On Religion: The Cult Conundrum
Alright, I know this topic is a contentious one. There’s a reason so many wars are waged over religion; people feel intrinsically attached to their beliefs, and have unfathomable levels of fear for their gods. Religions are a key part of culture and society at large; they’ll never leave, and I don’t think it should. The purpose of this is not to bash any one religion, as I don’t think there’s a single religion to blame for the issues of them all. (Except maybe Christianity, but hey, as an ex-christian, I feel like I can bash it a little.) Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Judaism all have possible benefits, I just believe that the structure and influence of these groups has been taken down the wrong path.
For context, I attended an Episcopalian elementary school through 6th grade. That’s eight years of school spent attending chapel every morning. We had a separate Religious Education class built into our school curriculum, reading psalms and all that. I frankly don’t remember much of this time, since I was so young, but I do remember one core sentiment I had.
Throughout these years, we had to recite various songs and lines from the Bible every day during this chapel time. I remember thinking, “What do these words mean?” At age 4, I was referencing “our trespasses” and history I’d never even heard of before. None of it made sense, so I was just repeating jargon the rest of my peers were saying (which is a bit alarming, when you think about it).
Obviously, I will be criticizing religion here, so I do want to mention some benefits of it first. Religions, at their core, provide moral and ethical guidance. They allow us to place our actions in context of a greater purpose, as we are flawed creatures that do not always make the best decisions. They provide a moral compass, instilling values that guide their followers toward compassion, empathy, and altruism. Many religions encourage contributing positively to society through charity and community service. Religion has inspired countless works of art and literature, and allows for a deep emotional connection outside of friends, family and relationships. The connection some individuals feel to their god is inherently positive and motivating, and I wouldn’t want to take away from that. They offer a sense of purpose, community, and solace to believers, fostering a shared sense of belonging and understanding in a world that doesn’t always make sense. Religions are comforting; they provide stability and routine that few things can. Like many things, the IDEA of religion is truly beautiful. It’s the details and practice of it that’s the issue.
With all that laid out, let’s get into why I don’t trust religion, especially Christianity. The first reason is simple, and it’s something used in science every day: if an ideological system is credible, it holds up to criticism. So, does religion hold up to criticism? NOT EVEN CLOSE, man. It never does. Let me offer up the most basic example that applies to nearly every religion:
In most frameworks, “God” is portrayed to be two things: all-good, and all-powerful. These two core tenets mean that God is responsible for everything that happens in the world, including death, disease, suffering, r8pe, and every other heinous act in history. According to Genesis 1:27, “God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them,” yet the children He has created still remain sinful and hateful at their core. Christians like to argue to this point that humans are inherently sinful, that we fell from grace and therefore God cannot prevent us from sinning. Well, if He was all-powerful, He could prevent us from sinning. He could create the perfect world without sadness or hardship, and yet it still exists. So, if God could indeed prevent all these terrible things but chooses not to, then He cannot be all good. “But some hardship is necessary for life!”, some might say. And to that I have some retorts: Israel-Hamas war. Baby cancer, cancer in babies. The Holocaust. Those things are horrific, and if you disagree, we need to check you into a mental hospital.
Still, Christians won’t give up this idea of us “falling from grace”, so let’s rehash that with sources, yeah? Take the story of Adam and Eve. God is said in the Bible to be "greater than our hearts, and he knows everything" [1 John 3:20 CSB]. Yet, in the story of Eden, Eve falls to her own temptation, goaded on by the serpent, and eats the forbidden fruit. Adam then follows in her stead, wanting to always be by her side, and they get exiled from paradise. This story is framed in the sense that humans are inherently sinful, and that God had to exile us to teach us a lesson. That’s all fine and dandy until you realize that God placed the Tree of Knowledge in Eden purposefully. What’s more, if God was all knowing, He would have known that Eve would consume the forbidden fruit. So, if He created Eve himself, knowing she would “fail” him by a system He Himself created. Although eating the fruit caused “the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons” [King James’ Bible, Gen.3.7]. Even if their eyes were opened and they became enlightened to the good and bad in the world, this was all still under God's control. Even with this knowledge, God could guide their lives into one of happiness, if He is all-powerful. And, being all-good, He would want His children to be happy, right? So why, then, did they suffer so much from their fall from Eden?
