by Star 
(The survival of the memetic species of christianity in
the memetic genus of Religo)
What is religion? What is this mysterious phenomenon which has
shaped and determined our human history for the last five thousand
years?
The English word "religion" is derived from the Latin word "religo" which
means "good faith," "rite", "ritual," and other similar meanings.
However, whatever your definition of religion is, without a doubt,
religion is based on dogma-centred philosophy. That is why we need
to define "dogma" first, before we can find a sensible and practical
definition for the word “religion”.
A dogma is an illogical and irrational sentiment. A dogma is a statement
of belief based on one's feelings and mental estimation of reality
without any objective proof. In other words, a dogma is a subjective
point of view or principle put forth as authoritative and imposing
without adequate grounds and logical foundation.
Philosophy, the love of wisdom, could be matter-centred or self-centred.
Nevertheless, dogma-centred philosophy is an amalgamation of both
matter and self-centred philosophies. Therefore, all religions are
a blending of matter-centred and self-centred philosophies.
Religion, a dogma-centred philosophy, could survive for centuries
if not millennia. This is due to the fact that religious doctrinaires
know how to twist their teachings in order to reject the truth and
adapt to different circumstances. There are many examples in great
religions such as Christianity or Islam in which the teachings and
definitions of religious facts have been modified and changed for
the survival of the religion itself.
Relatively, religion is a new invention of human mind (about 5,000
years old) compared to the age of the species of Homo sapiens (about
250,000 years old). The whole phenomenon of religion follows the
universal laws of evolution -It evolves in its own terms; it adapts
itself to the new mental and environmental conditions; it gives rise
to different kinds of sub-religions with different adaptability for
their new niches.
Imagine how many denominations there are in Christianity, Islam
or any other old dominant religion. You can always find a very old,
a very young, and many middle age religious designations in between
with the main school of the specific religious thought in any of
the so-called great religions. This is an evolutionary behaviour
in which religion has been evolving for the last thousands of years.
There is a rise and a fall for each branch of a specific religion
with its own unique lifespan and years of glory. The law of evolutionary
extinction applies to religion as well. There used to be many religions
with their social and religious might and power whereas they don't
exist anymore today or they are at the verge of extinction. Think
about the Zoroastrian religion, one of the oldest organized religions
in the world. This religion was practiced in ancient Persia for centuries.
However, now there are hardly 200,000 practicing Zoroastrians left
in the world.
There is a sudden extinction (i.e. the dinosaurs) or a gradual extinction
(i.e. the Thylacines, or Tasmanian tigers) among animals. The same
is true about religion. For instance, Zoroastrian religion is facing
a gradual extinction with a quick pace, because there is no mass-organized
movement for conversion to Zoroastrianism. Nevertheless, Christianity
is facing the same fate as Zoroastrianism but with a slower pace
of extinction.
It is all the matter of education. The mass education in the West,
since the great Renaissance, has brought a new age where it is more
acceptable to be just spiritual than to follow an organized religion
blindly as Muslims do. This phenomenon marks the hallway of the gradual
eradication of Christianity. With the same token, Islam and other
great religions will face the same fate, if humanity survives in
the centuries to come.
To wrap up my thought on this topic, I believe that religion played
its relative constructive role in humanity during those centuries
of dark ages when mankind was ignorant of himself or herself and
the universe. However, this is the 21st Century in which we are in
control of many things including our minds and thoughts.
You ask what religion is? To me, religion is not a mystery any longer.
Religion is indeed the opium of the masses in this century. Religion
is the sigh of the oppressed creatures and the mind of a mindless
world.
Is opium the religion of the masses? Well, this is another levelheaded
topic to talk about. That's why I let you elaborate on this topic.
Love, Peace and Happiness,
Star
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