I totally agree but I still try to remind myself that it’s important to let other people have their beliefs. It’s especially hard for me to meet christians that believe because of my own background, but I generally any organized religion doesn’t make any sense to me.

Religious psychosis is at an all time high

Yes like you go ahead and have fun with that I'm gonna live my life😂

REPOST

Because it’s a cult

I get that, but I try to be understanding. Some people find comfort in having something to believe in that provides a sense of meaning. Others find comfort in the ritual. Some people like the sense of belonging. I was raised very Catholic, and though I don’t believe any longer, I sometimes miss the ritual and community.

@kings_world THIS!

Cults don’t tickle your fancy? 😝 but on a serious note I completely understand where you’re coming from. I find them fascinating to learn about but Its off putting when I have someone speaking to me in an almost fanatical way.

Hey @aspn you’ve given me an idea! I think I’ll start a cult with myself as the divinity! 😂😂😂 kidding aside, I’m fascinated by the history of religion. All the major religions started out as cults with a charismatic leader. Both the words religion and cult derive from Latin and my understanding is that cultus derived from the same route as cultivation, and referred more to ritual and practice, whereas religio derived from the same root as the Latin for bind, so it was more about formal attachment or affiliation. Before that you might even see them used together. A monastic order that followed the practices of a particular saint would be considered a Roman Catholic order and the cult of the saint without any negative connotation. It’s only in the 20th c. that cult took on the negative meaning it has today.

Sorry @aspn for all that useless information. I have an academic article I’m supposed to be writing and I’m procrastinating. Yet I find myself on this app writing long texts that could be scholarly articles if I just added sources and citations and edited them carefully! 🤔 So I might as well get back to work on the article! 😀

@kings_world 💯 see my reply to @aspn But people find their moral codes and support systems in lots of places, so I respect people’s religious beliefs, at least to a point. I don’t even mind when missionaries knock on my door, as long as they go away when I say I’m not interested. However, it annoys me when people expect me to join in prayer at a non-religious event or when they assume I share their religious beliefs.