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We hunger and thirst for feeling important, and somehow religion helps us feel those things. We are put here on earth for a reason. As though somehow God would need us to fulfill His purpose on this planet.
There are many versions of beliefs - ranging from Muslims in poor countries around Africa to sheikhs in the Middle East, from Christians who devout every Sunday to church and prayer to Protestants who rarely visit their churches. All levels of commitment - and each feeling somehow fulfilled by their own level of religious conscience.
What is it in religion that makes us humans feel so well? We could have had similar cleansing experiences from a stay in a warm sauna or a nice swim in the local lake. That is physical cleansing, but what about the mental and psychological aspect of religion?
For many, religion is most conscious when they lose someone. Funerals are great examples of how the sudden disappearance of a loved one creates a new determination to make an effort. But not always lasting change. We soon forget since we have a rosy-red dream of some afterlife sitting in paradise with harps and an oasis of beauty around us.
Could it be that the world around us is so ugly we often forget how little change in our own lives could add up to becoming the changes needed to get that same oasis of clean air, beautiful forests and all we could ever dream of? We could achieve utopia if we began to act according to the prescriptions of most religions. Peace could be achieved if we began to live peacefully with one another.
Religion is our dream of becoming something better. We would like the world to be a better place, but we don't like to set clear rules about how we could achieve that. Religion makes it sound much easier, but in many ways Karl Marx was right. We like the word "religion" because it sounds unpolitical whereas talking of common duties to help with each our talents sounds somewhat socialistic.
Thinking of common good isn't socialistic. It would be a plain obvious thing for all of us if we learned from the animals around us. Watch two dogs who know each other since they were puppies. They will sleep next to one another, play with one another and help each other. Humans are totally different. We want our own territory and we build fences around our plots of land to avoid anyone "sharing" in our area of land. If our neighbor needed some extra square feet for growing extra carrots we don't think so far as to agree to share.
That, in many ways, is what religion is supposed to solve for us. My bid is we are too coward to admit our own flaws in this, and therefore we take refuge in religion to give us hope some strong hand from somewhere will solve matters for us when we don't see how we could live more peacefully with one another right now.
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