One may stop to wonder at this topic and become naturally prejudiced even before you start reading this article, some may not even stop to read the first line once they have read the heading while others(a select few that are open minded) will be piqued with interest and read on to know what this article has to offer. Whatever category you belong to. I urge you to read on.
Religion according to the Oxford dictionary is a system of faith based on the belief in the existence of a god or gods and the activities that are connected with the worship of them.
Religion has helped in so many ways to keep man on the straight and narrow by appealing to man's conscience and setting various moral standards that can keep man in check and stop him from going overboard. This obviously is a good thing so how can something so good keep a man in bondage? Knowing well that being in bondage connotes slavery, oppression, subjection, domination etc.
Religion has put a lot of people in bondage, yourself inclusive due to its bias towards various aspects of life. There are things one would naturally love to do but due to the criterias you have to meet in relation to your religion, you restrict yourself from doing those things, you have to stop yourself from thinking in a particular way which is only true to your nature, you kill your desires, dreams/aspirations. You cannot ask certain questions out loud or think too deeply about certain issues in the world that give you concern for fear of being blasphemous or described as 'weird' . You cannot emphatize or sympathize with a set of people in the open even if you feel this way for fear of being labeled.
All for the sake of religion; man's strong desire to believe in something greater than himself and a confirmation of our weakness, we have relinquished our freedom for a bondage, a restriction, a subjection that promises nirvana when we pass on to the next world.
Do not misconstrue my opinions, I am not saying religion is entirely bad because we all know that if man has no moral compass, there will be chaos in the world and that in the name of religion, generations have been cut off, dreams crushed, ambitions destroyed, spirits broken, etcetera. All i am saying is, what if there were not so many restrictions, would there be so many do nots? Personally I believe that man imposes his beliefs on other men in the name of religion because he doesn't accept the way of life of a group of people. Sadly, man is willing to do anything as long as religion is attached to it.
Finally Religion, in other words, serving God should be fun, done in freedom without discrimination or prejudice. After all, you only know that someone claims he heard from God, you weren't there neither did u experience the encounter with him. Thus, Read your religious texts, practice your religion, abide by the instructions that abideth therein, live life, love people(which is very difficult by the way), be happy and when death calls, you meet your creator or not( It all boils down to if He/they truly exists or not) . Either way, you would have lived a fulfilled life.
Lol...your articles always have a way to give me giggles....I like them and on this particular topic,it has come a long way and it amuses me when you get to know about people's opinions and at this level,I've settled to be agnostic about religion as a whole because in life you don't really need religion to have morals and know what good and bad acts/deeds entails.
ReplyDeleteA well reflective text. I have in many cases argued that religion(s) is slavery. By slavery, I mean it restricts one from partaking in some activities especially those activities that will Favour one. My service year in Northern Nigeria Where majority of the people are Muslims has made my reflection to be true. We pray When It's 2pm Because It's time for prayer. I keep asking myself Where is thy freedom?
ReplyDeleteThis experience has forced me to conclude that for THERE TO BE SALVATION, FREEDOM MUST BE ARRESTED