Major Components

  • Definition: A set of beliefs centered around the supernatural which provides practitioners with a framework for existence.
  • Another Plane of Existence: There is usually some kind of timeless omnipresent realm humans typically cannot communicate with, with the exception of the religion's prophet, or sometimes some really exceptional practitioners. This plane is usually where humans seek to go after death.
  • Prophets: Every religion has a person that starts it. Prophets are the ones that receive some kind of message from a different plane of existence (void of time) that gives them some kind of message on how they should be living life on Earth. Being a prophet is often very bad for your health. As the existence and preaching of a prophet often undermines the current religious landscape of a region, the majority religion will often squash the prophet out of existence. However, this often has the reverse effect of turning them into a martyr and strengthens the budding religion.
  • Salvation: Salvation is the process of being cleansed from any earthly forms of sin while on Earth. Through this process, the person will guarantee their ticket to the higher plane of existence.
  • Rituals: Ceremonies that are used to symbolize various religious concepts that are held sacred in that religion and celebrate the religion. This can be done through speech, song and dance, the use of objects, and more.
  • God: Usually the "Creator" of the universe and humans. He is an omnipresent, all-seeing, loving (not sure about this), all powerful (hmmm) dude that is often the decider of where you end up after death. Not all religions worship a singular god or a god at all.
  • Fundamentalists: Humans are naturally afraid of change. From a biological perspective, if you find a way of existing that works, why change it and possibly mess it up? If you are a guy on the savannah and you find a diet and way of life that works, changing it could lead to your death if it doesn't work out. This resistance to change is central in pretty much every religion, some more than others. Those that are opposed to change are known as Fundamentalists. Practitioners that see religious texts and their way of life as the only way. It is the way of life ordained by God and no one can say otherwise. Fundamentalists fight hard for their way of life, often leading to conflict.

  • Art vs. Certainty: The stories of religion can be interpreted in two distinct ways. They can be taken as absolutely true. This is the viewpoint of the fundamentalists. This can be problematic when science enters the conversation. Science and religion can often be at odds with each other as science will often undercut fundamentalist views on religion (ex: evolution vs creationism). The certainty of the fundamentalist viewpoint is removed once the skepticism of science undercuts it with hard evidence. However, there is another way to look at religion. It can be thought of as any other art. Maybe the stories did not happen as the religion says, but we can still learn from and appreciate the message the same way that we appreciate fictional movies or books that have a deep meaning.

    For example, when Hanuman brings the whole mountain because he cannot find the particular herb that will cure Sita, clearly know this is not actually factual. There was no half-human half-monkey hybrid that could fly and carry an entire mountain. But we can understand the gravity of the situation, the burden he was willing to carry to save someone whom he loved, and the compassion he shows.

    In this sense, science actually helps religion. When we get away from the fundamentalist certainty viewpoint and transition into understanding meaning behind the stories we come more in touch with the actual values that we claim we hold. Once the outward veneer of human interaction and "historical facts" is removed, the focus turns towards the meaning behind the story.

Symbols

  • Priests: Priests are the bridge between the ultimate reality and the one we find ourselves in. They help convey God's message.
  • Texts: Religious texts can serve various purposes. Some are rulebooks to be abided by. Others are collections of stories that seek to show the values of the religion through the power of story.
  • Locations: Often certain places are held sacred by various religions. These may have been sites where prophets gained visions from heaven or locations that were promised to people by God.

Bad Stuff

Control: Religion can keep the subjugated in their place, willingly. This can be seen with many groups throughout history. If the "natural order of things" that God ordains allows slavery and discrimination towards women and you can get slaves and women to be believers of religion then they will be willing to submit to this control. This is very clear in India's caste system. If you can promise someone that if they are the best slave in this life and that they will be a king in the next, then they will not seek freedom but instead aim to be the best slave they can. You can also see this in the Catholic Church. Women are never allowed to act as the conduit through which God's word is channeled. This is just the natural order of things. The same can be seen in Islam. As a guy you can have 5 wives but a woman is not allowed to have 5 husbands.

Violence: Read the above section on Fundamentalists first. If your way of life is the only correct one, your holy text allows violence, your goal is to spread, and you see someone else leading a different one, then violent war follows. "Jihad" are holy, often homicidal, crusades that have killed a lot of people in the name of God.

Many atrocities have been committed in the name of God. If a supernatural, all-powerful, all-good guy comes to you in the night and alerts you that you HAVE to kill someone, you must, right?

There is an inherent contradiction in this. For example, the Jews and the Christians both claim that God loves everyone and that they are all children of God. However, over the years the Jews and Christians have slaughtered each other in droves. Why would God, who claims to love every human, make two groups of his children kill each other? There are a few possibilities. First, maybe he's not a loving god. He likes fighting. Or maybe he's not actually all-powerful. He cannot intervene. Or finally, maybe he doesn't exist. Maybe religious violence is a way to justify fear of change, strangers, and is a manifestation of the prehistoric, tribe-mentality that still runs through our blood.

