Religion can become empty, too

[struggle4progress]

Pamela K. Taylor
Co-Founder Muslims for Progressive Values

Religious practice, especially ritual, can all too easily turn into mindless, rote performance, whether its the five daily prayers of Islam, or the before dinner grace so common in Christian American households, or even Buddhist meditative practices ...

My practice of Islam, in particular the depth of feeling I bring to prayer and fasting, has been enriched and strengthened by Buddhist teachings on attachment and the suffering we cause ourselves by mistaking the mundane for the eternal. My understanding of what it means to submit one’s will to Allah has been broadened and deepened by Daoist teachings about emptiness and “wu wei” or non-action/non-effort. My appreciation of God’s grace and forgiveness has been informed by Christian teachings about the absolute nature of God’s love and forgiveness for mankind.

I believe that each religion grew up to solve the problems of the community where it arose. The solutions offered and the particular emphasis of each spiritual path reflect the needs, both temporal and spiritual, of the society where it was founded. Thus each one has its own particular genius. How fortunate indeed we are to be able to tap into these various genius’s in order to be better people and better practitioners of the faith that we embrace as our own! ...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/on-faith/post/religion-can-become-empty-too/2011/07/08/gIQAzQoc3H_blog.html

[Lemonwurst]

1. Well put

This is very elegantly written. As a pro-secular individual who was taught Christianity, this concisely describes my own feelings on how religion in general can be both positive and negative.

I completely agree that what's positive about religion can be significantly reinforced by exploring beyond one's "home base". How that invokes fear and loathing among others is a mystery to me.

[edhopper]

2. But when it's all based on a falsehood

(that a god or gods exist) does the "positive" aspect matter?

[Jim__]

3. "... each religion grew up to solve the problems of the community where it arose."

I agree that religion plays a role in solving community problems. That point is frequently ignored by people who attack religion. However, this role is a complicating factor for how society should treat religion in the modern world where various communities and religions are intermingled.

[Silent3]

4. It's a matter of whether the ends justify the means...

...not whether religion "solv(es) community problems" or not. I'd prefer that people solve their problems via fact rather than fantasy. Even if there are perhaps some people who need the fantasy and superstition of religion to solve their problems, people who can't handle (or simply don't prefer) a straight-forward evidence-based approach to problem solving, that wouldn't obligate me to remain quiet about my opinions on religion.

Apart from some imagined obligation to protect the illusions of others and shield them from criticism and scrutiny, an obligation I do not recognize, I think you'd be hard pressed to find many examples where "That point (about religion solving community problems) is frequently ignored by people who attack religion".

[Humanist_Activist]

6. The "Problems" that religions try to solve usually involve supporting the current...

power structure, removing the old one, placating the masses, etc. Usually those who start or use religion the most effectively create additional problems that the religions can never solve.

[LeftishBrit]

7. Not always

Powerful groups and rulers often do use religions in this way; but religion has also been used in rebellions against power, and in progressive reforms.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

8. Also controlling women so you know who the father of the child is.

Very important before the days of blood testing.

[Silent3]

5. As opposed to non-religion...

...which is simply presumed to be empty?

[Manifestor_of_Light]

9. Religion is empty when you see no evidence for a god.

And you see how ridiculous and arbitrary and even cruel its rules are.