I really enjoy pointing out the amazing part of being, the little things, the butterfly that appears unexpectedly that flutters and passes by, the stars in the sky, an amazing coincidence of happenstance that flutters by. I don’t assign any of that to someone or something, inexplicably, unexpectedly, deciding that this tiny being on an insignificant ball of rock should suddenly command attention. It makes no sense. I prefer the idea that I make my own meaning, and I choose my own destiny. I choose to be a good person, and I choose to be who I want to be. I don’t need a Sky Daddy to tell me to be good. I just am good.
I’m indigenous in Canada and both my parents were born in the wilderness and I grew up surrounded by elders like my mother and father. They had all been converted by Christian missionaries but there was always a strange thread of our old beliefs and cultural ideas. I don’t think we were ever fully converted.
I never had a full sense that there was a magical heaven in the afterlife. The kind of belief I grew up with was the general idea that this life is a miracle and that we are fortunate to even exist. The same thought is given to animals, plants and even the land and water and sky as a whole. Everything is just a living miracle and the fact that we are here to see it is unbelievable. It makes you realize that in this communal miracle, you have to respect all life because everything is fleeting and momentary … we may live for years or decades but it is still just a short moment compared to life everywhere.
This way of thinking was reinforced when I started reading about science and modern thinkers. I never went to higher education but I read a lot for myself. I enjoyed reading the philosophy of Carl Sagan who described life as a momentary spark in the cosmos.
I also enjoyed how he suggested that if more people just thought of life in this way, we would probably appreciate each other a lot more because we would know that this is all there is and what we do now is all that matters.
I don’t believe in any world religion. I have my own way of believing in something. I also grew up with many great Irish Canadians who taught me similar ideas. One old friend suggested that if you want to believe in something … just believe in love. Love for yourself, love for those close to you, love for everyone, love for everything.
It’s the closest I’ve come to believing in something and that is just fine for me.
That is beautiful. That’s an excellent way to explain secular humanism. I appreciate you. The beautiful you that wrote that.
We have an innate need to feel loved, to have answers, and have some degree of control over our lives. Depending on our lived experience, we can find all of those things in something “higher” than ourselves.
While, on a black and white level, religion doesn’t -actually- give us any of those things, it can be a very convincing proxy.
Are you lonely? Need community? God’s got you.
Don’t understand something? Well of course you don’t. Only God does, so as long as you have faith in God, you’re good.
Have you lost control of your life? Do you feel too small in the modern world? Don’t worry, just follow God. He knows the way.
All that being said; None of this is meant to talk down to religious people. Any of us can fall into these pits, especially in the modern world. I have zero problem with religion. It’s those who exploit this facet of humanity that I find deplorable.
Yeah and that’s perfectly fine. Religion is a story that brings people together through imaginary meaning, to explain the inexplicable, to give duty and purpose when you need one.
Whether your beliefs are manifested in an omnipresent deity, or the balance of karma, or simply the chaos of the universe it doesn’t matter in the end. The self-satisfaction of doing good deeds for others is more motivating if you combine it with the promise of a reward during or after your life. It makes you reflect that not everything in life is in your control, belief and religion stands in as a explanation for yourself. The absence of an explanation is uncomfortable for some, so religion is useful for those. On the flipside it’s also used to excuse heinous acts.
