When I write about religious people and their superstitions, about how religion fuels stupid ideas that create fear in people, I often get replies by religious people saying ‘I am religious but not superstitious!’ I am sure you have heard such a thing before, too. I actually don’t think this is possible. Nevertheless I see it as a positive sign if someone says such a thing. Let me explain you my theory.
First of all, why do I say that you cannot be only religious but not superstitious? It depends a bit on the definition of ‘religious’ but if you are really religious, it means you believe in the scriptures of a certain organized religion, don’t you? And these scriptures are all full of superstition. Until now I don’t know of any religion that does not have elements of superstition in their scriptures. If you do, please tell me about it. Until then, I can tell you that religion has been spreading superstition in society for centuries and you cannot separate superstition from religion, from its origin.
Whenever I hear however that someone protests and says ‘I am not superstitious but I do believe in religion!’, I feel that this person has at least started understanding that superstition is wrong! It is a first step. If a person has the feeling that he does not want to be called superstitious, he obviously is afraid that people might think he is scared of black cats or other nonsense. He does not want to be associated with such superstition but he does not have a problem to be associated with religion.
Yet.
In many cases I have the feeling that such people just don’t have the courage to actually leave religion. Sometimes it is an inner conflict, people wondering whether all of what they learned is really right. It takes time to accept an attitude which is fully different from what you got to know when you grew up. There will be a point however when you realize that it is not only nonsense to knock on wood for luck but also to pour milk into a river in a religious ritual for the same purpose.
Much more often however it feels that there are boundaries from the outside which create this hesitation. What is my family going to say if I don’t want to be religious anymore? What are people going to talk about me? These and others are the questions that come in people’s minds and even though they are not convinced anymore with what religion tells them, they don’t have the courage to speak against it. Superstition however is so ridiculous that they don’t want to be associated with it.
I believe, even if it is not possible for a person to fully leave religion in his lifetime, he can do the beginning and the next generation will take one step further. It can happen and it is already happening. Religion has made its impressions on people for thousands of years, so it is obvious that it is not easy to come out of it when the complete society in one’s surrounding is religious. We know however that the change has started and we can be positive and hopeful that it will continue to change until people won’t hesitate to say ‘I am neither superstitious nor am I religious!’
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