by Niel de la Rouviere

Created on: January 18, 2009

If you look back over the years of humankind, you will notice a strange lack consistency in religions. Tribes believed in earth gods, the Egyptians in the sun god Ra, early Romans believed in Zeus and Pagan mythology, westerner's believe in Lord Jesus and Muslims in Allah.

So why is religion so vast and different throughout time and space? This can be answered by the fundamental need for belonging and that need to believe that your life is not yours; you're not in control. Thus you can blame your actions on others and feel for hope when times are bad. Faith is the backbone of religion. Your deity will protect you.

However, there has been no sufficient evidence for any religion to be the one religion, otherwise the world would not have had such a variance in religions. In today's society where you are born into, your environment, determines your religious association. This is inherently at fault, because how does it determine religious equality if the other person lives in a little hut in the middle of nowhere and never becomes informed of other religious choices.

Thus, today I see that there is no one right religion present. Perhaps the creator of us, will reveal himself in the future, perhaps not. However, many will say, you don't have faith, but I'm using logic to refute the obvious inconsistencies in religion. I have faith: I have faith that I will become better writer in the coming year, I have faith in mankind to help those in need, I have faith that there other like me in this world, but I don't have faith in the religion.

Religion should move away fundamentalist faith and extremities and aim to become more spiritual. Your body is yours, thus to relax it and fine tune your world is ultimately a much more rewarding experience in the long run. This is why I like Asian believes, as they are more spiritual than religious: Taoism, Confucianism, Buddhism etc. To believe that your fate for eternity is determined by 60-70 odd years on Earth, is a ridiculous assumption and does not make sense. Thus, rather enjoy yourself and forget about the future. In perhaps 2000 years, a new religion will come along that will sweep everyone's imaginations once again. Will you follow the trend? Or lay down your own destiny?

This is tough question to answer, as society ostracizes you if you don't believe in the same thing they do. Religion should not influence relationships and is therefore another reason why so many blindly follow a faith, because it is told to them to be the right belief when they are born. They are afraid. I say, follow your own path, but don't proclaim your religious affiliation. Don't preach it down on others. I respect anyone's decision of their religious choice, as long as it does not affect me negatively. I will do the same and not preach my belief. With the wide variety of religions to choose from, everyone should have an equal fighting chance.

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