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I grew up very Christian.
Going to church. Believing in an afterlife and that good people went to heaven and bad people went to hell.
I guess I didn't have a choice.
Like most of the world, I was simply born into my religion.
My parent’s beliefs became mine and this was my world for a very long time.
Until around the time I turned 17 and something changed in me.
I became something of an agnostic.
To clarify:
I'm a total atheist to the idea of a religious, personified, robe-wearing, living in the clouds, judging people God.
But agnostic in terms of a universal force of nature kind of God. Something close to Einstein's God.
Three resources changed my almost two decades of religious indoctrination.
The first was this Cracked article on “5 Popular Beliefs That Are Holding Humanity Back“
The second was the website God Is Imaginary. Short arguments against the idea of a religious God.
The third and most important though, was that I got to a point in my life where having blind faith in one religion didn't jibe with my critical thinking.
I knew the world was filled with competing religions. Each with people who believe wholeheartedly that they were right.
It seemed intellectually dishonest to believe I was right and everyone else was wrong simply because I believed I was right.
So I just stopped believing in God.
But religion and belief are not the same.
Humans are designed to hold on to beliefs. Both rational and irrational beliefs.
And religion is just a combination of beliefs.
Even though I'm no longer religious.
I do understand, perhaps now more than ever, the role of religious beliefs in society.
People need answers to questions, they need community, they need reassurance.
I may not agree with everything people believe in but I can see why they have that belief.
Even though I lost my religion a long time ago. I still hold beliefs from that time that continues to shape my life today.
I probably have a more Christian outlook on things than most people.
For things I believe in I can be overly optimistic, at levels approaching blind faith, even when I know I might be wrong.
Having also believed 100% in the idea of heaven.
I'm more prone to believe that it's possible to create a real Utopia here on earth.
Religion, like it or not, has shaped human society in ways we can’t fully understand.
Take the very popular idea that human life is sacred and equal.
This isn’t something you reach by logical deduction.
It’s a product of religious beliefs and significantly spread by Christianity.
Our modern laws are still based on this ideal.
No matter how far away humanity drifts from religion our collective consciousness has been shaped by them.
We can't run away from them any more than we can ignore our evolutionary biological routes.
To conclude:
I am irreligious, but I do have beliefs influenced by religion.
We all do.
I have a mix of Christian, Buddhist, Zen, and Techno Optimist beliefs.
I feel they allow me to see the world from a different perspective.
More people should consciously choose their beliefs and not be an unconscious byproduct of their environment.
The only criteria I have for adopting a belief is if it's empowering.
If it helps me achieve the things I want in life.
My only issue with religion is how, like the Cracked article explains, many people use it as an excuse for laziness and inaction in their lives and in the world.
But maybe that’s just how most people want to live rather than the religion.
My main take away from the religious phase of my life is the power of belief.
If we’ve learned anything from the catastrophes and genocides that have happen on earth:
It's that Hell is possible on Earth.
But I believe so is Heaven.
Choose empowering beliefs.
Until next time friend ✌️