Of opium and the masses!

Ever wondered why religion, in spite of all the denigrations, ridicule, slander and malice, continues the single most unifying and at the same time the single most divisive force as far as the human race is concerned. History is replete with tales of millions of people sacrificing their own lives to uphold their faith and at the same time, slaying all those who they believed were infidels. For every Jihadi who murders to avenge his God, there is a soldier, who marches unarmed into the battlefield, facing certain death, only to protect his honor and his faith.

Till perhaps recent times (a century back), religion was beyond question. To question the authenticity of God, or the means to reach him, was to be ostracized and forever cut off. Europe found the Church's supremacy suffocating in the 16th-17th century. India found the Social Hierarchy sanctioned by Religion overbearing and claustrophobic. Different societies found different solutions to deal with the 'menace' of religion.

Men of letter believed Religion discouraged, rather, impeded knowledge and bred ignorance. The communists belived that there was no place for a decadent, decaying religion. The soviets worked on this ideal and propounded that there was no God, but man himself. The Chinese Communists detested the religion that had made them grovel and beg and catered solely to the social hierarchy. Since the late 16th Century, Religion has in multiple ways, been reviled, criticized and blamed for all ills of the society. Then, what is it that still pulls people to religion like a bee to nectar?

I believe, above all, it is Security. The security that one achieves from being a part of a larger group. The kind of common goals and aims perhaps form an essence of this feeling of 'security'. There is always something relatable to this group, in terms of likes, dislikes etc. etc. Another reason is perhaps the belief in ultimate good. That is to say, even after being wronged, one has the faith that one day, justice will be done. In several religions, this manifests itself, in the form of a final judgment, when all wrongs shall be accounted for. And Finally, religion is an expression of culture, and to multitudes, it is the culture that pulls them to religion...

Karl Marx may have said, and all fervent communists would readily agree to it, Religion is the Opium of the Masses, but perhaps, it is best to leave the masses tolerably intoxicated!