We really don't need religion, do we?

Whatever your stance on that question, the world is inundated with a flabbergasting diversity of religious beliefs and practices. Some deserve our continued attention and acceptance, whereas others only invite public or private ridicule. And in some cases even rightly so.

Poverty is your own fault

a) In Hinduism, the concept of reincarnation is one of the biggest obstacles for the lowest of the low on the social ladder, the Dalits, in their fight for equal opportunities and social justice. This idea has, in effect, for ages been blocking any real progress for them, as the core dogma here is that poor people have only got themselves to blame for their deprivation.

Reincarnation presupposes that a person born a beggar in this life must really have behaved badly in his or her previous existence, thus earning a bad karma. And the bad karma ensures that you're 'properly punished' by being assigned a position among the outcasts.

And, rather perversely, because you alone are to blame for your poverty, 'divine' judgment and justice mustn't be tampered with or upturned in any way. Because if the gods are against you, why should your fellow man aid you in any way in the struggle to get out of misery? They only risk bringing the wrath of some irate divinity or other on their heads! Much better then to remain detached and aloof when faced with social ills.

Better keep great grandpa happy!

b) In some African nature religions, believers are held hostage by fear all their lives. If they do not attend meticulously to the requirements of the spirits of the trees, or those of their ancestors, they, too, risk bringing upon them the wrath of these unseen beings. And punishment may come swiftly in the form of failing crops, venereal diseases, children with disabilities, or a failed marriage.

Consequently, scant resources are wasted because their religion demands that the spirits be constantly appeased by offerings of e.g. food in lavish quantities. So, in the end that which should have sustained the family, is left to rot in the alleged presence of a capricious god you can never really trust to be fully on your side.

Follow the leader..always

c) Some cults are lead by deviant personalities manipulating their followers into absolute, rigorous submission. They are required to remain absolutely loyal to the whims or orders of their supreme leader, to the point that even most of their funds must go to the upkeep of various activities, or to secure that the Leader may continue leading a luxurious lifestyle.

And, yet, this practice of blind faith in a single, absolute 'monarch' isn't seen among bizarre, fringe cults only. We see it among Islamic extremists, some Christian churches, among Hindu believers etc. It's equally disturbing every time we witness religion being exploited in such ways.

If these are the effects of religious ideas and practices, and they are, then none of us need religion. These kinds of phenomena should be fought at every turn, exposed for what they represent: lies that hamper individuals and societies in their pursuit of justice, excellence and fulfillment.