Is Education the faithful enemy of Religion?
When we look back
through the history of mankind and add up all the lives lost due to the
disagreement on a common God what conclusions can be drawn? All the way back to
BC. From the crusades through the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to todays war on
terror, religious violence dominates the history books that our children learn
about at school.
But what have we
learned from the history books and how has what we have learned changed the way
we look upon religion nowadays? Does faith still hold the same special aura as
it did 50, 30 even 20 years ago? Or has religion merely changed over the
decades, from a religion of creation, holyness and faith to a religion of
society, ideology and social coexistance? I suppose all these questions lead to
a more fundamental question, what actually is
religion in the modern age?
When i think of
religious violence and wars that have started on the basis of religious
fanaticism the one thing I can never get over is this. Surely there is no
religion, on earth, that condones the killing of innocent people. People who
merely have a differing belief system or opinion on a subject. Any subject. This
cannot be what faith stands for.
Religious faith is a source of strength for those who need it. A wondrous
belief in good and kindness. Although I realise it would be a mistake to assume
religious faith has eveolved in the same cultural way accross the world.
I am a student of
biology. I have grown up learning about the origin of species, evolution and
survival of the fittest. Everything that we have discovered over the last 100
years in the field of science has
taught me that
not only can all the significant biblical events be explained by science and
natural occuring events, the sheer beauty and wonder of these biological phenomena
would be a crime to disregard! How wonderful is the biological world we live
in?! The pure magic of the animal kingdom alone makes me question our
dedication to the Holy stories across the world and all the pain it has caused.
What I have noticed
is that I am not alone in this belief. The millennials and the centennials
(Generation Z) in large part are moving away from religion. The young people of
today are moving away from religion and more towards a wonderment of the
universe, a spiritual faith rather than a religious faith. Older generations
didnt have the same access to information as the later generations had. Thus allowing
them the ability to create and build their own belief systems and so might have
fallen into Christianity by default. Much like in the poorer, troubled regions
of the middle east now where young people are not exposed to different facets
of life. They are not educated or able to access social forums, be it on the
internet or through other mediums and thus they will not be able to develop
their own belief systems. They are not exposed to another point of view,
marginalising their thought process and isolating their mind.
So in the end it boils down to education. The enemy of religion.
So in the end it boils down to education. The enemy of religion.
Comments