If you go to a weekly meeting where all the like-minded congregate,
If you have a revered leader and a hierarchy of authority,
If your mission is to transform earth into something heavenly,
Who would suggest that’s not religion?
I’m not interested in whether you worship a deity.
That’s not the point.
The fervor is about changing people, changing society,
Changing the individual purpose.
What is the one true religion?
If God is an anthropomorphic construct,
Humans place themselves at the center of the universe.
Sectarian strife is the opposite of humility.
What is so important about our dominion over the earth?
In the long run it is an illusion.
In the short run most everyone and everything gets exploited,
Even as illness pervades our fouled nest.
Religion is everywhere.
Look at the temple motif of banks and theaters
And the grand railroad stations full of majesty
And the sports stadium pilgrimage destination.
I do not begrudge anyone their community.
I myself enjoy a ball game crowd and the drama of the contest
And feel a certain reverence like in a museum
Visiting the great buildings of the past.
I have learned a lot over the years.
Experience is the best teacher.
And what I know best is that I don’t know much.
There is no shame in saying “I don’t know.”
