Religious "faith" and the belief in a "supreme intelligence" or divine being is one means which mankind has used throughout its history to promote its own emotional (and, therefore, spiritual) health and comfort. Unfortunately, most people who use this means often have the dogmatic and narrow-minded view that this "faith" also promotes intellectual health as well. Perhaps because most of the so called civilized world is made up of the average, ordinary working stiff, these innocent, naive and brainwashed individuals have, in their complacency, given themselves the mistaken impression that idiosyncratic blind "faith" in a "supreme being" or "higher power" of one type or another is the only way to emotional and spiritual health and comfort. Most of the population of the planet have been convinced by religious propaganda that they are individually valuable, precious, happy, healthy and headed for everlasting peace, contentment and a blissful life in the hereafter due to a "faith" which has essentially been programmed into their subconscious minds. This is usually true for those individuals who feel they have "lapsed" (intentionally or not) in their religious devotion and many of whom may profess a more spiritual than "religious" belief, or they may profess agnosticism or even atheism. Such assertions are usually false, however, because even a few years of inescapable exposure to such dedicated, dogmatic and rigid systems of organized faith are not easily erased. Even my own childhood years of exposure to various species of christianity occasionally has me concerned enough about my dedication to non-theism and my awareness of logic and truth as an antidote to the poisons of religion that I will readily admit: maybe only a psychiatrist could tell me if my beliefs are self-tenable or simply the ravings of someone who, unconsciously (VERY unconsciously) feels his professed beliefs illogical enough that he may be an emotional and, therefore, a spiritual hostage to christianity and that he's "going to heaven" anyhow.

Consciously, though, I know that religion is NOT the only path to emotional and spiritual health. Those of us who have out-thought and out-reasoned the religious propaganda that is so influential and extensive, have come to the conclusion that reasoning, truth, logic and reliance on conscience, on the self can be and are emotionally, spiritually and, more importantly, intellectually much healthier for me than bibles, rosaries, crosses, torahs, korans and prayer mats.

I recently read an article regarding faith, religion and christianity wherein the writer claimed: "Being a catholic is hard. If you want easy, become an agnostic, an atheist or a lapsed unitarian." Obviously, the writer has no idea how difficult it is to live and promote secularism in a world full of dogmatic transcendentalists; to maintain a realistic, rational and sensible attitude when the whole world has been crying "wolf" for ten thousand years. To remain an isolated island of reason in a storm-tossed sea of superstitious "faith", is a "hell" of a lot harder than any religious zombie could possibly imagine. After several hundred thousand years of allegedly modern human thought, intellect, logic and reasoning, plus a further two hundred-plus years of provable scientific enlightenment, to realize that most of mankind still sincerely believes in and perpetuates the insupportable notions of deities and organized religion is a shameful and frankly, a somewhat scary and hopeless realization for any half-way sensible individual. Bullshit is, after all, bullshit whether it's from the internet, the White House, Madison Avenue or the pulpit. The statement "Being a catholic is hard..." etc. is the most idiotic declaration I've ever heard. Catholicism, judaism, hinduism, calvinism, and so forth are most often the result of the random birth or placement of an individual within a parental/familial environment who has basically inherited one sort of "faith" or another. At least atheists and agnostics, and even lapsed unitarians, have usually reasoned their way into their "faith".

Furthermore, once again, a furor has been created, especially in the Northeast U.S., over alleged "catholic bashing". Some of the more recent examples of this imagined "catholic bashing" have included the play "Corpus Christie", popular exhibits at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, the motion picture "Dogma", and the short-lived television drama "Nothing Sacred", among other more or less well-known examples.

