by D. Kearney Sparano

Created on: April 02, 2009

As the title implies one does not immediately equate to the other. Not to long ago I heard a statistic of how more Americans are leaving organized religion. They are classifying themselves as "spiritual" rather than "religious", of course the leaders of organized religion consider this the downfall of American society and morality. As you look at religion though you realize that God and goodness have less to do with it as much as power, control and money do.

I would like to clarify that I am not anti-religion so much as I am pro-individuality and thought. I too would classify myself as spiritual with a lean toward agnosticism. This comes from my interest in world religions as well as 12 years of Catholic school, being indoctrinated with Catholic dogma while learning about other philosophies and beliefs will make a person question. Also having a functioning brain helps.

Many horrible things have happened in the name of religion. More people have died in the name of God or a god then for any other reason. We all know the list of religious atrocities that have occurred over the millennia and there is no reason to list them again, organized belief is a dangerous thin and one of the main problems of organized religion is the organized part. Organizing any group of people requires rules, guidelines, hierarchies and systems. Organization is human social mechanics. It rips the spirit out of any idea and replaces it with rules and components.

This is most evident in the Catholic Church. Much of the dogma and beliefs that Catholics hold dear were either imported or created for 2 reasons: 1) to maintain social order/control, 2) make money. We all know that Martin Luther began the Protestant Reformation because of the Catholic practice of indulgences, which is paying to get into heaven or out of purgatory, purgatory of course being created for this purpose. By the way, the Catholic Church has re-instituted this practice. Many people now know also because of the news, The History Channel and The Da Vinci Code, that the bible was edited into its existing version and that there are other gospels that give other accounts of Jesus' life. Jesus in essence was treated like a fictional character, molded and edited until the story suited the needs of the church more then humanities spiritual needs.

Now does this mean that the teachings of Jesus as well as The Buddha, Muhammad, Taoism, Hinduism and so on should not be followed and have no merit, of course not. If anything they should be spread, all of them. Their philosophies are sound and are the heart of goodness. The message and philosophy of these teaching are what is important not the dogma and systems that surround them. Anyone who makes decisions that are based on the welfare of others is already on the right path. What is interesting too is that all these religions fundamentally have the same ideas, it is only the metaphors and preaching that keep them separated.

Truly being good is far more simple then being religious. All that is required to be good is to think of and treat others well. Religion on the other hand is far more demanding. S I say take the message and the ideas and leave everything else. Would Jesus mind if you skipped church, really? Does Muhammad care if you don't make every call to prayer? Is it important to Buddha if you stray from the middle path slightly in either direction? Probably not. What is more important is how you treat others and all of these teachers and prophets would probably prefer a good atheist then a devout hypocrite.

Learn more about this author, D. Kearney Sparano.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.