Eric's Religion Page

Eric's Religion Page

Welcome to Eric's Religion Page. Here you will see a frank, objective discussion of issues that often generate strong emotions. If you do not agree with my views, feel free to express your views to me and the logic behind them. If you have nothing constructive to say, however, please keep your opinions to yourself.

I was raised in the Roman Catholic faith. When I was young, I tried hard to be pious, succeeding some times more often than others. I can still remember the first time that I consciously uttered a swear word -- I was certain that I would be somehow struck by lighting from above or something and was surprised when no immediate adverse consequences rewarded this clear sin. But I really did try hard to be a good person (lest I be doomed to going to hell!).

There was something about going to church that made me feel uncomfortable when I was young. I think that the big problem was that I saw an enormous hypocrisy endemic among church goers. People would dutifully attend church every week, pretending to be good people. But I saw these very same people outside of church being terrible people and doing terrible things. The hypocrisy upset me.

In high school, I learned more about the history of my religion. The politicization of the church stunned me. I learned about the selling of indulgences in the middle ages. I learned about there being as many as three popes at once. It was clear to me that the church was definitely originated by mortals (not God) and subsequently run by mortals (not God). This realization helped me to understand the origin of the god concept and the origin of religion.

I stopped attending church when I moved away from my family to attend college. This was due to the hypocrisy issues I discussed above. I just had a hazy sense that, despite what I had been taught (basically, that you had to go to church if you didn't want to go to hell), going to church was not important.

Over time, I came to understand more clearly why. I asked myself why people attended church. Well, it seemed to me that people went to church in order to get to heaven. See Eric's Heaven Page for further discussion thereon.

So which religion is the best?

It seems that most major religions see their religion as the "one true" religion -- that everybody else is wrong. I spent several paragraphs above describing why religions don't seem very important. I don't necessarily condemn all religions as being meaningless. Indeed, religion can be a great aide in helping people to live good lives. As I have learned what I could about the world's major religions, I have found none that seem ideal for me.

I really like the Judeo-Christian idea of "Love thy neighbor as thyself". But there are way too many bizarre, unuseful policies that those churches have generated which make those churches unuseful to me.

Buddhism has much to recommend it as a religion. I like the concentration on personal behavior. The primary thing that I don't like about Buddhism is the belief in reincarnation. Unfortunately, the belief in reincarnation is fairly central to the Buddhist faith, so I will never, I suppose, be that good a Buddhist.

Of all the religious philosophies I've studied, the belief systems that come closest to my beliefs are Deism and Humanism.

Here's a good summary of Deist principles:

You shall honor and worship the Creator in a fashion that suits you
You shall treat others with dignity and respect and you shall insist that others respect your dignity as well
You shall live life pragmatically and use Reason as the cornerstone for all you think, say and do
You shall be honest and not lie, cheat or steal
You shall not harm another unless it is in defense of yourself or loved ones
You shall treat others as you want to be treated
You shall take responsibility for your actions
You shall have faith in yourself
You shall honor and be faithful to your Father, your Mother and your Loved ones
You shall learn from the mistakes that you will make
You shall find awe, inspiration and beauty in the creation and the natural order of the universe
You shall search for truth and be willing to accept new ideas based on reason as you are exposed to them

Here's a good site on Deism.

Here's a good summary of Humanist fundamentals, from Corliss Lamont's book, The Philosophy of Humanism:

Humanism believes in a naturalistic metaphysics or attitude toward the universe that considers all forms of the supernatural as myth; and that regards Nature as the totality of being and as a constantly changing system of matter and energy which exists independently of any mind or consciousness.

Humanism, drawing especially upon the laws and facts of science, believes that we human beings are an evolutionary product of the Nature of which we are a part; that the mind is indivisibly conjoined with the functioning of the brain; and that as an inseparable unity of body and personality we can have no conscious survival after death.

Humanism, having its ultimate faith in humankind, believes that human beings possess the power or potentiality of solving their own problems, through reliance primarily upon reason and scientific method applied with courage and vision.

Humanism, in opposition to all theories of universal determinism, fatalism, or predestination, believes that human beings, while conditioned by the past, possess genuine freedom of creative choice and action, and are, within certain objective limits, the shapers of their own destiny.

Humanism believes in an ethics or morality that grounds all human values in this-earthly experiences and relationships and that holds as its highest goal the this-worldly happiness, freedom, and progress—economic, cultural, and ethical—of all humankind, irrespective of nation, race, or religion.

Humanism believes that the individual attains the good life by harmoniously combining personal satisfactions and continuous self-development with significant work and other activities that contribute to the welfare of the community.

Humanism believes in the widest possible development of art and the awareness of beauty, including the appreciation of Nature’s loveliness and splendor, so that the aesthetic experience may become a pervasive reality in the lives of all people.

Humanism believes in a far-reaching social program that stands for the establishment throughout the world of democracy, peace, and a high standard of living on the foundations of a flourishing economic order, both national and international.

Humanism believes in the complete social implementation of reason and scientific method; and thereby in democratic procedures, and parliamentary government, with full freedom of expression and civil liberties, throughout all areas of economic, political, and cultural life.

Humanism, in accordance with scientific method, believes in the unending questioning of basic assumptions and convictions, including its own. Humanism is not a new dogma, but is a developing philosophy ever open to experimental testing, newly discovered facts, and more rigorous reasoning.

Here is a good site on Humanism.

If there were a congregation near me, I might belong to a Unitarian Universalist church. The Unitarian Universalist Church promotes the following principals:

The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;
A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;
The goal of world community with peace, liberty and justice for all;
Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

Here's a good site on Unitarian Universalism.

Eric's treatise on Religion, God, and the Bible
Eric's Birth of Religion Page
Eric's Origin of God Page
Eric's Heaven Page
Eric's Bible Belief Page
Eric's Philosophy Page
Eric's personal Home Page

Here you see a frank, objective discussion of issues that often generate strong emotions. If you do not agree with my views, feel free to express your views to me and the logic behind them. If you have nothing constructive to say, however, please keep your opinions to yourself.

To send Eric an E-Mail, click here.

This page last updated 03/17/07