People have spent entire mountains of money trying to convince everyone that war and patriarchy and supremacy based living is "natural" and even inevitable. They still do it today. Desperate men pass horrific laws and bomb other people…
It has worked better in some places but it does not work as well in …the places with the highest standards of living for all... around the world.
Also, if it's so universally natural, why do so many millions currently (and historically) not believe in it?
@CJPaloma
This territory was covered during the confirmation hearing of Clarence Thomas, as it happens. It's called "God's Order of Nature", which is the basis of laws criminalizing "crimes against nature".
It's a religion thing, and I suspect you'll find that the same millions that don't believe in it are the same millions who have answered a poll which concluded a rise in the number of "Nones" --members of no denomination. It's a recent poll that reported a big rise in that demographic.
@CJPaloma
Tho I'm a None myself I don't short-change the value of faith when it gets people through the most gruelling of circumstances, and that's certainly true of Black folks dealing with slave owners, but that's exactly why it was Black folks that were calling Thomas an "Uncle Tom" and Harry Belafonte hauled off and called him a "house n___." During his hearing he affirmed belief in "Natural Law", the very concept that kept slaves "in their place" because that was the natural order of things.
It's helpful and toxic at the same time.
@ClaraListensprechen4 I've always thought of religions -at their best- as being much like different languages people use to try to express their spiritual aspects.
and obviously, it's easy to see how they are used to control and oppress people.
for me, I like what the Dalai Lama says "my religion is simple, it is compassion". That's about all the language I need. lol, I fail often, but I keep going back to trying to just stay in loving kindness or compassion based living
@CJPaloma
Sounds like a good religion to ME.
@ClaraListensprechen4 yeah, that's definitely a big part of it.
it is pretty amazing how many one true (almost always male) gods there have been over the millennia.
And I am not anti -spirituality- at all. but I am more and more convinced that monotheism in general is almost inherently dangerous, no matter how well meaning…although I do know people I respect who find religion helps them access their spirituality.