RE: Why religion should not vanish
June 14, 2014 at 4:35 pm
(This post was last modified: June 14, 2014 at 4:36 pm by bennyboy.)
All the things you mentioned as features of religion are in fact features of a strong sense of community. Therefore, I would say there's only one pragmatic benefit of religion: it provides a framework in which community is a central feature. So the question shouldn't be how we keep religion around. The question is how we divorce the sense of community that religion provides from the pseudo-spiritual baloney.
Before saying anything else, let me say that there is at least one other -ism which also does this: nationalism. A country in which all the members identify very strongly as members of a single social network (like nazi Germans) enjoys all the same social benefits that you were talking about. Single moms, for example, were called "brides of Hitler," and were given state support rather than being shamed.
I think given the massive immigration in America in particular, there are too many cultural differences among people to expect much social benefit from religion-- muslims, Christians and Jews, for example, aren't really going to provide for each other-- at least nothing more than simple material donations. Nationalism, on the other hand, could very likely bond all those various members into a unified entity. This has been known ever since Rome started extending citizenship to non-Romans in return for service in the legions.
Now, for many a rabid nationalism won't be seen as a good substitute for religion. You get the same mindless followers, and the same dangerous ignorance of opposing views. But at least nationalism still has a chance to work for America, one of the nations most in need of internal reconciliation and community.
Before saying anything else, let me say that there is at least one other -ism which also does this: nationalism. A country in which all the members identify very strongly as members of a single social network (like nazi Germans) enjoys all the same social benefits that you were talking about. Single moms, for example, were called "brides of Hitler," and were given state support rather than being shamed.
I think given the massive immigration in America in particular, there are too many cultural differences among people to expect much social benefit from religion-- muslims, Christians and Jews, for example, aren't really going to provide for each other-- at least nothing more than simple material donations. Nationalism, on the other hand, could very likely bond all those various members into a unified entity. This has been known ever since Rome started extending citizenship to non-Romans in return for service in the legions.
Now, for many a rabid nationalism won't be seen as a good substitute for religion. You get the same mindless followers, and the same dangerous ignorance of opposing views. But at least nationalism still has a chance to work for America, one of the nations most in need of internal reconciliation and community.
