The Cancer of Religious Narcissism

The bloody clashes between Sikh sects reminds us once again of the intimate bond between religion and violence. It seems to take only the tiniest doctrinal differences to produce bloodshed. My favorite headline from 2008 was CHRISTIANS BRAWL AT JESUS' TOMB, citing a donnybrook between Armenian and Greek Orthodox priests.

People often marvel at the fact that, despite the nonviolent teachings of their founder, Christians never seem to tire of slaughter. Catholics all over Europe have killed Protestants by the thousands and slaughtered their children, and Protestants have done the same. The Crusaders mounted genocidal attacks on Arabs and Jews. Modern efforts to win over moderates in Afghanistan are consistently sabotaged by fundamentalist military chaplains who tell our troops they're fighting Satan and should be murdering anyone they can't convert.

Precisely what the Imams are telling the Taliban. For homicidal proclivities seem endemic to most of the world's major religions. Hindus and Muslims slaughter each other, as do Israelis and Palestinians, Sunnis and Shiites. And the Bible is filled with genocide, supposedly ordered by God. Why is this so?

The answer is that most organized religions are based on systems of belief.

Every religion is trying to create a consensual reality. That is to say, the more people you can get to believe your legend, the easier it is for you to take it as fact. If everyone around you believes something, it's actually difficult not to believe it yourself. In the famous Asch experiment, in which the deliberate lies of seven stooges convinced most experimental subjects to deny the evidence of their own senses, only one of the seven stooges needed to give the correct reading for the naïve subject to feel able to buck the tide. This is why fundamentalist cults always isolate themselves -- to eliminate the possibility of a contrary view.

Jesus said very specifically that the world would end during the lifetime of his disciples. He was wrong about that. They waited, it didn't happen. Many people expected it at the end of the first millennium. Didn't happen. Many people expected it at the end of the second millennium. Didn't happen. Various Christian cults in every century have insisted on an early demise for the planet. And that mega-cult of fundamentalists spread across our Southland is still waiting for the "Rapture" today -- the great event when they alone will be swept to Paradise, leaving all their annoyingly happy neighbors behind. Unlike the Taliban, who have to kill infidels to get into Paradise, Christian fundamentalists just have to believe a primitive folk tale. But the motivation is always the same: Get ME, not my neighbors, ME into Paradise.

Christianity, for example, became violent and corrupt the moment it went from being a movement based on love and charity to one based on faith. The emphasis on faith meant marginalizing its ethical core. Christians today feel comfortable being rich, selfish, and homicidal because they believe that believing alone will get them into heaven, and getting into heaven is, after all, a completely selfish concern. Christianity says you might not be able to take your moneybags with you when you die, but you can take your inflated ego. As long as you believe the legend.

Religious wars, religious arguments, are inherently narcissistic. The only way you can feel sure of getting your sorry butt into some sort of paradise is to get everyone else to believe your program for achieving that goal. Needless to say, spirituality has nothing whatever to do with all this.

If your religious system requires an army of salesmen, it automatically disqualifies itself from its claim to truth. Every religion that proselytizes is intrinsically corrupt. True spirituality needs no bosses, no hucksters, no bureaucracy, no creed. It's about awareness and gratitude for the wonder of existence, not a rapacious craving for ego-survival.

(In his inauguration speech, Obama talked of a whole new way of doing things. To understand the cultural paradigm shift that engendered this change -- the shift that both the neocons and the Taliban have resisted so fiercely, see my website for information on THE CHRYSALIS EFFECT: THE METAMORPHOSIS OF GLOBAL CULTURE).

Comments

[ArthurTwoShedsJackson]

Outstanding article. I will go so far as to say that if religious fundamentalism could be magically wiped off the face of the earth permanently, we would all see a global utopia within our lifetimes.

[princessofnowt]

Organized religions are about money and control.
Thats what 'the fear of God' is about- do what they say or you will go to hell has proved more powerful than governments threatening jail.
You can get people to do anything with the threat of everlasting pain and suffering if they don't.
Some people.
You can get people to kill other people with the lie that the people who need to be killed are "evil".
Some people.

Lately it seems that while religion is the primary way to get our young people to kill other young people at war, even 'God' approving of it doesnt seem to be preventing the mental illness and suicides of those who know it is wrong to kill others anyway, God or no god, they dont want to kill others and arent fully buying the whole story.

