Leah Remini Scientology Special & New Show

[Alex K]

I compare religions and cults to viruses, I think it's an imperfect but interesting analogy: There are viruses such as the common cold or others that don't even cause symptoms, that are called well-adapted to humans. Those well-adapted ones are the ones that use us as hosts, but in a subtle fashion that allows them to spread widely efficiently without causing too much havok - killing off hosts is not beneficial to the virus and so there's some evolutionary pressure to be more benign. To me, established religions are like well-adapted mind viruses, they have evolved to spread widely in a population without causing so much immediate damage that it would hinder their success, so they have evolved to be compatible with their environment. To wit, being in one of the major religions allows you to still be a productive member of society. Cults are the opposite, like Ebola, contagious but destructive to members and society.