Good Stuff

Community: Religion brings people together and binds them in a way unlike anything else. Religious rituals are often fun, celebratory events that seek to connect people. This lends to a tight-knit community of like-minded people that will help each other in times of need.

Meaning: Humans are always living in their heads. One consequence of having a really big brain is that we have a lot of really big thoughts. We are creatures searching to understand and find patterns. Why is that tiger running at me? Probably because it wants to eat me. Why do I feel better when I eat an apple? Probably because I was hungry. These are trivial, but eventually we started asking ourselves harder questions. Why am I here? What happens when I die? The inability to answer questions like this makes our mind go crazy.

Religion soothes us and helps make us like we have control over our tiny and confusing existence.

I had to do a lot of thinking to figure out if this was a pro or con for religion. I decided to put it in the pro section because sometimes the patient needs an anesthetic to get through the procedure. We're only on Earth for a short time. Thinking too much can be very painful and if religion lets people move on with their lives then I consider that a good thing.

Shared Morals: Having shared morals in a community is always a helpful thing to make sure everyone gets along well. If everyone has the same expectations for each other for what is right and wrong, there will be fewer infractions because everyone is on the same page. Religions tell their followers what is right and wrong. This is a powerful binding force that is helpful in ensuring people are harmonious. It also helps with human relationships. Often people find their spouse through their religion. Both parties know where they stand in the marriage, what is generally expected of them, and what is and is not allowed. Religious marriages have more sex, higher faithfulness, higher satisfaction, and less divorce.

Death: Death is scary for every human to grapple with. We want to know what, if anything, comes after our time here on Earth. Religions give a clear-cut answer to this question. There is usually a desired outcome after life that can be achieved as long as the person has followed the teachings of the religion throughout their life.

Explanation for Suffering: We often look around and see suffering in the world. What did that person or creature do to deserve a terrible fate? We have a hard time grappling with the idea that maybe it's all arbitrary. Because we have our own internal moral compass, we assume the universe has one too. Religion gives the universe a moral compass. This looks different in every religion.

In Christianity, those that do good unto others are prosperous in their life and will end up in heaven. Those who sin end up paying for it and ending up in hell. There is also the argument that suffering hardship builds a stronger character. All these arguments have flaws but these are the ones posited by Christianity.

Hinduism

Major Ideas

  • Samsara (reincarnation): Upon death, people are scored on what good deeds they did and what bad deeds they did. If they did a good deed, they are reincarnated to a higher form of life. For example, if a being is a squirrel and they are a really good squirrel maybe they will be reincarnated as a human next time. If you are a human in a low caste and act well, you may be reincarnated to a higher caste.
  • Karma: Good things will come to those who have been good. Bad things will come to those who have been bad. If you are good you will be reincarnated into a higher form of life. If you are bad you will be reincarnated into a higher form of life.
  • Nirvana: If you have been really exceptionally amazing, you are considered "enlightened". You have such a positive karma that instead of being reincarnated into a physical being you join the nebulous on the higher plane of existence with whatever else is out there.
  • The universe is in a constant cycle of creation and destruction from the 3 big boy gods.

Major Characters

  • Famous Priests: None. No one really knows who started Hinduism.
  • Vishnu: Maintainer of Universe
  • Bruhma: Creator of Universe
  • Shiva: Destroyer of Universe
  • God: There is no one god in Hinduism. Instead, there are a ton of different idols that represent different things. Certain people feel a certain affinity to certain idols.

History Summary

No one knows where it started and it has remained relatively unchanged since it started.

Good Stuff

I like how Hinduism doesn't have (as much of) an agenda. Often, religion is a method of control and subjugation. Hinduism is not seeking to convert people (part of why it hasn't left India). People can turn Hinduism into a religion that works for them. They can pick specific idols that resonate with them to worship.

Whether or not Nirvana and samsara is real, a religion that has such a direct and core link between good actions and good outcomes is a positive way to live.

Lack of a strong priesthood keeps incentives in the right place. The incentive to be a true practitioner comes from within, without a churchhood seeking money or other secondary intentions.

Bad Stuff

The caste system is wack. The idea of reincarnation into a higher caste is a good way to keep people in their place and keep the idea of revolution or a better life out of their mind. "If you can be the best low caste servant/slave in this life, you will be a high caste king in the next".

It can take infinite lives to achieve Nirvana.