[rolodex]

Spirituality seems to be the last hand hold on the way to de-conversion. Some people are just too scared to let go and stand on their own. The last "what-if". That one grip on spirituality allows them to jump right back into religion at the first sign of danger (serious illness, death of a loved one, fear-mongering politicians).

I don't completely agree with kwinter that it is a little craving for ego-survival, but kind of like the nostalgic desire of some ex-smokers, you don't quite crave a smoke, but you do enjoy a deep breath of it in a smoky bar.

The only way to be truly free of the religion is to let go of the spirituality metaphor completely. Sure, there is value in some form of communal connectedness, an "us" to belong to, but the old tribal level notions of us vs. them as been expanded where we should understand that all life on earth is in some way or another a part of the "us". Instead of using the "spirit" based language though, the language of humanism, or naturalism would be much better.

[kwinter]

Mr. Slater,
You did a great job of laying out some of the problems and effects of religions.
I'm right with you, up until the end.
But after all of your specific criticisms about religions, you end with two sentences about "true spirituality", that are a little vague. Besides "awareness and gratitude for the wonder of existence", you address what "true spirituality" is not.
I get frustrated by the increasing number of people lately, saying "I'm not religious, I'm spiritual", but whenever I ask exactly what that means, no one can really define it.
The only thing most (usually incoherent) answers have in common, are statements containing the words "I feel ... ".
Well, we're all human, we all "feel" things. When people label themselves by saying "I'M spiritual", they sound as though there's a little, to use your words ... craving for ego-survival.

If you're going to use the term "true spirituality", please define it for those of us who are less enlightened.

[ArthurTwoShedsJackson]

kwinter, good question, point well taken. Here is some food for thought: I saw this actual bumper sticker recently:

Religion is for people who are afraid to go to hel.
Spiritualty is for people who have already been there.

Religion is preoccupied with what you believe in. For example, to be a xtian you MUST believe that Jesus is the son of God, believe in his resurrection and turrning water into wine, walking on water, bringing a dead Lazarus back to life etc etc. were all real events you could go back and camcord if you had a time machine. How you live is a side issue, if anything. Many xtians regard their belief as trumping all else, so actually enjoy denigrating others who do not share their Jesus beliefs. Of course xtians have gone even more gonzo over the last 8 years, denegrating even other xtians who do not share their right wing political ideology.

Spirituality is concerned with how you live. There is no creed, no religious litmus test. It is about inner peace and then sharing that with the world through how you live your life.

Makes me glad to be both UU and a Buddhist.

[JohnFromCensornati]

"Christianity, for example, became violent and corrupt the moment it went from being a movement based on love and charity to one based on faith."
"Christianity says you might not be able to take your moneybags with you when you die, but you can take your inflated ego. As long as you believe the legend."

Exactly. It's astonishing to me that people say they believe the legend. How is that possible? I believe that kids believe, but adults?
I have to think many are hoping that *saying* they believe is good enough and all sorts of bizarre behavior follows as they try to convince themselves.

[doojie]

Very good. I remember your statement from "EarthWalk" that a machine-like response in the face of danger had no value until men began to make war on each other. From that came an evolutionary force that shaped humanity in brutal ways.

War and machine, religion and machine, government and machine. No matter which one you choose, solutions are collectively found with the sword.

The apostle Paul wrote in Romans 8:7 that the carnal or natural mind is enmity against God and cannot be subject to his laws.

This creates two basic results:
1. No one can claim authority as God's representative, because no one can be physically subject to God's laws.
2. Any attempt to do so would result in a splintering or speciation of religions into infinity, as we have today.

Neither Paul nor Jesus advocated organization of religious people according to hierarchial mechanical principles. In fact, Paul said there is no decision procedure that gets us from "here" to "God(Romans 8:29-30, Romans 9:16)".

Godel's theorem tells us that there is no way to package all truth into one logical, finite, rational system. It would seem that Paul and Godel are in agreement.

[Parducci]

You said "Jesus said very specifically that the world would end during the lifetime of his disciples. He was wrong about that. "

You are probably referring to Matthew 24:34 "I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. " but "generation" can also be translated as race.

Read the entire chapter (or Bible) for proper context. Jesus said that no one but God knows when he will return in verse 36, "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.