Religion appears to be getting increasingly relevant to the world we live in by the day. The news is filled with stories in which religion and religious identity seem to play a crucial role — from stories about religiously motivated violence to those about end-time scenarios. While religion is a vital part of the human experience, its increasing significance in 21st-century life is surely cause for interest and speculation
My understanding of religion is that it is, essentially, a metaphorical overlay on a spiritual experience. There are two fundamental layers or dimensions of religion: the metaphor and the message. The one — metaphor — is the linguistic or symbolic expression of the other — the message — which is the underlying spiritual experience conveyed by the religion. As I see it, regardless of the linguistic, symbolic, or ritualistic trappings of a religion, the underlying spiritual dynamics are what really matter in any religious tradition. In that respect, every religion is a different language for describing similar human experiences and spiritual themes.
Cruelty, for example, is cruelty in any religion. Similarly, grace and compassion are the same regardless of the religious or cultural context. The same may be said of corruption, manipulation, and deception, which are universal human traits or experiences. They may be expressed differently across religious settings, but the core human experiences remain consistent across all platforms.
Every culture or religion has its share of unseemly institutions and depraved practices. Customs like polygamy, pedophilia, human sacrifice, cannibalism, the marginalization of minorities, the scapegoating of innocents, etc., are, in my estimation, inherently despicable regardless of their religious or cultural context, which may be diverse and wide-ranging. Some specific examples include the ongoing pedophilia scandal in the Catholic church, the historical practice of polygamy in Islam and Mormonism, the underground practice of human sacrifice in Satanism, and the (now illegal) practice of caste discrimination in Hinduism. From a sane, rational perspective, I think, we may be justified in condemning such depravities, regardless of their religious significance, and calling for, or even legislating, religious reform.
By the same token, every religious or cultural tradition has its share of inherently positive, spiritually uplifting practices and messages — such as prayer, meditation, choral and instrumental music, chanting, service to humanity, charitable institutions, and the arts. From a sane, rational perspective, these are inherently praiseworthy, regardless of the religious or cultural trappings in which one may find them.
A terrorist is a terrorist in any religion; an autocrat is an autocrat in any religion. Similarly, basic human decency is the same in any religion. A saint or a visionary is who they are in any religion.
If religion may be described as a metaphorical/symbolic/linguistic overlay that conveys certain fundamental truths about the human condition and spiritual experience, then I would argue that religious fundamentalism is the consequence of placing inordinate emphasis on the metaphor, to the exclusion of the message. It arises when the linguistic constructions and symbolism of religion override its underlying spiritual dynamics and human truths.
Fundamentalism happens when the metaphor/symbols/language of religion becomes supremely relevant while the true meaning of those symbols becomes less important, or even unimportant. This is how one can have a situation where a religion preaching a message of peace, love, and compassion can, at the same time, promote acts of hatred, violence, terror, and discrimination — all in the name of that same religion. Thus, in my humble estimation, when religious metaphor overrides the underlying message and spiritual dynamics — that is what ultimately creates divisiveness and violence in society along cultural, ethnic, and other sociological lines.
I think the important thing for religious people to keep in mind is to place greater emphasis on the underlying meaning and message of their tradition, rather than on its metaphorical overlay or superficial trappings. I think it is the spiritual dynamics underlying any religious tradition that are of vital significance — for example, the messages of grace, compassion, redemption, and human upliftment. The language and metaphor, rites and ceremonies, costumes and pageantry, may be splendid to behold, but are, ultimately, far less important.
From a sane, rational perspective, that is how one can, I think, get to the truth and restore the integrity of any religious experience or practice.
I think you have it in the last paragraph. Grace, compassion, redemption and human upliftment are all possible – even more probable. It is only when they are caged by the rites, ceremonies, costumes and pageantry of various religions, that they become toxic. 👿
I don’t necessarily see the rites, ceremonies, pageantry, etc. as superfluous or meaningless. I’m sure they have some purpose. However, never at the expense of the core values. When they obscure the core values they are supposed to signify — that’s when they become irrelevant, IMO!