Wednesday 9 January 2002

Pic of the day: Foggy.

Facets of religion

You would be excused to think that religion is the same to all people. Or at least that the same religion is the same to all people. But the confusing fact is that even to different family members going to the same place of worship, the experience can be wildly different.

The social side of religion is fairly well understood. It is generally agreed that religions have provided an important glue to societies for thousands of years. In some cases, religion is the main – if not only – tie that binds a group together. And just as obviously, some places religion is the main divisive force. If you look at Ulster (sometimes called Northern Ireland), you will find that the genetic difference between the two ethnic groups is negligible. They also tend to speak the same language and have much the same interests. But they have different versions of the same religion, and that seems to be enough justification to kill each other. (Never mind that their actual religion holds up an infinite stay in burning Hell as reward for killing civilians. Details, details.)

Even in more pluralist societies, such as North America, places of worship are also social watering holes. People with slightly (but not too much) different background come together and have a positive experience together, forming social ties that come in handy in other situations. Whether you are doing business or looking for a baby-sitter, a member of your church (or mosque, or synagogue) will probably stand out as a preferred choice. The root of this binding together can be traced back to stone age tribes; the forms have changed but the basics remain.

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Another side of religion is the setting of ethical standards. It will generally seem like the religion is setting the standards that society strives to live up to; but it is not always quite that simple. For instance, modern western societies absolutely forbid bigamy or polygamy; but most accept serial monogamy. The actual Semitic religions that are common here, however, have the opposite view. Limited polygamy is accepted in the Bible as well as the Koran, while Christianity specifically forbids remarriage after a divorce. Very few worshippers care about this at all; the standards of ethics are changed and now deviate from the holy texts that people profess belief in. Nor is this a unique case: In Norway when I grew up, Christians were not supposed to drink alcohol under any circumstances. This has changed now, but it lasted for at least a couple generations. The holy book of the Christians say that drunkenness is a sin, but that limited intake of wine is good for your health. (This last part is now a commonly accepted fact by the medical community, it seems.)

Some of my fellow believers argue that in the absence of religion there can be no impetus to ethical behavior. After all, if this life is all we have, what is the point of doing the right thing? We won't get any reward in the afterlife, nor any punishment. It all comes down to not getting caught by the police. Indeed, the struggle to not get caught seems to be quite common; but this applies to churchgoers as well as self-professed heathens and apostates. According to my sources, it is not uncommon for well known church members to buy pornographic material, but they make sure they are alone in the shop, and carry the stuff off in business-looking briefcases or such. Evidently they believe that their God is more accepting of pornography than their fellow man. They may or may not be right; I have no revelation on this.

But the fact is that a large number of non-believers have high ethical standards and strive just as much to live up to them as a believer does. Why is this? They claim to be just walking talking meat. They say that they have no spirit, that their thoughts are just electrochemical impulses caused by external events and random processes. But they don't act the part. Of course, if there is no God to give life meaning, what do they have to lose by acting righteously either? They can do whatever they damn well please; and if it pleases them to do good, who is to stop them?

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The religions say that the laws of the Creator are written in men's (and presumably women's) hearts. Sociobiology call them instincts. For instance, most humans are very reluctant to kill a helpless human. Wolves and other pack animals have the exact same attitude. This comes in very handy, because if we kept killing each other each time we were angry, we would soon be too few to hold our territory. This holds doubly true for humans, who invest a long childhood in their offspring. It sucks to raise a kid for 15 years and have him (or even worse, her) killed off before they get really productive. There are similar but less dramatic explanations for many other moral laws that seem to follow humans everywhere.

But if there is an instinct for ethical behavior, might there not be an instinct for religion as such? After all, the majority of people are religious, on all continents throughout all of history. This is hardly a coincidence. Some political systems have tried to take on the trappings of religion (communism in particular was eager on this) and eradicate the idea of God (or gods) from the human mind. But they failed miserably. What some people fail to see is that religion is more than a social framework. Religion has another side, a subjective and very personal side. This is the personal meeting between human and deity. To those who have no experience with it, it seems like pure madness. And yet it happens to ordinary people of all races at all times in history. To some, it has been so since childhood. In many others, it changes their life forever.

As I have told before, I am a Christian mystic, even if I have not developed that side of me far. I have developed my rational side more. But mysticism still gives a unique perspective on life. It transforms religion in particular from a theoretical construct of dogma and rules to an organic, unified experience. But this is just too much to tell in one sitting. I have given clues before. I will do so again, God willing.