Religions and Chain Letters

All religions are mere superstitions. The fundamental mechanism that sustains the continued belief in religion is fundamentally flawed. Like many superstitions, religion relies on the promise of reward and threat of punishment. Other superstitions work in the same manner. Take for example the phenomenon of chain letters. It is quite surprising that even in the age of the internet and instantaneous distant communications, chain letters persist even on the web. Typically, a chain letter has this basic command format: “Make copies of this letter and send it to certain number of people to avoid certain misfortunes or gain luck.”

I am not saying that people who believe in chain letters are not intelligent people. Intelligence sometimes has nothing to do with gullibility. The same is true about religion. People believe in religion in the same manner that some people believe in chain letters. If you think about it, the bible and other so-called sacred books are nothing but convoluted and sophisticated chain letters pass down from one generation to the next across vast geographical distances and across time.

Like chain letters, all religions have a set of threats and promises of rewards to the believers. For instance, the Christian religion operates in the same manner. The threat of eternal damnation in hell and the prospect of eternal bliss in heaven are irresistible threat and incentive, respectively.

Religious beliefs are further reinforced by culture and rearing. It is not surprising that children would generally follow the religious convictions of their parents and the society where they belong. It is just a matter of conditioning and reinforcement.

Like chain letters, all religions are nothing but irrational superstitions that are largely based on fear and aspirations. Like chain letters, all religions are self-contradictory and cannot be scientifically proven using evidence and reason.

All existing religions today and their respective scriptures are just sophisticated chain letters that would end someday much in the same manner that ancient Greek polytheist religion and theocratic Egyptian religion are now relegated as mere myths. Perhaps someday, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and Judaism would be studied in class rooms not as religions but as interesting mythologies.