and the most important being freedom. It’s the freedom that we all cherish and along-with the freedom need awareness, emotional satisfaction, responsibility towards ourselves and for others. Human beings are enlightened if they get freedom and independence of thoughts and sexuality and many of the religions are snatching this only freedom by putting before us several of their religious doctrines. Though many of the religions like Buddhism and Christianity say that feeling of essence of spirituality itself is the freedom for you. The New Testament of the Christianity says, â€Å"You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free† implying that knowing the spiritual truth and freedom of choice will give you freedom but in this materialistic and scientific world of today we are not seeking just the freedom of spirituality but freedom in all the way’s of our life, and in all our breath. We cannot grow unless we are free. Karl Marx had an ardent belief that religion is socially construed, and is harmful for human lives as it discourages the down trodden human beings from participating actively in the political, social and economic upheavals of the society as it promises that the faithful people shall be rewarded in the life after. Ruling class treat religion as a tool to suppress the sufferings and down trodden by implying their own modifications of religious doctrines. For their own commercial and social gains, they imbibe the religious textual principles and traits among the poor and hamper their economical progress and independence. 13 Kinney, Online Edition. 14 Muhammad, Online Edition Marx labeled religion as an opium of people because the religion could give poor the momentarily relief but could not make them rid of their prolong sufferings. Secondly, religion gives them dreams of better life after their death. In other words, Marx treats religion as a rout of Escapism. In the words of Marx, â€Å"The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is the demand for their real happiness. To call on them to give up their illusions about their condition is to call on them to give up a condition that requires illusions. The criticism of religion is, therefore, in embryo, the criticism of that vale of tears of which religion is the halo. †15 Marx says that the concept of sin so highly delivered by Christian doctrine is anti-social as Christian doctrine is inherent in the nature of human beings that becomes the part of the misery and Marx says that sins are socially planned and implemented and ought to be changed. It is the world of man, man is a part of this state and society, and it is this society that religion own its existence to. To ignore religion means to ignore the roots of our civilization, its monuments, its beliefs and practices, achievement and the legacy that it had bestowed onto us by our ancestors. If we do not have our own religious faith, its bound to have venomous effect on our own personality but this very religion becomes our enemy when we begin to use its doctrines and principles to embellish our own selfish ends. And this misinterpretation of the religious doctrines, selfishness of the ruling and powerful elite make our religions detrimental to Human Enlightenment. WORKS CITED Burckhardt, Jacob. â€Å"The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy† (Translated by S. G. Middlemore) USA: Penguin Classics, 1990 Cobb, Sanford H. â€Å"The Rise of Religious Liberty in America: A History† Ayer Publishing, 1970. Cornish, Keith S. â€Å"SECULAR SYSTEMS† atheist foundation. org. au Internet (19August 2002) Available: http://www. atheistfoundation. org. au/secularsystems. htm, 10 December 2007 Fish, Stanley. â€Å"Is Religion Man-Made? † Internet (24 June 2007) Available: http://fish.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/06/24/is-religion-man-made/