If you’re going to call me an atheist, please don’t stop there:
Also call me an awitchist, avampirist, awerewolfist, and asantaist because I don’t believe in that bullshit either.
Or be accurate and say I’m not superstitious. Of course, that might mean acknowledging that you are.
While I personally fully agree with your assessment, we should be looking a bit deeper than that - at least if we call ourselves rational.
Religion is a widespread phenomenon in all human cultures, all around the world. Countries which enforced state atheism eventually made full swing back into even more bizarre mix of esoteric beliefs.
There's much more to that in religion than simple "backwardness" (and I have no idea what to be honest).
Not saying it does. I'm from Poland where the state imposed quasi-official Roman-Catholicism reaches new highs of absurdity and corruption each time, so I have a very strong practical base for criticism of religion.
What I'm wondering about is why widespread secularisation, either state-imposed or organic, is quickly replaced by equally widespread mix of some other esoteric nonsense.
@kravietz @rumblestiltskin @aral
I think that's an important observation, and I'm seeing it the same way. People do have some inherent need to believe in some higher purpose (to some individual degree). Something that allows to limit the number of choices to make and fret over, to stop doubting their course at some point and march ahead, and to deal with whatever adversities life throws at you.
@kravietz @rumblestiltskin @aral
Whether that's religion, fandom, art or a political cause (or a political figure...) or some combination. No human can survive in a strictly rational world, because we are not strictly rational. We need hopes and dreams and some great story that we're a part of.
The solutions which contradict rational thinking are not much worse than the ones which negate everything else. The good ones allow both aspects to complement each other.
@kravietz
@aral
I used to be an aflyingspaghettimonsterist, then I saw the light. I saw our creator, the great Flying Spaghetti Monster. Hail to the balls ! Ramen.