During one of my discussions on Facebook, someone said that "religion is also good when taken like medicine." This statement might sound strange to some people but in a way it is true. I always believed that religion and religious beliefs are very personal matters of any individual much like their personal medication. Many people need some type of medication for some health issues, these issues can be physical or mental. Every patient who visits any doctor for some problems gets their personal prescription to improve their health. Apart from prescription medications, people can buy over-the-counter medicines on their own for a variety of conditions that are not that serious. Many people have to take these medications daily, some medicines suit them which they continue to take and some do not which they discontinue or find a substitute medication. But very few discuss these things openly in public, we don't go on telling people around us what medication we take and how good we feel because of that medicine. We don't start recommending those medicines to everyone without knowing their health condition. We don't do this specifically because we feel that it is not appropriate to share a very personal matter in public and also because we know whatever medicine is good or suitable for us may or may not suit another person. There are also very strict laws in many countries to protect the personal medical history of patients. People do share these things with their close ones which is a normal thing to do, but most refrain from boasting about their list of medications in public. Religion is also a very personal thing, many people need it for their personal well-being. This need is very genuine for them, and it is quite reasonable that such people try to satisfy this need by following one or more religions. There are many options available in the market of religion, we all get one option by default, the one in which we are born, but we can shop around and change to whatever other religion we like. One can compare religion with personal medication, people use religion for their personal well-being as they use medicines to improve their health. Many of them get some benefits and enjoy the many good things that come along with it. As long as they keep it personal and use it for their own benefit, things are fine and no one should have any issue with this practice.
Things start getting complicated when people start to force their religion on others, that too without bothering to know if other people need it or not. When a deeply personal thing like religion is forced to homogenize society, it creates a lot of problems. People who don't like it start resisting it, and some launch their own products which creates competition and a lot of competition in the market of religion. This competition creates a lot of rivalries, like rivalries between various pharmaceutical companies. The only difference is pharma company rivalries ultimately help patients as it results in more medicines and cheaper prices, but religions hate rivalries, they either try to destroy other religions or make every effort to convert people to their own religion. Religious rivalries did create more religions, but it also resulted in violent communal conflicts. So far, millions of people died in such conflicts all over the world. Even after all this people fail to understand that religion is a very personal matter, there is no need for a public display of it.
Maybe like medicines we need a regulated market for all religions. Now one can ask why something like religion needs rules and regulations like pharma products. This is specifically because like every medication, religion also has many side effects and some of them are really serious. The tendency of many religious groups to indulge in communal violence is one of the fatal side effects. Gender discrimination, suppression of certain classes, and superstitions are a few other noticeable and serious side effects. People who practice religion should be aware of these things as they directly affect them. It would be a really good idea for every religion to publish a list of side effects that it may cause. It will be a good idea to make such a list mandatory as it is for every approved medicine. It can help people to choose a religion that suits their needs and minimize its side effects on them. Various religions can list these side effects based on their history. Most of them have very well-documented history which can easily give them such a list of various issues and problems. The point I am trying to make here is, in today's world religion is a very personal matter, please don't try to make it into some sort of social movement. In the past, it was used as a social tool as nothing else was available, but that need doesn't exist anymore, so the time has come for religion to become a private matter, just like our medications.
Things start getting complicated when people start to force their religion on others, that too without bothering to know if other people need it or not. When a deeply personal thing like religion is forced to homogenize society, it creates a lot of problems. People who don't like it start resisting it, and some launch their own products which creates competition and a lot of competition in the market of religion. This competition creates a lot of rivalries, like rivalries between various pharmaceutical companies. The only difference is pharma company rivalries ultimately help patients as it results in more medicines and cheaper prices, but religions hate rivalries, they either try to destroy other religions or make every effort to convert people to their own religion. Religious rivalries did create more religions, but it also resulted in violent communal conflicts. So far, millions of people died in such conflicts all over the world. Even after all this people fail to understand that religion is a very personal matter, there is no need for a public display of it.
Maybe like medicines we need a regulated market for all religions. Now one can ask why something like religion needs rules and regulations like pharma products. This is specifically because like every medication, religion also has many side effects and some of them are really serious. The tendency of many religious groups to indulge in communal violence is one of the fatal side effects. Gender discrimination, suppression of certain classes, and superstitions are a few other noticeable and serious side effects. People who practice religion should be aware of these things as they directly affect them. It would be a really good idea for every religion to publish a list of side effects that it may cause. It will be a good idea to make such a list mandatory as it is for every approved medicine. It can help people to choose a religion that suits their needs and minimize its side effects on them. Various religions can list these side effects based on their history. Most of them have very well-documented history which can easily give them such a list of various issues and problems. The point I am trying to make here is, in today's world religion is a very personal matter, please don't try to make it into some sort of social movement. In the past, it was used as a social tool as nothing else was available, but that need doesn't exist anymore, so the time has come for religion to become a private matter, just like our medications.
Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.
[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]
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