Why We’re Ashamed to Admit the Flaws of our Religion
And why secularists are in the same boat
There’s a suspicion that Scientology captures its members, and especially its celebrity mascots such as Tom Cruise and John Travolta, by tricking them into sharing the intimate, embarrassing details of their private lives (in “E-meter” therapy sessions), which can later be used to blackmail them.
And we shrug and assume that that’s just a sordid cult, and that while it’s a shame, many of those members joined as adults and they should have known better.
But what if all religions work on similar principles, trapping their adherents by insinuating themselves into their private life like parasites, so that renouncing the religion would feel like an act of self-destruction?
The cultishness of religions
Most religious people around the world grow up as members of their religion. Thus, the religion is woven into our foundational memories, which are typically among our most treasured ones. Rejecting the religion would therefore amount to disowning our childhood.
Moreover, our parents and often our closest friends practice the same religion, so rejecting the religion would cast doubt on our innermost social circle.
