Religion and Politics

Having a B.A. in Anthropology and having studied religion at a university, I have come to the conclusion that religion is simply a social and psychological mechanism. Culture including religion which is simply a manifestation of culture is an evolved process which forms due to natural selection.

The reason why religion exists is because it serves many basic needs for humanity. It provides social cohesion, dogma and direction to the masses, and answers the question of death. Of course, after the enlightenment we have been able to answer many of the questions that were previously handled through myth and unknown powers.

The future of religion is unclear. It depends whether nature selects for intelligence in the human population. For the most part, those who can accurately judge reality have a better chance of survival than those who have an unclear understanding of reality. An understanding of reality coincides with an improved scientific process and a decline in irrational thought, dogma, and religious fanaticism.

As of this writing, humanity is standing on the precipice. Will it devolve into another dark age where reason is pushed to the wayside, or will objective reason prevail. We are all eagerly awaiting the answer to this question.

Religion and politics:

The only faith one should have is in objective reason. Basing one's life on unproven fantasies is a recipe for disaster. Delusions of grandeur are part and parcel of the psychology of dictators. Delusions of righteousness should not be allowed to interfere with the political process.

One only has to look to the Bush administration where the political adviser Karl Rove used Christian fundamentalists to gain power and votes. Instead of reaching out to educated voters the Bush team used wedge issues such as gay marriage to try and overshadow the major problems such as the growing military-industrial complex and the illegal Iraq war.

The only way a country can survive and prosper is if it forgoes anti-intellectualism and delusions of righteousness and embraces objective reason as it's way. These are life and death matters. Those who have delusions of righteousness will ignore the blowback that is likely to occur when they go on their religious crusades. Their "god" will not protect them when the family member of an innocent killed in the Iraq war comes back for justice. Those who live by fanaticism will likely die by it.

No, religion should not be a part of the political process. Unfortunately, it still is a major part of US politics. Eventually as people get more omega-3 fatty acids in their diet their IQ will improve. As the information age marches on people will be bombarded with so many facts and altering points of view that they will have no choice but to face reality in the end.