vague history of religion.

All religions are steeped in vague history with insights and interpretations of the various chroniclers. These creators have developed the thought patterns and religious attitudes to influence their followers and faithful, to their way of thinking or to act in a manner suited to them. Unlike science none of the religious theories are revisited, any premise which assumes that the fundamentals will remain constant throughout history is doomed. Change is the only constant and it applies to religion as well, and unbridled blind beliefs move towards a tendency to self destruct.

If religion has to become an integral part of our lives, it cannot remain indifferent to what is happening around us. Religious principles tend to second guess what its ruling deity wants, which invariably means follow me and not any other faiths. This gives the false assumption that God is divisive, which is why demagogues, clergy, racists and fanatics, find it convenient to fall back on religious intolerance. This is the basic flaw as the world is full of contradictions and there is so much uncertainty in the air, in the emerging new world. Most followers who seek salvation are semi-enlightened in their quest, some highly irrational, which can lead to wild swings in accepting other faiths, and ends up to one version of faith being defended against another till violence is the outcome. Most people invest in religion due to the deep uncertainty in their minds; sometimes pre-determined biases in their brains impede rational thinking. Most of the faithful and followers’ minds are messy, confused and ambiguous mirroring the disillusions and contractions of this prejudiced world. Religion is just another aspect of life and is therefore determined by the same set of emotions that we undergo, while dealing with the external world. These aspects of our experience are – joy, disappointment, frustration, fear, hate, love and greed etc. But there is a fundamental difference between religion and real life. While some of these emotions can be positive in our lives, it may be harmful for the success of religion.
This explains why we have intolerance, hatred and clashes with other religions and societies. Religions have to be modified to appeal to man’s higher nature, and not demand conformity to a particular sect, which is part of change and evolution. Otherwise religion will remain just another tool in the hands of unscrupulous leaders to sway their followers using a moral high ground to wage holy wars, terrorism and fatwa’s. If religion is used only to promote its own ideologies and areas of interest, then it will self implode due to lack of empathy, humility, tolerance and the truth is sacred no more. –Vinay-