Please Respect That I Truly Believe Religion Is Harmful
By: Walter Rhein
Tags: Religion, Pascals Wager, Sexual Abuse, Belief, Awareness

I distinctly remember a day in high school when a smug substitute teacher took it upon himself to demonstrate Pascal’s wager.

It made me uncomfortable as it always does when religious people feel entitled to force their beliefs upon a captive, vulnerable audience. If this teacher sensed my discomfort, he ignored it and pushed on, secure in his delusion that he was doing “the lord’s work.”

If you don’t know Pascal’s wager, it’s a decision matrix that demonstrates how you can make a choice in the absence of complete information. The idea is to consider the possible consequences of believing in God versus not believing, in relation to whether or not God exists.

The substitute stepped back from the board to triumphantly reveal Pascal’s conclusion. If God didn’t exist, then it made no difference whether you believed in him or not. If God did exist, the consequence for not believing is eternal damnation. Therefore, the only logical choice is to believe because it offers the potential for reward with no risk of loss.

I raised my hand.

“Pascal is wrong, he failed to recognize that believing in God can have a catastrophic consequence on your life.”

I got sent to the office. Who am I to be critical of the great Blaise Pascal?

I’m the person who is right, that’s who.

I genuinely think religion is bad for you

Frankly, I’m pretty fed up with having my religious beliefs disrespected. Religion is one of those massive lies which demands such commitment that people won’t even engage in intellectual debate on the subject.

They dismiss you like you’re a non-human. They even punish you if you dare to speak out. It’s vile, destructive, and abusive behavior.

One of the many tactics of manipulating people is to present a lie as common sense indisputable truth. Nefarious forces train their hordes to not even consider an alternative. Once that is achieved, subsequent lies tend to reinforce the first lie.

Breakfast

When I was growing up, every single television commercial insisted that breakfast “was the most important meal of the day.” Then these commercials went on to demonstrate how sugary cereals such as Frosted Flakes were “part of a balanced breakfast.”

As a kid, I was capable of figuring out that Frosted Flakes cereal probably wasn’t healthy, but I never questioned that breakfast might not be the most important meal of the day. They said that over and over and over.

It turns out, it’s not true.

Hold onto your flaky croissant and spicy shakshuka eggs: new Australian research has just shattered one of the most widespread food myths, integral to the diets of people of all cultures in developed countries across the globe. Despite what we’ve been told for years, breakfast is not the most important meal of the day for weight loss or to prevent the onset of hunger — Yasmin Noone, Breakfast is no longer the most important meal of the day: new study

It’s pretty disgusting when a cereal company propagates a lie about nutrition in order to trick people into purchasing their product. It’s irresponsible to be dismissive about the malicious consequences of this or any lie, particularly in a country where childhood obesity is out of control

Obesity now affects 1 in 5 children and adolescents in the United States — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Overweight & Obesity

However, since the United States historically values the profitability of corporations over the mental and physical health of the population, nothing will ever be done about this. The same inclination is leveraged to perpetuate the lie about the harmlessness of faith.

Religion and pedophiles

I find it incomprehensible how religion is allowed to exist in a blind spot even in an era of accountability and cancel culture. The myth that “religion will not harm you,” is the uncontested platform on which zealots try to force their system of indoctrination into our public schools.

When somebody says, “there’s no harm to religion,” it’s important to stand up and tell them they’re wrong. Contesting them on that first point prevents them from embarking on their further agenda.

Research indicates a strong link between religion and sex offenders.

Those sex offenders who reported regular church attendance, a belief in supernatural punishment, and religion as important in their daily lives had more known victims, younger victims, and more convictions for sex offenses than the sex offenders who reported irregular or no church attendance and no or less intense allegiance to religious beliefs and practices — Religious Affiliations Among Adult Sexual Offenders

The evidence is there and it’s certainly something that requires further examination. Perhaps the constant litany of “religion will not harm you,” has been specifically designed to protect and enable those that violently rape innocent children?

We need to work against our social conditioning and make a responsible effort to combat these ongoing acts of blatant evil.

Patriarchal systems

Patriarchal systems in which a single individual is considered an ultimate, unquestioning authority always create a power imbalance that is often abused. A patriarchal system is fundamental to religion, and the church is responsible for perpetuating mechanisms that are exploitative to minorities and women.

That’s bad.

Sexually abused children realize early that their credibility is nothing compared to their aggressors’. It doesn’t matter if the parent is alcoholic, chronically unemployed, or prone to violence; in our society, an adult is almost always more believable than a child. If the parent has attained a certain measure of success in life, the credibility gap becomes a chasm — Susan Forward, Ph.D. with Craig Buck, Toxic Parents, Overcoming Their Hurtful Legacy and Reclaiming Your Life

Part of the reason powerless people have no credibility “in our society” is because of the influence of religion. If you want to remove “old white men” from positions of power, it’s important to deconstruct the pillars that support them. Religion is indisputably among these.

Religion reinforces the fundamental structure of injustice

Many of us are trapped within a prison cell that we’ve built around ourselves. We feel a sense of rage and frustration, but our conscious mind doesn’t allow us to recognize who or what is truly responsible. However, your body knows.

My mom used to grind her teeth as she slept. She ground them down to nubs and was required to make regular visits to a dental specialist. Nobody could tell what the problem was until our dad left us and the grinding stopped overnight.

It’s true that you can find relief in religion, but that doesn’t mean religion still doesn’t harm you. After all, you can find relief in a bottle as well, or in drugs. Everybody has the right to stop for a moment and consider whether or not the fundamental system of belief propagated by religion is enslaving us.

You’re allowed to believe that religion is harmful if you want. You’re allowed to insist that people treat that belief with respect. You’re allowed to search for the key to unlock your own prison. Anyone who says otherwise just wants to keep you under their control.