I was thinking the other day, while walking to the train, about what I think is the inherent/objective value of religion, when I personally do not believe that religion is required for one to be moral and upright. The idea that came to me is that religion seeks to ritualize self-reflection. One can indeed engage in very effective self-reflection as a humanist or atheist, but there is no established ritual schedule for making an account of oneself. Now, while this fact may or may not have specific bearing on the moral carriage of religious and non-religious people in comparison on any individual or even institutional basis, the idea of ritualized self-reflection has great potential to influence a persons senses of humility and empathy (which I think are two of the most fundamental elements of morality). Unfortunately, the opposite is also true, as people may take the ritual as an excuse to not engage seriously in the internal work, which can lead to, or increase arrogance, insofar as a person can point to their ritual practice and claim spiritual and moral superiority without the intended content of the ritual practice taking hold. So either way, there is a risk. Either you have no established schedule of internal/spiritual work, or you have the schedule which, ironically, psychologically lets you off the hook of the work itself.
Posted on: Tue, 09 Sep 2014 15:03:57 +0000
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