In this way, free will within Christianity is a hot mess. Yes, we all are capable of sin, but that’s because it’s allowed to us. And if God knows we can sin and lets us do so, is he truly against it? Take sim games like, well, the Sims as an example. Within that world, our sims can’t commit tax fraud or shoot up their neighborhood. It’s simply not allowed within the confines of the universe. Do you think your Sims are saddened by the fact that they can’t commit atrocities in their own world? No, because they don’t know what they don’t know. If God could (or wanted to), He would remove these options from us. If free will truly exists, how does God know all that will happen in all of history? Can we not change these events by our own hands?
Furthermore, I can’t discuss religion without bringing up its hate of the LGBTQIA+. There are six references to homosexuality in the bible, the most prominent being, "If a man lies with a man as one lies with woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads" [Leviticus 20:13]. Ok, that’s horrific. Yet, if God made His children in His image, and He apparently hates gay people so much, why would He make gay people? If it’s such a sin in His eyes, why would He create so many people that apparently go against His principles? If God was altruistic, He would at least love His children equally. Devout Christians say that God is against queer people, and that they apparently go to hell. If that’s true, then he doesn’t love all of his children equally, and therefore he is not all-good.
There are so many more examples I could list. In all of them, followers always pull the “God works in mysterious ways” or “Only God can understand God” cards to avoid losing the argument, when that fails to explain literally any of the issues with the Bible. Like, there are plot holes in the lore, my guy. Unfortunately the issues don't end there, and this leads into my second point: in practice, religion falls apart even further.
In many religions, followers cite their beliefs to control and oppress others. Even IN THE BIBLE, Jesus reprimands the Jewish leaders at the time for trying to “look” virtuous instead of actually doing good things, and even calls them wicked [Matthew 23:15]. Since the start of religion, there have been those who use it for their own selfish purposes, and the number of these bad actors has only become more prominent in recent decades. Christianity has morphed into its own agenda that calls for the combination of church and state, discrimination against minorities, women and queer people, and anti-abortion rhetoric. At its core, the Christian nationalist agenda is pushing the false narrative that to be a true American, one must be Christian. Christians, especially Evangelicals, struggle to give basic respect to others. They assume the worst about everyone, and attach their perceived flaws to failings of God. They are more than willing to accept the grace Jesus gives them, but when challenged to extend the same grace to others, they refuse.
They wish people would act just like them, and sometimes go as far as to force these ideas onto others, such as barring abortion from those who are pro-choice. There’s a time and place to call someone up into a better way of living, and shaming or disowning them for their choices is certainly NOT IT. The Bible encourages us to speak the truth to others in love [Ephesians 4:15], and there’s no love in oppressing others. Christians can be so, so quick to criticize others’ lives, forgetting that the below things are also sins according to the Bible:
Forcing your religion on others [Romans 14:1-23]
Lying in any form [Proverbs 6:16-19]
Arguing with others [Philippians 2:14]
Being rude [Titus 3:2]
Disrespecting others [1 Peter 2:17]
Hating someone [Matthew 5:44]
Judging others [Gateway Matthew 7]
… but these are conveniently ignored. Who woulda guessed.
And, while they do all this, they remain terrified of themselves. Hypocritical people don’t want others to know the real them – the thoughts they're ashamed of, their bad habits, the mistakes they make – because they’re scared of how others will respond. They try so hard to be the “perfect Christian” that they can’t let others see how they really are. This is why Christians get so heated when their beliefs are questioned; their mask of virtue begins to slip.
Something I’ve noticed recently is the reaction from Christians about the actions of other Christians. When certain Christians / groups of Christians do something bad (pastors diddling kids, as a prime example), other Christians distance themselves from them and say things like, "They aren’t ‘real Christians’, we aren’t like them". And yet, whenever a similar story pops up about a queer person, the immediate consensus from those same Christians is, "You see? That's how they are. That's their whole agenda. This is why we advocate against this." Why is the same mindset not afforded to those outside of the religion? Apparently, making a mistake is a hallmark of sin, except for those within the religion.
