When Religious People Suddenly Can't Remember What The Word "Religion" Means

 

This was posted in a Stoicism group.

The group's Admin strongly anti-likes it 
(as a Stoic, he tries to avoid admitting the word "hate) 
when people share specific group conversations outside of the group.

But it's a PUBLIC group. 
So here's the link. 
----

In reply,

of course,
very religious people
drop into the comments section,
to pretend they don't know what he obviously means by "religion".

When something like the American Constitution protects people's rights to "religion",
we all know 
they are NOT taking about "the right to take anything seriously",
 nor "the right to have a special regard or respect for something or someone". 

We have those rights too.

But we really do know that's not what "religion" means, in that context.

So why
~all of the sudden~
pretend to not-know what it means here?

It's because fundamentalists-religious people can't resist playing head games, and word-games,
to perpetually propagandize their nonsense
every
single
time
they notice people noticing their nonsense.

The meme-quote is obviously referring to the nonsense of literal religion;
not some vague alternate definition of something everyone does.

It's a belief in
and subjection to
a superhuman (more than mere-human)
~controlling power~;

usually involving gods or supernatural figures;

especially where logical fallacies and "magical thinking" are essential elements being used to validate claims about the nature of reality. 

The most destructive forms of religion are:
 any system of AUTHORTARIANISM.

That's where ANY human
is regarded as:
entitled
to speak by:
an "unquestionable authority" over other humans, 
and where ~obedience~ to that authority is considered to be a crucial and universal virtue. 

Someone ~claims to be~
chosen,
appointed,
imbued,
"qualified" (because they say so),
or is otherwise authorized to speak by:

a greater-than-you moral authority;

such as:
speaking on behalf of a deity,
or speaking as a mysteriously mystical father figure.

Examples:

The Kims of North Korea (rule by a mysterious mystical divine right).

Stalin
also ruled by a mysterious mystical divine right, as an authoritarian father figure.
He took advantage of a power vacuum, magical thinking, and a common mental SLAVE YOLK previously installed onto the populace by Christianity.

Hitler (same as above; but invoked "God" and tried to blend his empire with conservative Christianity rather than seeing all Christians as competition to his own religiously-predicated mafia).

Every Pope since always (granted; the current Pope is the nicest one yet; but it's still an authoritarian "religion").

Every fundamentalist and moderate Christian's worldview; including every one of them who competes for social and political power.

Islam.

Hinduism.

Magical-thinking + unwarranted claim of special author-ity
and also 
authorship;
where they get to tell YOU:
* who you are,
as a character in THEIR story;

* which include some premise of special (greater than you) moral authority
over the life and identity of other humans.
------

Although, of course, all packaged worldviews which include magical thinking and compulsory logical fallacies
would be included too.

They still enjoy any opportunity to tell you "who you really are" in their religious narrative, and all about their special powers and special access to magical sources of wisdom.

They're less dangerous than more overtly authoritarian religions.
But Russell is including them, because even those religions are holding us back.

------
As of yet,
I have never ever seen anyone see SCIENCE nor any SCIENTIST as THAT.
- Not even close.

And if anyone ever did attempt that,
they'd become instantly ~unemployable~ by all accredited secular places of higher learning.