The “why” I was referring to was going way way back to the Mesoamerican polytheistic societies, which their gods represented nature and the natural world, creation, fertility, food, death and the underworld, trade and excess or entertainment. They believed they needed to repay their debts to the gods to ensure survival and made human, animal, and precious goods sacrifices to
honor them. It was the answer to why is my wife not getting pregnant, why is there drought, why am I having a bad harvest?
Whereas the Native American Indians worshiped the “master spirit” and had daily practices like waking up to honor the sun, expressing gratitude for food, walking barefoot, and paying attention to animals. They had spiritual ceremonies, vision quests, and healing ceremonies.
Those are examples of what might be termed either pantheism or perhaps animism. Deism is rather similar, as is Cosmotheism. In colloquial terms: "Creator embodying creation." Personally, I find those far more palatable even if only because, though they are equally as unverifiable and unfalsifiable as monotheism, they are (with exceptions such as those Mesoamerican systems which practice human sacrifice...) non-belligerent.
Fast forward to now..
The Christian right should be denounced as heretics. Their leaders have acculturated the worst aspects of American imperialism, capitalism, chauvinism, violence and bigotry in the name of Jesus.
So, I agree with you here about religion.
True, but let's not single out just one: Christianity, beyond its fundamental anti-science ignorance, is also intrusive and belligerently viral -- that is, it is spread like a mind-virus to vulnerable populations. Historically, this has meant (comparatively) technologically undeveloped or underdeveloped societies. Today, it means the dependent and the emotionally vulnerable.
But it's not the only virus of its type. Beyond the need for an explanation of our perception of an intelligence beyond our own, humans are driven by an evolutionary need for tribal identity. When our species roamed the undeveloped Earth as hunter-gatherers, tribal affiliation was vital to basic survival. We've never shed that need.
Christianity, Islam, Judaism (to a lesser extent due to its more insular nature), Mormonism, Scientology, along with any and every -ism going, is founded upon the exploitation of the human need to belong to the modern equivalent of a 'tribe'.
And every system which operates on that basis tends toward programming of its members, along with tutoring them in dogmatic rejection of any information which challenges the righteousness of their 'tribe'.
Intellect-suspending defense along with social virality as an offensive strategy.
That's the combination I oppose. I don't care what kind of absurd bullshit people believe in, until they start trying to pressure other people to conform to it. That's where an innocuous set of beliefs turns into a threat. And that's when I object to it.
