The Wisdom in Religion
Whether you consider yourself religious or not, it is irrefutable that there must be some wisdom in traditions that last such a long time. Religion has been created in every civilization. Natural selection in the physical world has led us to things like you & me from plain simple atoms. So it’s not an over-reach to expect that ideas that have evolved multiple times & stood the test of time, like religion, will also have underlying value.
Some ideas in religions are archaic. We know better with modern science. This leads many to throw out the entire religious institution altogether. However, that may be premature and not beneficial. It’s important to dissect & look at this — the value of religion — more deeply so that we may make a more informed decision. In my thinking so far, I see the following dimensions -
Festivals
These serve an important function in society and we would be poorer without them. One may not believe the fiction behind the festival, but one can’t refute the binding force they become for families and societies. Every religion has a festival where the family is supposed to get together (Eg — Diwali, Christmas). Every religion has a festival you celebrate with your community (Eg — Halloween, Durga Puja, Holi). A stronger social fabric emanates as a result of these traditions.
Gods
Worshipping the statues of a God is so meaningless that I won’t even discuss it. But the idea of Gods themselves deserves discussion.
In modern times, the popular perception of Gods is that of the “Creator of all existence”, the prime mover. A divine person or people who live in the sky, unseen by mere mortals. This ends up being the most problematic part of religion for any thinking person, as there are obvious questions to be asked a) Who created the Creator? b) Why did the Creator create evil? c) What’s the proof they exist? Modern science has also made much headway over the centuries in explaining physical existence, and religion is finding it harder & harder to come up with innovative stories. However, I feel that if we remove the responsibility of being “The Creator” and of these individuals hiding somewhere, then the pantheon of Gods can start making a lot more sense. How so?
Without the responsibility of creation, what remains of the divine pantheon is its qualitative nature. They essentially represent a set of noble traits & virtues. For example — In Hinduism, Brahma represents the creator soul, Vishnu represents the maintainer, Shiva represents passion & creative-destruction. The divine pantheon essentially becomes symbolic of the many qualities & personalities which an individual holds within themselves. The most respected Gods would imbibe the qualities most respected within this society. And this would act as a subliminal signal to individuals to inculcate those qualities.
Demons
Depictions of demons have become very fanciful & caricatured in modern times. But the original idea in every religion is that these are entities that prevent us from being the best version of ourselves. And haven’t we all been victims of greed, envy, anxiety, sloth/laziness, etc? We feel these emotions even when we intellectually know that we should not. So it is not far-fetched to think that the purpose of demons in any mythology was to serve as a warning. As a constant reminder to individuals to guard against the onset of such mental delirium.
Religious institutions (Temples, Churches, etc)
These are economic institutions, that do charitable work in a society that businesses cannot.
Afterlife
Every religion paints a view of the afterlife for its followers. It is often said that religion fills the gaps between scientific knowledge, and the afterlife is the biggest gap there is. Based on the physical sciences, there is no afterlife. Once we die, that is it. The challenge though is that science also has nothing to say whatsoever as regards our internal experience, our consciousness. This fundamental fact of existence eludes science altogether.
The jury is out on this one. No religion has any proof of it’s claims, and science makes no claim.
Us vs Them
In olden times, without any technology or science, the world was a very large and scary place. You could not know what the tribe across the hill was like — what language they spoke, what they know about the world, what traditions they followed, what values they cherished. In such a world, imagine if you come to know that they follow the same religion as you. Wouldn’t you feel a lot closer to them? Less hesitant to make contact? Religion played a very important uniting force during these times.
So overall, while the concepts of religion and how we follow them have got extremely convoluted over time, we start to see the real value underneath once we start peeling the layers. An atheist sometimes struggles with life, for they don’t have any of the scaffolding provided by religion. Peeling the layers in this manner allows us to then pick & choose the aspects we like, and we can start inculcating them for a richer life.
For a fanciful example, one may even create their own Gods & demons based on what they value & what they struggle with. They can even pray to this personal pantheon every day. A prayer here is akin to mental training, reminding oneself over & over again what we value and what we don’t. Like a form of meditation, repetition helps soften & shape the mind.
