The Religion of Hats Optional
Not only was I raised as a Christian, but my father, grandfather, and two great-grandfathers were all Lutheran ministers. They were all educated in a Lutheran college. They all went to seminary. In my opinion, what was most important about them was not that they were Christian ministers, but that they were decent people who cared about others.
I do feel like there is a legacy for me to continue, but it doesn’t lie in furthering Christianity or any other major religion. Honesty and integrity have always been important to me, and as I became an adult I could not in good faith believe in Christianity or any other major religion. There are so many reasons.
Technically, there could be truth to it, but I seriously doubt it. You’ll never find the truth if you believe in a lie. I think it’s better to focus on trying to be a decent human being and not worry about things that are out of my control. Whatever the truth is, it’s not going to change because I guess otherwise.
I don’t have a problem with traditional religions, as long as practicing a religion leads people to be honest and to live a life in alignment with basic human principles. However, if followers of a religion use it as a basis to hurt or discriminate against others, if they use it as a basis for self-promotion or enrichment, or if they think that their religion or belief is better than others - - then it becomes a problem.
From personal experience, I know there are many decent people who are religious and who lead exemplary lives, but I also know that there are many who abuse it and use religion to lead lives that are less than exemplary.
In a perfect world, all religions would guide people to live honest lives in alignment with human principles, and people of different beliefs or no belief at all would all end up in roughly the same place. However, the nature of religion makes it too susceptible to have its teachings be misinterpreted or intentionally manipulated. The result is that far too many people are off of the path of their religion’s true intentions.
Major religions are given far too much undeserved reverence. For whatever good organized religion does, it also does tremendous harm. The false notion of inherent goodness makes religion the perfect tool for grifters and bad actors who use it to harm, discriminate against, and control and manipulate others for their own personal benefit.
Religion will never unite humanity or serve as a source of common values. There are too many different religions and beliefs. Even within a single religion, there can be wide differences in interpretations of its teachings and practices. Too often, the teachings of religious leaders and even entire religious churches and institutions are at odds with basic human principles such as honesty, fairness, equality, kindness, compassion, etc.
There needs to be a continuous focus of attention by society on common misconceptions about religion’s inherent ‘goodness’.
The goal is not to bash religion, but to just be honest about it. Good practitioners of any religion should be the most interested in calling attention to misconceptions and exploitations by its own members. If members or sects of a religion are causing harm to individuals or society as a whole, shouldn’t its own members be the most concerned with correcting the situation?
There is very little chance that people will abandon their religion, but it shouldn’t be too much to ask them to be honest about its limitations and fallibility.
Finding Commonality
If people are going to make the assertion that religions are good and provide moral guidance for people to live their lives, then what should unite us and provide a stable base for morality and ethics is a common commitment to:
Honesty
Critical Thinking
Acting in good faith
Living in alignment with basic human principles such as: fairness, equality, justice, compassion, forgiveness, loyalty, kindness, courage, altruism, charity, patience, encouragement, civility, etc
There shouldn’t be an objection to any of these. Together, they can serve as a foundation for common ground between people of different religions and political beliefs.
To be clear, as Stephen Covey pointed out, principles are independent of religion. They exist across different cultures all over the world. They are timeless and have permanent enduring value.
They aren't written down, they are self-evident. They are part of the human condition.
They may be inherent in the teachings of a religion but they’re not unique to any one religion, and they predate any religion.
The goal shouldn’t be to have everyone in complete agreement - - that will never happen - - but it would be a big improvement to at least have most of us moving in the same direction.