Finally, you probably saw the title of this piece and thought, “well, come on now. Religions aren’t cults, that’s over dramatic and biased.” Oh, yeah? Let’s look at the criteria for something to be a cult and compare it to the tenets of Christianity:
A cult is a religious movement that is often small, secretive, and highly controlling of its members. Here are some of their facets:
"Formal religious veneration": Just read this blog post from a religious tradwife… https://peacefulwife.com/2016/02/04/20-ways-to-show-respect-for-god/
"A system of religious beliefs and its body of adherents": The members of a church make up one of innumerable bodies of adherents to God, all under the pastors and chaplains that run the churches. Christianity revolves around the belief in the Trinity, the Messiah, the Resurrection, the Rapture, the Six Foundational Truths, and the Five New Testament practices (look ‘em up).
"Great devotion to a person or idea": The devotion to the Holy Trio is a major part of life under Christianity. Prayer and reading of scripture is a part of daily life.
"Persons united by devotion or allegiance to an artistic or intellectual movement or figure": Look at megachurches. Enough said.
“Manipulative and authoritarian mind control over members”: Again, watch the programming of megachurches. The lives of the followers are consistently interfered with by this programming, as fear of sin and retribution under God are an underpinning of Christian life.
“Communal or totalistic organization”: Churches are communal. A church service (or a service of worship) is a formalized period of Christian communal worship. Christianity, although not inherently totalistic, has the immense potential to be as such. Starting with a set of rigid rules, combined with aggressively pushing said set of rules, allows for the possibility that reality itself will be over-written by your rules. We see this during the pandemic; the overwriting of scientific inquiry in the name of religion and preservation of "individual rights" in context of masks. Many climate and science deniers are deeply religious. According to the below article, cults recruit students from middle-class and upper-middle-class who experience temporary emotional turmoil. Then, recognize the stereotype of students becoming highly religious and extremist following their education. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1981/07/22/coping-the-cult-phenomenon/287b376a-5f4b-41d8-a1ce-d8728a4d887d/
“Aggressive proselytizing”: One word: the CRUSADES. Christianity not only seeks, but attempts to convert, making it a proselytizing religion.
“Systematic programs of indoctrination”: Look at child programming in churches. Children’s vulnerability is preyed on to instill fear of God early on without need for explanation. Christian parents indoctrinate their children in Christianity because they believe it is true. Programming can also include concepts of “respecting your elders” to make sure children stay unquestioning to the system.
“Perpetuation in middle-class communities”: Those who can attend church and contribute to its function need enough free time and money to do so. Those in working class and blue-collar jobs may not have the luxury to dedicate time to these disciplines.
“Making it very hard for anyone to dissent or to find other people who disagree”: Just talked about this. Try arguing with a devout Christian about any of their beliefs, and it gets nasty. Read comments under Satanist content creators and you’ll see.
The sheer potential for dogmatism and intolerance in religious spaces is immense. Just look at history: The Christianisation of Europe, the Muslim conquests, the Crusades, La Reconquista, the Hussite Wars, the Soga–Mononobe conflict, the Toltec religious wars, the Ethiopian–Adal War, the Greek War of Independence, the Taiping rebellion, the Mahdist War, the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Pakistan and India, the Nigerian conflict, the Buddhist uprising, the Lebanese Civil, the Iran–Iraq War, the Yugoslav Wars, the Sudanese Civil War, and the War in Iraq are just some examples of conflicts instigated primarily for religious reasons. The main issue? Religions are based on rigid doctrines that stifle conversation and constructive argument. They’ve suppressed the rights of so many people and perpetuate inequality across the board.
Wasn’t the initial purpose of so many religions to treat others how you’d like to be treated, to give back to your community, and to be a good person overall? It seems we’ve lost the plot, y’all. My only takeaway is that if you’re going to adhere to a scripture, adhere to it all. If being atheist is a sin, then being an ass about your own religion is a sin as well [Romans 14:1-23]. Just be kind.
P.S. I’ve been reading about Gnosticism recently, not in a believing way; more in a, “damn, that’s interesting” kind of way. Basically, the main God creates archons to be the physical creators of the Universe. One of these archons, the Demiurge, becomes malevolent and is exiled from the “perfect” physical plane. In its solitude, it creates its own universe to rule as a supreme god, but in its own imperfection, the world it creates is imperfect too. That’s where we are; we’re in the universe of the Demiurge. This better explains why our existence is so flawed: our god is not all-good OR all-powerful. I’m grossly simplifying it but it’s interesting. Still not the truth, though. I’ll believe God’s real as soon as we get proof.
More to watch:
The Dark World of Megachurches
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