Vinay Kumaran

I was talking to one of my fellows the other day. There was a discussion about dietary restrictions. He was surprised to hear that I have no religious affiliation and no dietary restrictions. He was under the impression that most Indians are Hindus and vegetarian. He told me that most Japanese people do not have a religious affiliation which, in turn, surprised me. My only visit to Japan was to Kyoto and most of the 'places to see' there seemed to be Buddhist temples. In any case, my thoughts turned to the manifest fact that much of the irrational human behavior of the modern age seems to be rooted in religion. Objections to abortion and stem cell research in the US, the fact that nobody from a minority religion or without religious affiliation has ever been elected to a major leadership position here, the conflicts between India and Pakistan, the middle east situation, Israel and the Arabic countries, the list goes on. In history too, some of the greatest crimes committed by...

Discussions with a couple of my friends on Facebook persuaded me to write down my thoughts about religion and why I think most religions are doing more harm than good. Denial of Death. A factor which seems common to all religions is the denial of the finality of death. Practically all the religions seem to have the concept of a soul, something that continues after we die. The soul may be reincarnated (as in Hinduism and Buddhism), rewarded (Heaven in Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Moksh in Buddhism and Hinduism) or punished (Hell, Purgatory, an unpleasant reincarnation etc). In any case, the soul apparently retains the memory of actions performed in life (what would be the point of punishing someone for a crime they do not know they committed?), retains the ability to suffer (Hell) or enjoy pleasures (Heaven, Valhalla). There is, of course, no reason to believe that anything like this occurs. One can imagine ancestors, intelligent enough to recognize that death is inevitable but no...

A common thread which runs through all religions is the denial of death. They all have some form of belief which permits a person to survive, typically in the form of a soul, after the death of the body. They believe that something continues after the body dies. Some religions have the concept of reincarnation. The soul returns in another body. Or if sufficiently enlightened, attains a state of permanent bliss referred to as 'Moksh'. Or becomes part of a 'universal soul' which permeates the universe. Many religions have a reward and punishment concept. The soul is judged by a God for thoughts, actions and intentions during life and receives either a reward by being allowed into Heaven, apparently a nice place to be, Valhalla, an everlasting party with like-minded friends or punishment in the form of confinement to Hell, an unpleasant place to be in, typically due to low or high temperatures without the option of appropriate clothes. There are variations such as spen...