(July 2, 2021 at 7:56 am)brewer Wrote: Couldn't the same be said for any groups promoting social enrichment/benefit?
This could also be used to explain the influence of cults.
I'm not asking if there aren't secular means to find happiness. What I'm asking is: can religious belief provide a sort of happiness that is on par with nonreligious ways? Or is the "bad" that comes with embracing a religious outlook so great, that the best answer is to never even attempt to bolster your happiness with religious experiences?
I did mention cults in my above post. To me, all religious organizations have a "cultiness level."
For example, Jim Jones's church would have a cultiness level of 100%.
The Hare Krishnas: 70%. A fundamentalist Baptist church maybe 55%. You mentioned your wife being a "cafeteria Catholic" ... so the cultiness of her particular situation may only be 5% (or something)-- I'm just throwing out numbers.
The point is, all religious groups are coercive to some degree (even if it's very minor). And I think a good counterargument to William James's thesis above is: Belief or religious activity opens you up to religious coercion. That may potentially outweigh any potential benefits it provides.