How can these "poor downtrodden catholics" feel so persecuted? According to the latest census information, catholicism is the dominant denomination, population-wise, in the United States. It is also the wealthiest and potentially the most influential sect in the nation. In addition to catholicism being the single largest religious organization in the nation, the Vatican now claims over one billion catholics world-wide (or at least they are counted as such with, obviously, no thought given as to whether or not anywhere near that many will actually admit to the fact). This sect embraces its own sovereign nation, its own financial empire, its own media empire, it's own system of education, its own dictator and even membership in the United Nations. Yet, now this obscenely wealthy, despotically powerful and unnervingly influential dictatorship, defended and supported by the Knights of Columbus, the Sons of Italy and the Ancient Order of Hibernians, not to mention the Catholic League and Miramax Pictures has the audacity to plead outraged sensibility, to cry "foul" over any attempt to question, expose or mock any of its overwrought rituals, dogma, ceremonies or beliefs.

One must remember that this "guiding force of christian enlightenment" bases its historical and philosophical existence on "saints", miracles, prophets rising from the dead, needlessly extravagant buildings and bingo. Moreover, catholicism once promoted creationism but now embraces evolutionist truth (sort of...apparently, as with all religions, catholicism is finding it increasingly difficult to weather the whirlwind of scientific discovery and enlightenment). It still would have you believe in the laughable idiocy of "original sin" but has relinquished the idea that "heaven" and "hell" are actually realistic destinations for your "soul". Furthermore, in keeping with its tradition of hypocrisy the catholic church exalts the idea that human life is "sacred", yet is perfectly willing to countenance bodily mayhem on both members and non-members of its "true faith" to preserve that ideal. Furthermore, most of the intelligent, if sarcastic criticism of catholic dogma and doctrine originates from catholic sources. The controversial authors, producers, playwrights, directors and artists, in nearly all cases "practicing catholics", have evidently noticed the obvious flaws and discrepancies in this sectarian anachronism which they've inherited and have attempted to obviate these flaws and discrepancies to the "shocked outrage" of people who ought to know better, who ought, realistically, to be ashamed. All that this misguided outrage seems to accomplish, however, is the perpetration of the historical inferiority complex which catholicism has maintained since the reformation. And, of course, there is now the stigma attached to anyone admitting to the catholic persuasion that he/she might be considered, no matter his/her actual experience, to be either the victim or the perpetrator of priestly molestation. Hey! With any luck, the cult of catholicism may be sued out of existence even in my lifetime...and then watch all the rest of christianity come quickly unraveled.

To digress for a moment, it is my firm belief that the wearing of the various amulets and "charms" favored by those of the christian and jewish faiths (crucifixes, prayer shawls, Roman collars, etc. etc.), while advertising a certain ignorance of the true nature of existence and mortal constrictions and, admittedly, allowing the wearer to feel emotionally and/or spiritually "fulfilled" or "comfortable" or "protected" have never, and will not ever, assure the wearer everlasting life in "heaven" (or "nirvana" or wherever). Although I can understand the wearing of such baubles as mere decoration, they will never guarantee that the wearer (although, perhaps a bit vain) is an especially moral, righteous or favored individual. I would imagine there have been plenty of adulterers, child-rapists, murderers, thieves, etc. who've committed their various crimes and "sins" (either punished or unpunished) while wearing one form of alleged commitment to religious brainwashing or another.

We, all of us, by the very fact of our existence, are going to end up in the same place when we die, which is, of course, oblivion. Our mortal record(s) of passing through this life which are the memories (whether good or bad, of "righteousness" or "evil") of descendants, family and friends is the only "soul" we can expect, the only everlasting life we can hope for. The universe as we know it (and what other is there to know?) is a finite place. Therefore, we, as mortal beings, are of a finite species which, though it may exist for millennia yet to come (although, I fear, not in our present state) must eventually succumb to the obliteration of that universe in whatever form that obliteration takes. Which means, therefore, an end to the existence of, the reasoning behind, the appreciation for, and what little logic there is to life.

