Religion is the opiate of the masses, but the spirit of religion hides in hard to see places. Science is a religion, atheism is a religion, even new age spirituality can be a religion. So what is religion anyway? The answer behind that question holds the key to true freedom.
If you look religion up in a dictionary you'll find a wide range of definitions. I took the time to look the word up myself before writing this article, but I found no dictionary that pointed out what I see to be the real core of religion. Hence, I am left with no choice but to create my own definition.
Religion: noun. The practice of accepting and passing down a group of beliefs from an external source and defending those beliefs against all contradicting philosophies even faced with evidence that proves such beliefs false or unlikely.
I intentionally made no mention of god, spirituality or the supernatural in this description of religion. That's not an omission; it's an expansion of the word's scope. You don't need to believe in god to have religious tendencies. In fact atheists can be as ardently religious as their Christian counterparts. They of course view themselves as utterly different and incompatible, but both are inextricably unified by something neither of them is willing to acknowledge.
Humans have gravitated towards religion since the beginning of recorded history, and likely much earlier. Kings, governments, and clergy have institutionalized and manipulated belief for their own benefit for thousands of years, and they continue to do so, even in places that you might least expect; the education system for example. Indoctrination is so subtle and so omnipresent, that it is impossible to extricate the truth from the knots of lies unless we step outside of the paradigm of religion itself.
To step outside of religion by no means implies a move towards an atheist or anti-spiritual world view. As I said before, atheists are just as prone to the pitfalls of religionist thought as the Baptists. Stepping outside of religion means to take responsibility for every piece of every thought or philosophical construct that enters our minds. It means evaluating even the most trusted sources every time, always looking for the distortions or half-truths that will inevitably be mixed in. It also implies changing our approach to sources that we consider untrustworthy. If the truth is spoken by a liar, it is no less true. Rejecting reality based on our distaste for the messenger that presents it to us is almost as foolish as accepting a lie based on the merits of the great philosopher or saint that spoke it.
I have come to realize that religion is a source of emotional security. By accepting a blanket of beliefs we gain a community of like minded people; giving this blanket up can be very hard. Freedom is a scary thing. It removes all guarantees, all excuses, and most easy answers; but what it offers in return is the truth, and the truth is most definitely worth seeking.
The next stage of human evolution is an evolution of consciousness, but before we can step forward into our true potential we must leave behind the shackles of religious thought. Each one of us holds the power to change them selves and to set the course of their evolution. Let's set a course to freedom. It will be far more interesting; that much I can guarantee.
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