Every human
group appears to have forged their spiritual experiences into some sort of
religious framework. Why do we nonetheless only have a handful of world
religions, rather than a patchwork of local beliefs, as diverse as human ethnic
groups and their geographic situations? Why have almost all of these world
religions been used as a pretext to commit the most horrible acts of violence,
although all preach non-violent behaviour as a core value? And why are all
these religions based on holy texts that are so ambiguous that followers fight
over right and wrong interpretations, and use the same text to justify one
thing and its opposite? Is it simply the result of the features a religion
needs to have to survive and dominate others?
Imagine for example a religion that is based on a half page of text that
states simply and clearly that as a follower, you have to (for example)
pray/meditate with good intentions, not harm anyone in any way, treat everybody
like you want to be treated and help those in need. Full-stop. Either you do
this, or you’re out. Would this religion have millions of followers and thrive
for centuries? Or imagine a religion that is founded by a wise old woman who
lives alone on a remote island and has no intentions to travel. Would this religion
stand any chance of survival against a religion that is malleable, permissive,
adaptive, and aggressively promoted worldwide by a powerful people? Even the
most ingenious virus that infected only the Dodo has died out. Or, on the other hand, how peaceful can a religion be that is spread through violence?
Are our
current dominating religions simply the result of a Darwinian (and hence human)
struggle for survival?
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