A further thought: our innate, instinctual, personal variations of spirituality (believing in ones own, individual form of faith) is natural, comforting and healthy, emotionally AND intellectually. Until, that is, mankind "blows it" by involving the innocents (the very young) with the brainwashing, dogma and propaganda of organized religion; by involving these innocents in a dictated, impersonal, mass-produced, off-the-rack, "store-bought" and generic, culturally acceptable spirituality consistent with a blind faith in "god", "christ", "yaweh", "vishnu", etc. through baptism, familial and racial heritage and geographical happenstance.

One must realize, as a matter of world-wide common knowledge, but especially here in the Western nations, that the ignorance of humanity as regards their various religions is based primarily on two things: parental influence, assuming the traditional family environment and upbringing, and on father Blowhard down at "Our Lady of the Floating Kidney" parish on Main Street or on pastor Shmuck at "Sermon on the Shoehorn" baptist church in Anytown U.S.A. hammering the dogma of christian (or whatever) doctrine into ones head throughout ones childhood. Most average individuals, therefore, know nothing else since no other philosophies or opinions or teachings, reasoning or traditions are allowed. Thus, according to "christian teachers" things are "my way or the highway". All religious and deistic propaganda holds mankind's children hostage to superstition while demanding its intellect and its money as ransom.

The concept of "prayer" as advocated by those organized religions allegedly representing mankind's various deities is, according to much of that very same theology which the clergy usually neglects to tell you about, in direct contravention of one confusing, often oxymoronic concept acknowledged by all major religions: that existence is pre-determined by the prevailing deity of the moment and the locale. What use, therefore, is prayer when A) allegedly we have no reasoning capacity for, nor right to, prayer in its deistic manifestation because B) we're pre-destined to a certain result of existence no matter what we pray for?

Prayer, at least our mortal conception of it, ought to be more an individual plea to our own conscience on behalf of ourselves...or others through communal emotional, as well as intellectual, force of hope (the power of positive thinking). In other words, I don't believe the pleading, self-aggrandizing hope of fortune we know as "prayer" ought to be publicly flaunted or displayed and promoted as a solution, reward or communication since the conscience and the intellect of the pray-er or the pray-ee will interpret these pleas in his or her own mortal way. Dogmatically motivated prayer may accomplish temporary physical and emotional/spiritual relief; but it won't get you much more because, like everything else connected with mankind in the here and now...and then...it's a merely human conception.

What about the concept of "worship", a requirement for all who believe in the common "wisdom" of organized religion, that a "heavenly father" created humanity for the express purpose of worshipping him/her/it? Look where that worship of an omniscient, omnipotent and benevolent ideal of the trinity (father, son and holy ghost) or "god", "allah", etc. has gotten the world: terrorism (religious and otherwise), famine, disease, nuclear/chemical/biological and conventional warfare, over-population, pollution, eco-disasters, corporate greed, Disney World and on and on and on. Let's face facts...mankind has embarrased itself for thousands of years through the "worship" of one superstition or another and has virtually nothing to show for it. Ain't life grand??!!

Modern organized religion appeals to emotion, not to intellect. I feel that's one of the biggest problems I have with the whole business; that I had once been directed (by christianity, in my case) to put my emotional and intellectual "faith" in an ideal that has been nothing but propaganda for 2000 years. In my belief in Conscience, I have attempted to replace superstitious drivel with measurable intellectual spirituality. So far, it has worked wonders, at least for me. No matter how they adjudicate spirituality, many of your leading scientists, philosophers and intellectuals are atheists or non-theists for essentially the same reason I have grown to disbelieve in and to distrust organized religion. There is not, nor has there ever been, nor will there ever be logical proof of the existence of a "supreme being" or "heavenly father (or mother)". There is proof, however, of mortal reason, natural intellect and plausible moral bases; such proof being before our eyes during our every waking hour (except perhaps that hour that many of us waste "in church" and "worshipping god"). This proof is called reality and there just isn't any substitute.

Page written by: Eric D. Tallberg

October, 1998