Hats Optional

“All religions should have one rule, and one rule only - hats optional. That’s all you need to run a really good religion.” - George Carlin

Content

Hats Optional in a nutshell

At the core of Hats Optional is a focus on the importance of honesty and truth and living in alignment with basic human principles.

Everyone’s belief or non-belief in a god, religion, or an afterlife is just a guess. Nobody’s guess makes them better than anyone else. No one is a good person just because they make a guess.

If there is a higher power, the best way to ‘worship’ and honor them is to do your best to be honest, live in alignment with human principles, care for and help others as best you can, and be a good steward of the planet and all other creatures living in it. If there’s not a higher power, that’s still the best way to try to live.

Traditional major organized religions are not inherently good. They are only as good as their practitioners make them. For whatever good they do in the world, they are also the source of tremendous harm.

There needs to be a continuous focus of attention by society on common misconceptions about religion’s inherent ‘goodness’. Good practitioners of any religion should be the most interested in calling attention to misconceptions and exploitations by its own members. The goal is not to bash religion, but to just be honest about it.

Core Tenet

The purest form of faith is to have no ‘Faith’.

Or more specifically, the purest and highest form of faith and trust is to have no belief or non-belief in any god or religion. 

That is not to say that belief in God and / or religion is not faith - - but it's not as high a form of faith as most people tend to believe.

By definition - - faith involves having complete trust or confidence in someone or something.

Not having a belief or non-belief in a particular god or religion is a more pure form of faith, because you are accepting, rather than expecting.

You accept that you don't know.

  • God may or may not exist.

  • Any religion may or may not be true.

  • There may or may not be an afterlife.

  • There may or may not be divine intervention on earth.

  • If there is a God, they may or may not hear and answer prayers

  • Etc.

There is no one on this earth who knows. Everyone is guessing. You are just acknowledging and accepting what's true - that you don't know.

If there is a God, you are putting your complete trust and faith in them, because you are not trying to guess what the answer is. You're not asking for or expecting anything - - a path to an afterlife, a reward, intervention on your behalf here on earth, etc. 

You are basically saying 'hey god, if you’re there, I am putting my complete faith and trust in you'. I'm not asking for anything. I don't deserve anything. Whatever the future holds after this life, I am cool with it. I am at peace with it.' 

If there's not a God, or there is a God but no afterlife or reward, you are at peace with that too. You kind of have to be - - right?

You can't change the truth by believing in a lie. If there’s no God, or if there’s no afterlife or reward - - believing otherwise won’t change that.

The truth is not like a fast food drive-thru. You can't just drive up and ask for the things you want to be true. 

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Traditional faith in god and / or religion is still obviously faith - by definition faith also includes a strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof. 

But it’s not complete faith and trust - even if you believe it deep in your heart - because instead of accepting that it is out of your control and not asking for anything, you have expectations.  

You may expect or assume that religious texts are divinely inspired, and that your interpretations of them are correct. You probably expect the possibility of an afterlife, maybe intervention here on earth, God's love, etc. 

When your faith or belief includes any expectation of any sort of reward, then that muddies your faith a bit.  Your faith ceases to be unconditional.

It's the same concept as your independence being impaired if you accept a gift.  Are you really thinking and acting thoughtfully, rationally, and independently in choosing a faith if you expect to receive a reward?

I am fairly certain that Christianity and other major religions would not exist today in any significant way, if they didn't include the concept of an afterlife or other rewards. 

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Believing in a god or religion is, in fact, a choice that you have to make, so underlying the foundation for any deeply held faith in a God or religion, is faith in yourself. 

There are a lot of different gods and religions to choose from.

You have to DECIDE what to believe in, how to interpret religious teachings and texts, what leaders to follow or listen to, what churches to belong to, etc.

When you choose a belief, you are putting faith in yourself to choose the right one, and to carry out its teachings correctly - - and none of us are infallible. 

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There is an answer. The truth is out there, but no one knows what it is. There is nothing wrong with taking a guess and believing it with all your heart, but know that it is just a guess. Don't make it more than it is. 

Don't attach certainty to it. It shouldn’t be inconsistent to have a deeply held religious belief, but still acknowledge that it may not be true. 

Don't attach goodness or holiness to your guess. Don't think that you're better than others because you happen to belong to a particular religion. Don't use religion as a basis for hurting or discriminating against others.

No religion is inherently good, and in fact, religion does an incredible amount of harm in the world. It always has and it always will. It's only as good as people make it. 

The false notion of the inherent goodness of religion makes it the perfect tool to use as a basis to hurt or manipulate others, or to provide cover for bad behavior.

If you take offense at being told that you don't know - -  that your deeply held belief is a guess - - be mindful that if you say that you DO know, then you yourself are implying that billions of other people in the world don't know - - because billions of people believe something different than you.

What makes you so special?

Believing isn't the same thing as knowing - there is nothing wrong with acknowledging that.

You won't find the truth if you believe in a lie. 

Leave your mind and your heart open. Never stop questioning, analyzing, and thinking - - and don't pretend to know things when you don't.

Think about how much better the world would be right now if people would simply acknowledge that religion is not inherently good, and no belief is better than any other - including no belief in god or religion.

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Whatever the answer is - - god or no god … afterlife or not, etc. - -  it shouldn't change the way you live your life, which should be to try to be a good person. 

What it means to be a good person needs a deeper discussion, but it should include being honest, living in alignment with human principles, caring and helping others as best you can, and being a good steward of the planet and all other creatures living in it.

You should choose to try to be a good person because it's the right thing to do, and it's the best way to live, not because you are hoping for a reward from a supreme being - - but if a supreme being and related rewards do exist, it’s most likely that the best way to honor them and have eternal life is to simply try to be a good person.

If our world and everything in it was created by a higher power, doesn't it make sense to do your best to preserve what they created? 

If they created and care about everyone and everything, shouldn't you try your best to help others and advocate for collective actions that benefit everyone - - with the focus being on those who are struggling and in need?

And if there is no higher power, doesn't it still make sense to preserve our world and everyone and everything in it?

I think it does.