Buddhism

Major Themes/Values

  • Moderation: Live the "Middle Path". Do not seek to deprive yourself of everything or indulge in every worldly pleasantry, but seek to live in moderation. This is how you achieve Nirvana in one life.
  • Nirvana
  • Samsara

Major Characters

  • Siddhartha Gautama: Son of a king

History Summary

  • Siddhartha was born a Hindu
  • Left his castle and was appalled by the terrible state of the world
  • Wanted to become enlightened so he could go to Nirvana
  • Was sad that you could potentially go infinite lives without achieving Nirvana
  • Visited the sages and forsake all worldly pleasures
  • Realised he was desiring enlightenment too much when he was a sage
  • Stopped being a sage and sat under a tree and meditated for a long time
  • Came up with the "Middle Path" idea

Judeism

Major Things

  • Sabbath: Saturday is the day of rest. Jews are not supposed to do work on Saturday.
  • Torah: The Jewish holy book
  • Monotheism: First major monotheistic religion

History Summary

  • Abraham lived in a time of polytheism and idols. He thought it didn't make sense and that there is only one god.
  • Abraham had a son Isaac
  • Isaac had a son Jacob
  • Jacob is renamed Israel
  • Jacob's son goes to Joseph goes to Egypt
  • Joseph's whole family goes to Egypt
  • They multiply and become a big group
  • New pharaoh that's mean comes that doesn't remember Joseph
  • Israelites are enslaved
  • Moses comes and they leave in the middle of the night
  • Bread is unleavened which is why during passover you eat unleavened bread
  • On the Jews way back to Israel God speaks to Moses and gives him the 10 Commandments
  • They got back and conquered all the people that lived there now
  • They built a big temple in Jerusalem
  • Jews exiled to Babylon
  • After 50 years they come back to Jerusalem

Christianity

Major Values

  • If you are a good Christian then when you die you will go to Heaven
  • If you are not a good Christian then when you die you will go to Hell
  • Love everyone
  • If you repent (turn away from sin) you will go to Heaven

Symbols

  • Bible: religious text that is a compilation of stories that the followers of Jesus wrote and compiled.

Major Characters

  • Jesus: homie was a Jew

History Summary

  • Jesus was a Jew and began preaching different stuff than the Jews
  • He got persecuted
  • He was crucified
  • On the way to Damascus to kill Jesus' supporters, Saul gets a vision of Jesus and he converts to Christianity and changes his name to Paul
  • The Bible is written. They are convinced that Jesus will back soon
  • Catholic church is founded
  • Pope vs. Bishops => Pope wins
  • Catholicism spreads
  • People start to feel like the Catholic Church is wack. They accept bribes, create purgatory, use church as a power grab
  • Protest Reformation starts
  • Protestants war with Catholics
  • Everyone chills out and ignores each other for a long time
  • Everyone starting to be friends again slowly but still weary of each other

Islam

Major Values

  • Submission to god
  • 5 pillars:
    • There is only one god and Muhammad is his messenger
    • Pray 5 times a day facing Mecca
    • Pay 2.5% of income to charity a year
    • Fast during month of Ramadan
    • Hajj: Pilgrimage to Mecca one in your life

Important stuff

  • Quran: Holy book that is a manual for Islam and tells people how to be a good Muslim.

Major Characters

  • Muhammad: God's human contact who created Islam

History Summary

  • The prophet Muhammad is born and the angel Gabriel comes to him from God and tells him the entirety of Islam.
  • He records everything Gabriel tells him in a book called the Quran.
  • Muhammad preaches in Mecca at the Kaaba but the polytheistic religion sees him as a threat and persecutes him
  • He and his followers migrate to Medina.
  • They gather forces and return to Mecca and take it back
  • Major split in leadership after Muhammad dies in who should lead the Muslims leading to the Sunni and Shia muslims.

Writing Style

This book had a really conversational and simple writing style. It is written for people that do not know anything about religious history. It is easy to understand and conversational in tone.

Strengths

It is a truly comprehensive history stretching from the start of religion to where the future might go. It does not go in a strictly chronological order. Because so much was happening at the same time on Earth, the book does a really great job at zig-zagging back and forth through time and grouping various related religions together in explanation and then going back and explaining other things happening at that time later in the book.

I am also happy this book touched a little on secularism.

Weaknesses

I wish there were more fun facts. What does the inside of a mosque look like? How do sermons differ between sects of Christianity. While the book does a good job at painting in broad strokes, I wish some of the finer day-to-day details were present. I also wish it talked more in depth about the motivations people had. Why did people do what they did? What possible environmental factors contributed to the creation of religions with certain traits? Does the environment affect it at all? Why did monotheism start? Just by chance?

What did this book teach you?

Religion can offer different things to different people. It can range from meaning to life to simple community. It is up to the followers to think critically about their religion and figure out what they want for themselves.

In one sentence

Religion is a metaphorical base case in which the recursion of human behavior can take place (computer science pun).

Score

7/10