I have a lot of confidence in the younger generation. A good potion of them have interacted with each other internationally and they are quite savvy when it comes to disinformation.
Another point that seems relevant to this thread is that I believe that religion is hard-wired into the human brain.
Consider that chimpanzees and bonobos (our closest relatives) seem to engage in something like worship . . . at waterfalls, and specific trees that they view as idols.
To compare chimp spirituality to human religion is probably like comparing a chipped flint flake made by Homo halibus to a finely crafted Japanese katana, but the function and intent (ie: âto cutâ) is there with both tools.
In fact, when chimps worship at waterfalls or forest glades . . . this doesnât seem much different (in principle) from the Japanese religion of Shinto, where adherents worship nature spiritsâcalled Kamiâat public shrines that are placed at various waterfalls and other natural places.
Have we been somewhat unfairâwhen criticizing religionâin pushing people into a conflict with their own brain archetecture? If so, then how is this different from a religious conservative demonizing homosexuality because being gay is, supposedly, a choice?
Please donât misinterpret this challenge as an endorsement of religion, as religion can be very destructive. Diabetes may be written into a personâs genes, but that doesnât mean that we shouldnât treat it and/or allow the disease to kill someone because itâs ânatural.â
My biggest point in this post is that if religion is a brain wiring issue . . . then we wonât make progress unless this issue is taken into consideration, and a portion of religious belief becomes recognized as something akin to autism, bipolar disorder, or epilepsy.
Lol - big can of worms opening here đȘ±
Kinda maybe sorta⊠doesnât quite explain being raised religious, somewhat doubting, full on true believer, leaving & deprogramming (and all the spiritual investigating ) to atheist.
I think this brain disorder has more to do with community, rational thought, levels for evidence, peer/family/community pressure.
One other thing that I like about this younger generation is that they seem somewhat less âmaterialisticâ than the people of my generation.
They seem more interested in buying experiences (like travel) and activities, as opposed to âthings.â
Donât get me wrong-- I have a few beefs as wellâbecause they seem to lack a work ethic, and are very casual and nonchalant about business relationships in a way that makes me cringe.
I think the brain âdisorderâ may not be so much that, but instead the existence of needs within the operation of human psychology and society that have found provision through religion for a very long time.
To me, the trick now is to lead societies to realize that religion is as necessary to fulfilling these needs as much as human sacrifice, for instance, is a necessity for getting a good crop yield.