Dr John Mohan Razu
Home sapiens though studded with rationality and common sense, in unpredictable ways act and behave ofttimes in such erratic and irrational ways. The claims we make are stupendous when compared to lesser species, but when it comes to thinking and behavioural patterns, we manifest just the opposite and worse than other creatures. We cannot say our behavioural patterns contain absolute rationality and commonsense, but many a times posit ‘animal instincts’ as well. As Karl Marx has rightly pointed out that human beings are conflictual by nature.
At the same time ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle said that ‘human beings are rational animals’. He substantiates that human beings are embedded with the idea that makes them to think before they act, which other species do not have. This is why human beings per se are considered ‘superior’ than the other species. In tune to it, Thomas Aquinas, Rene Descartes, and Immanuel Kant also supported the view that purely because of that characteristic that makes humans unique.
Expanding on it, the philosophers by and large held the view that humans use speech (logos) to communicate complex ideas about right, wrong, justice, common humanity and future. At the same time Homo sapiens use the power of reasoning and the need to believe in something because there is vacuum or void in their experiences, and so felt that a force beyond their rationality seem to be acting which they termed as something which went beyond their comprehension and thus termed it as ‘God’ or ‘super-natural being’, which for those who believe as ‘absolute’, ‘omnipotent’, ‘omnipresent’ and ‘omniscient’. Those who believe in this show their reverence, belief and faith.
Despite our claim that we are rational beings, in our actions, we act in irrational ways. The very fact that we live amidst plurality of faith or belief-systems. Almost all the societies across the world posit plurality of faiths and multi-culturalism. In such delicate and intricate settings as individual and communities’ rationality should prevail over emotion and ‘live and let-live’ ought to become our norm. Surviving with mutual-respect and co-existence should prevail over other petty things.
When we are born and grow till some age we speak and think nothing about god or religion. In due course of time the concept of god and religion are being dumped into our thought process. Till that dumping, we viewed our neighbours and others as co-humans, but once we come to know that my god is not his/her god, through the process of indoctrination we tend to understand our god and religion are superior. Till then the notion of god has never occurred and our perception has been objective, once we started to know I’m a Christian or Hindu or Muslim or Jew or Sikh or Buddhist then the perception and differentiation start. This is where we tend to distinguish my God-Your God; We-They divide gradually grows leading to all sorts of ill-feelings, hatred, suspicion, and animosity.
Our behavioural pattern and thought-process till then have been quite open and objective. The moment we get to know ‘who is who’ our behavioural patterns synchronises with our thought-process. This is how we have been reinforced by our ancestors and parents a belief system that goes on and on for generations. At the same time, the belief system that the primitive societies had on some of things centered around nature and many others had gradually changed. Currently, the conceptions that we have been having since then went beyond “belief” something profound—belief in the power of a Creator, a Supernatural Being who created us as rational beings when compare to others. We claim as jewel of creation or superior beings since we are rational.
Religions are supposed to cement communities that are diverse in their belief-systems to come together as humans. In the spirit of oneness—respecting one another despite variations in the belief-systems by following the core-values of religions that advocates compassion, tolerance, humility, love, peace, justice, equality, freedom and fairness. At the same times, the fundamentalists of religions spew venom and sow hatred on basis of whose God is superior, supreme, and powerful. The fundamentalists and scripture literalists superimpose their own mixes and interpretation on the select chosen texts and offer their messages.
History unfolds enough examples of conflicts how religion ignited conflicts and wars within and between countries across the world. Each and every religion enjoined by the extreme ideological tinge being used by the politicians to usurp power exerting pressures on their believers. Hence, those who employ rationality and common sense do question the organised and institutionalised religions. For the sake of survival and continuance of the custodians of religions and for power sake, the politicians and their cronies have joined the hegemonic nexus for money, power, authority and many other considerations.
The term ‘God’ itself human constructed as described by the sociology of religions because Homo sapiens thought that there should be entity that would fill the gap emergent in humans in the forms of ‘spirit’, miracles, and others that could not be comprehended rationally. And yet, there was a need and necessity. In such a setting, why should there be massacres, killings, conflicts, hatred, and prejudices—all in the name of My God—Your God. This dynamic is spreading in such stupendous ways creating all sorts of ill-feeling, hatred, and prejudices leading to religious conflicts.
Instead of teaching the fundamentals of Scriptures, we are hooked to fundamentalism of religions. This has given rise to far-right political ideologies that the politicians have taken into their hands by weaponizing and dividing the communities and societies based on minoritarianism versus majoritarianism. These sharp divides have polarised the societies and divided the world into polar opposites. In such consequent eventualities the minorities tended to flee from their locales and countries fearing massacres and genocides. In such a volatile situations people live.
Religions happen to be one of the core reasons for sparking conflicts and hatred between groups, communities, and societies across the world. I hardly foresee a world without religions in a world where religions are increasingly becoming more prominent and predominant. As Sam Harris points out that “We have a choice. We have two options as human beings. We have choice between conversation and war. That’s it. Conversation and violence. And faith is a conversation stopper.”
