Religion can be cured

We have covered "The Psychology, Psychopathology and Sociology" of religion in another article. The key issues are:

Religion is not genetically determined - all babies are born god-free.
Religion is imposed on the individual from outside - by the state, by religious organisations, by society or by parents.
Some people seem to need a religion - for reasons discussed in the above article.
Religion is not a biological or social necessity - millions of people enjoy good and happy lives free of god, religion and superstition.
Religion restricts individual and group freedom - it interferes with, organises and constrains people's lives.
Religion damages some people to the point where they put god and religion above the welfare of their fellow human beings.
In extreme cases religion leads to fanaticism, violence, terrorism and war.
Religion has had, and continues to have, a very damaging effect of society - as we have covered on another page.
Religion is addictive - it seems to meet the needs of those who take it. Like any addictive drug, it can be hard to shake free of.

It follows from the fact that religion is imposed from the outside:

that religion can be de-imposed, it can be removed, it can be cured,
that the individual can be shown that religion does not meet real needs,
that a good and happy life does not depend on religion,
that genuine freedom, for all, depends on removing the power of religion in a secular society.

Religion will not go away - it has a long history, it is powerful, the forces of indoctrination are strong and the social pressures in some societies are overwhelming

However, the good news is that the intelligent individual can be cured of religion.

To become free of religion the individual needs to be capable of free and rational thought to see through the nonsense and silliness that makes up religious teaching.

The three step cure

Religion is an addiction and, just as with any addiction, the desire to be cured must come from the individual.

Like smoking, alcohol or drugs, religion seems to solve so many problems. A quick drag on a cigarette, or a bit of praying and arm-waving in church, temple, synagogue or mosque and the individual feels better. In the case of religion the social effect, mixing with people who think the same way, can be very difficult to overcome - the social life is the nicotine of religion.

Step 1: finding out more about your religion - and the beliefs of others

We, the god-free, never cease to be amazed at how ignorant most religious people are. Most of them have never read their own holy book(s), they have never examined the history of their religion and they have never questioned the teachings of their holy men. (In almost all cases it is men who are allowed to be religious leaders.)

We are astounded at how ignorant those of one religion are of others. Surely it cannot be true that people just follow the first religion they are told about - the one followed by their parents or the society around them? Surely they must have examined a wide range of religions before selecting the one they wanted to follow? Surely it would be intellectually dishonest to grab the first and remain ignorant of the rest?

Ask yourself: "did I decide which religion to follow or did the religion decide that I would follow it?"

The average god-free activist has read millions of words in religious books and commentaries on religion. The average religious person has read excerpts and interpretations rather than the raw material

How many Christians/Judaists have read the Old Testament/Torah and discovered the brutal, vindictive and evil nature of the god described there? Muslims share much of the pre-Christian Bible - have they ever read it?

"The people of the book": Judaists, Christians and Muslims, have been the dominant forces in religious activity in the western world for over 2,000 years. Have the religious studied that history of constant oppression, violence against those with different beliefs, wars of conquest blessed by their god and a general antipathy toward "progress"? If religious leaders had their way there would have been no scientific progress in the last 2,000 years - we would still be blood-letting and using leaches to cure all forms of illness and we would be dying in our millions of diseases that can now be cured by modern medicine.

So the first step is

Read the holy books of your religion.
Read the holy books of other religions.
Read the ideas of those who enjoy good and happy lives free of god and religion. Start with this site!
Find out about the history of your religion and others - what has been done in the name of god and religion,
Ask yourself: if there is one god, why are there so many religions? How do I know that my religion is the right one? Why are there so many sects in my religion that disagree with one another - sometimes violently? How do I know which of the 800 gods, and which of the 100 religions, is the right one? Why did god make religion so confusing?
Talk to your religious leaders, ask them questions, ask them for proof (something that can be checked and tested) of the things they say. Don't be fobbed off with silly remarks like "it must be true, it says so in the Bible/Qur'an/Torah" - it may say something in the "The Hobbit" but that does not make it true!
Find out the historical facts about your prophet(s). Did they really exist? Who says so? Is the evidence sound - or was it made up to promote the religion?
Click here if you are a Christian and you would like an initial set of questions to ask

Step 2: examining your needs

Ask yourself, "what needs are met by my religious beliefs?"

Does religion really answer the big questions? What is the meaning of life? How did the Universe begin? What happens after death?
Why has religion always been used to fill the gaps in our understanding? Why do the simple answers: "because god made it that way" or "because it is god's will" fade away as our knowledge increases? Why does the sun rise each morning? Because god made it that way. Is that really an answer to anything and everything?
Do you need black and white answers to everything? Are you unwilling to accept that, sometimes, the only honest answer is "we don't know?" Do you need god to replace this most fundamental of honest answers?
Are you afraid of death - or are you really afraid of the process of dying with its associated pain? Do you really need the idea of an intangible after-life to help you to understand death?
Do you need religion to give you a social life?
Can you not create your own set of moral values? Do you need the "rules of life" dictated to you by some holy book or some holy men?
Do you feel that it is impossible to lead a good and moral life without god and religion? Do you understand how insulting that is to those of us who do enjoy good, moral and happy lives free of god and religion?
Are you so weak that you cannot think for yourself?

Step 3: sharing ideas with the god-free

We, the god-free, are always challenging ideas - our own and those of others. We welcome anyone who wants to question what we believe and who is open and honest enough to also question what they believe.

Maybe you have never met someone who enjoys a good and happy life without god, religion or superstition. Maybe your religious leaders have said that such a life is impossible without the rules dictated by god in a holy book. If they are wrong about this, maybe they are wrong about other things?

Are you willing to find out?

If your answer is "no" then you want to remain in the comfort zone occupied by those who think in exactly the same way as you do - you are happy to remain ignorant of the views of others and you are happy to share the prejudices or your fellow believers. Shame on you.

If your answer is "yes" you are showing that you have an open mind - the first step towards rational thought. We welcome those who have made this step.

More than anything: find out, ask questions, don't be fobbed off with glib answers from us or from anyone. If you are still hooked on the drug of religion then fine - but at least you will have found out a little more and you will understand that the world is not the simple black and white place that your religious leaders make it out to be.

Note of thanks to the Christian religion

Certain Christian sects introduced the concept of "cure" for things they disagreed with - sexual orientation for example.

Religion is a personal intellectual choice (just as taking heroin is a personal choice), sexual orientation isn't.

It is therefore reasonable to assume that the addiction of religion can be cured whereas the concept is nonsense in relation to sexual orientation.

Web site design by Derbyshire Secularists and Humanists. DHTML Menu By Milonic JavaScript