'Moving past religion' as a statement to me doesn't mean banning it, it means making it irrelevant. Unrequired. Unnecessary if you like.
This ^^^^^. I never mentioned banning religion. I mean moving past religion as a socio-political force that certain members of the human race feel the need to inflict on each other.
As a small-L libertarian, I have no problem with the individual's intoxicant of choice, be it alcohol, THC, adrenaline, or god. You have every right to worship as you see fit. I think it is silly, but that's irrelevant. Religion, after all, is the opiate of the masses - possibly the only true words Marx ever wrote. However, like any other intoxicant, over-indulgence will control your life. It's fine if you personally choose it, but you cannot expect others to share that way of life or support you in living it.
Also as a small-L libertarian, my support for your right to religion ends the moment you try to impose it on anyone else.
And that's where the
real problem lies. Most - not all, but most - religions require their adherents to make sure that the rest of the planet "sees the light", whether they want to or not. And if they can't get you to join their cult, they will install themselves in positions of political power by any means necessary, so they can enforce their own morality on you and everyone else.
I quit religion when I was about 10 (not that I ever really had it to begin with; it was just another unquestioned concept grown-ups talked about). I quit smoking pot by the time I was 21 or so, and never really used anything harder. I drink alcohol only occasionally, and get drunk even less frequently.
None of those intoxicants help me live my daily life in the real world. They range from pointless at best to downright hindrance at worst. A good drink is a pleasant experience, so I still have one now and then.
Religion is completely interwoven with conservatism, itself made up of a number of issues that infect the human psyche; leftover survival instincts from our primitive time in a terrifying world:
- Tradition - sticking with what "works" and avoiding risk
- Ingrouping / outgrouping and fear of otherness
- Fear of change
- Fear of unknown
Religion is an effective method of indoctrinating new generations with all those fears, to keep them conservatively avoiding risk. Not coincidentally it is also an effective method of keeping them under control. As such, it is difficult to root out and destroy, since it serves the purposes of those who benefit from keeping the human race fearful and under control.
In the modern day, when the world need not be so terrifying, this socio-political combination of religion and conservatism has become a cancer that must be surgically and completely removed if our society is to live and thrive.
Since I am utterly devoid of whatever combination of genetics and psychology predisposes one to these fears, and therefore to religion, I am of limited usefulness in determining a strategy to help those who are victims of them. My initial response is to quote Nancy Reagan: "Just say no." Unfortunately, that's about as useful now as it was then.
