Notes on Religion

Now I'm something of an atheist, and I have no real experience of religion. I have an innate distrust of all authoritarian organisations, be it governments, corporations, charities even, much less the various churches, so what you are going to read may be something of a surprise. There are some positive aspects to religion which are often underrated. Specifically, religion teaches people to learn to live with disappointment.

We have certain expectations in life. We want to be loved. We want to be happy. We want to have a spouse and a family. We want to be beautiful. We want to be intelligent. We want success. We want to be important, either at work, amongst our friends or family, or even in society. We get these expectations from our parents, our peers, from stories we are told when we are children (Cinderella springs to mind) and from the media. A kind of brain washing or programming.

What happens when we don't get these things?

We lose self esteem. We start to think that we are losers in the game of life because, if you're not a winner, you must be a loser. This is where religion comes in. It says, "OK, so you lost. Remember that, ultimately, we all lose and if you're a good, kind person you will be rewarded in the next life". Now this all sounds like a big lie, and it is, but the lie has a purpose. Not everyone can win. You can't get everything you want, no one can. Sometimes, when you do get what you want, you screw your life up (and everyone elses'), so badly you're more unhappy than when you didn't have it. In fact, you should feel lucky to have what you do. You can breathe, walk, feel the sun on the back of your neck, have all five senses, talk, watch a sunset on a beach. You have a roof over your head and food in your belly. Maybe a cold drink on a hot day or a hot drink on a cold day. A cup of coffee, a quiet smoke and a read of the paper. Religion teaches you not to be selfish. That what you want is not the be-all and end-all of your existence. That you're part of something that's bigger than you ("God's plan", or whatever). This is partially correct: you are part of the human race. Maybe not a big part, certainly not as important as you thought, but still a human being and not a half-bad one at that. And you made it this far.

Now this doesn't mean that you should not try to improve your lot in life, nor the lot of others, but it does mean that when you win, others lose, even if you are not aware of it. What should be of concern is that when others lose, they do not lose something that's important. Plus maybe we lose something important when we win: a little of our humanity.

Religion is not as important as it was, especially Christianity, and I'm certainly not advocating it, but that ability to deal with our disappointment is important. It's all part of growing up, being an adult.

"Meet with Triumph and Disaster and treat those two impostors just the same".