After being so furious with my brother, I spent half the night lying awake. I began to ponder why people are so obsessed with religion, and I came to a conclusion that satisfies me. Religious ecstasy is very like an orgasm. It releases endorphins or whatever the sexual pleasure hormone is. People who get caught up in the so-called "love of god" feel something very much like the intense pleasure and release that sexual pleasure provides. So of course they want to repeat that experience, and they do not want it to ever be taken away from them. (All the old maids out there like CP would writhe in anger and humiliation at my theory.)
It explains, however, why so many religious leaders are also sexual predators. They've got to have "that" feeling. Really good sex makes us feel wanted, loved, desired beyond measure. A good orgasm (often called "the little death") is a pleasure that we seek to repeat as often as possible. There are two things that people will NOT give up, no matter what: sex and religion. We'll give up food, drink, cigarettes, drugs (but usually only if we can replace those addictions with sex or religion). Religion is socially sanctioned, so if we must give up another pleasure, one that creates intense feelings like sexual orgasm, which we are hard-wired to want, need, and enjoy, we turn to religious ecstasy.
That certainly explains the glazed-over look
Well, shit. Some sort of blip (the nonexistent god?) has just destroyed the last couple of paragraphs I wrote. I don't know where my words have gone. Big "believers" would say they've gone to hell. I think my left thumb hit the fricking touch pad again. That is one aspect of this laptop that has made me crazy.
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2 comments:
Religion is strongly tied to cultural identity, just like our native language. I know you know all this. People are comfortable when they are around others of the same race, speak the same language, and worship the same deity. The need for belonging is low on Maslow's pyramid; it's one of the most basic needs. When people broaden their horizons, they will initially undergo culture shock, which will disintegrate down to a certain point, but will never totally go away. Anything people learn before they go to kindergarten becomes firmly planted in their minds. It is not just "rednecks" that are this way. It is cross-cultural and universal. There are people in this world that believe incest is NOT marrying your first cousin. Truly. I don't think that religion produces the same chemicals in the body as sex does, although that would be an interesting experiment to conduct!
I want to add the primary motives for being religious are 1)social recognition of one's pious devotion and 2)need for a sense of justice in an unjust world.
Most people cannot bear the thought of a hardcore criminal not waking up in a devil's hell at the end of life. I guarantee you, Aunt Sharon, that if you were a sex offender or suicide bomber, no one would be praying for your salvation unless it was to satisfy motive #1: "Look at me! I'm praying for the one on death row, and I bet you didn't!"
Likewise, everyone wants a humble and benevolent saint to go to heaven.
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