A World Without Religion
…might be a better place.
I know that religions matter to people just as much as wars do, but, honestly, I think that the world would be better off without both. I know that saying such a thing ruffles more than a few people’s feathers, but I would like those who disagree with me to hear me out.
It is my opinion that war and religion are two ends of the same stick, and the wood piece in the middle is mankind. Why not bend the stick and make it a circle? Is it because we fear that the wood would snap? Okay, what if it did, then what? Do we really matter that much? To us, we do, but to the world, do we? The earth would probably be happy to be rid of us, considering what we do to her, not to mention what we do to each other. What causes us to act the way that we do? Greed? War? Religion? Why can’t we be more humble? Why must we always want what the other has, why must we force our beliefs on other people, why must we kill each other in order to proclaim ourselves the victors?
Believing in God is not the problem, the problem lies with us and how we construe things. Sure, the Ishtar Gate was a nice thing to have, but did humans ever really need it? Was it the belief in the Mesopotamian gods that caused it to be built, or did those who build it simply want to believe in something? Don’t all humans believe in the exact same thing? Why must the belief in something have to be labeled? If religion was eliminated, we could suddenly see each other for the human beings that we actually are. Maybe then we wouldn’t feel the need to fight each other anymore.
I know that this theory way oversimplifies human behavior. However, I believe that having an unwavering belief in one’s religion does affect one’s interaction with those who don’t share a mutual faith. We need to start thinking of ways to build towards a more peaceful world, and I believe that eliminating religion would allow people to see the other as an equal. Maybe then we could learn how to work together and unite in solving the world’s larger problems.
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