The Separateness of Morality and Religion

Or… “The Evolution of Belief“…

Note: I don’t want to spend a lot of time writing this, so I’ll just blabber on… forgive me if it turns up a bit sketchy on the ideas it presents.

This video got me thinking…

The video shows footage taken by an undercover reporter. Apparently, some Mosques in the UK have some fundamentalist preachers advocating antisemitism, gay bashing, misogyny, … among other things.

Moral Background

I was raised a Catholic. I belong to a very conservative family of Catholics… and yet, I have slowly progressed into atheism.

I abandoned Catholicism the way a young adult moves out of his parent’s house in search for independence. This, of course,… happens when the person feels sufficiently mature to take on the quest before him.

I’ve become morally independent of my religion. That pretty much means I can tell apart good from bad… and that I know how to behave myself in a way that I don’t end up with feelings of remorse.

Now, regarding economic independence… I still haven’t achieved it… so I’m still living with my parents. And I think I probably will continue living with them until I manage to pay my college debts.

Religious Branding

It’s a sad moment when you realize that your religion believes in the same God(s) that others do, or that they’re all similar in a way… and that each religion preaches that it is the One (1) True religion. Evidently, the religious institutions still have to learn about marketing their services… but I somehow think that Islam has the upper hand; I’ve always pictured a Monty Python sketch of some sort regarding martyrdom in Islam:

“So you’re thinking of becoming a martyr? Nudge nudge, wink wink, know what I mean, know what I mean, say no more, say no more! A nod’s as good as a wink to a blind bat!”

The straight dope regarding Islamic heavenly rewards, however, is a bit disappointing.

The Purpose of Belief Systems

Originally, religion helped humanity in the dark ages by establishing a system in which an immoral person would receive punishment for his actions.

And so, by believing, the ever watching eye on the sky was granted the omniscient power to know who’d been naughty and who’d been nice. It’s funny how Christian parents mimic the fear pushed on them by their religion: Santa not bringing any presents for misbehaving is, to a child, the equivalent of going to hell for misbehaving.

Religion has been, in a way, like a private school: by attending ‘class’, you’re gaining ‘knowledge’; although in this case you’re learning, through metaphors and elaborate stories, an ‘improved’ set of moral values.

But nowadays the moral code is expected to be written in a way by the country’s constitution (I say this, because it actually is a written set of ‘rights’ and wrongs).

So, what then is the current purpose of religion? Is it only to bring reassurance and hope to those who aren’t comfortable with the thought of not knowing why we are here?

Stories, Fans & Fanatics

While watching the video, I couldn’t help but notice that the preachers were like some sort of gullible comic fans: they both believe intensely in the literary aspects of what they read, and some of them might not distinguish fiction from reality.

Final thoughts

And so, in conclusion…