By definition, anything that exerts influence over an individual or a group of people either cleverly or unscrupulously is a manipulative tool. Parents, for example, cleverly manipulate their kids to behave well by promising to reward them with gifts and mouth-watering treats afterward. Bosses at work, on the other hand, unscrupulously manipulate their juniors by installing intimidating surveillance cameras, formulating draconian rules, and effecting dreadful punishments. Those two scenarios perfectly describe what religion does to those who follow it blindly. This is how:
Religion cleverly manipulates its staunch followers by promising them endless blessings and eternal life after death. Just like an unscrupulous boss, religion limits people's thinking and emotions through strict doctrines and the threat of dire consequences- later in life or after death— if they fail to follow the doctrines to the letter. In place of surveillance cameras, religion has supernatural beings that 'see” even in the darkest places and “hear' even the faintest of voices. Don't get me wrong here: Whether God- or whichever supernatural being you believe in- exists or not is not my concern. My concern is how religion uses whoever/whatever you believe in to manipulate you into doing things that you would never do under normal circumstances.
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Ways through Which Religion Is Manipulating You:
Depending on your religion, you were certainly taught a set of 'principles of righteousness and holiness” at a very young age; principles that tie you to that religion until now. You were taught to commit your body and soul to the glorification of that religion, failure to which you will miss out on heaven or wherever that religion promises to take its believers. That your money, talents, family, and everything you own are vanity if you don’t use it for the growth of that religion. When such teachings get into your head, you lose control of your life in the following ways, among others:
- You stop seeing people for who they truly are in terms of kindness, tolerance, fun, respect, among other defining traits and instead see them under the lenses of how religious they are. Because your religion tells you that same-sex relationships are evil, for example, you end up disliking your caring, loving and empathetic gay brother Because your sister is divorced, which could be a sin according to your religion, you refuse to accommodate her in your home.
- You start trusting everyone who incorporates religious phrases in his or her speech. l have seen people quit their jobs; others abandon their families because God has directed them to do so through their religious leaders,
- You pretend to be okay even when you desperately need help, simply because you went to prove how powerful the god of your religion is. Some people are actually brainwashed to the point of declining to take modern medians because their god will miraculously heal them, only for them to suffer miserable deaths.
- You start branding people who don't share your beliefs and opinions as evil, and you exalt yourself as holy. Your “holiness” then blinds you into believing that even if you wrong, your religious leader has the power to exonerate you. There are believers who treat other people horribly because after all, all they need to do is give money to their 'spiritual' fathers and they WI' be cleansed.
Conspiracy and Religion
Without delving into the debate on whether religion is fake or not. I can confidently say that religion is a world conspiracy Religious leaders strive to make people believe in religion but none of them has ever produced proof of its legitimacy. If you disagree with me on this, then tell me why preachers and other religion enthusiasts insist on blind compliance of ‘the word'. Why is it that people who question “the word” are termed as detectors and non-believers, even when they have dedicated their lives to the service of “the word”? Simple: Because if the truth about religion outs, then there are businesspeople (read religion leaders) that would run out of business.
The fact that you are denied the room to think and make independent decisions within a religion is enough proof that you believe in manipulation and not in a spiritually-entrenched philosophy. Religious leaders have mastered several tactics of covering this conspiracy, some knowingly and others completely unaware of what they are doing. Some of these tactics include preaching loudly and authoritatively, consequently instilling fear in their followers. Others talk of how mysterious God (or whoever they serve) is, and for that, no one should even try to understand his or her (or its) ways.
To keep followers farther away from the truth, modern religious leaders have created a hierarchy of knowledge and faith in such a way that the leaders are seen as the most knowledgeable and most faithful while the follower is supposed to act as least faithful and insufficiently knowledgeable. That is the insufficiency that obligates believers to keep following their leaders without question. Religious leaders are treated like superhumans who make the moral compass for everyone else.
Religion and Government
Religion is pretty much everywhere these days and, regrettably, it is spewing poison wherever it goes. Politicians are now being endorsed by religious leaders for government offices, regardless of how corrupt or idealess they could be. There is this weird narrative that religion propagates: That a good leader is anointed by God through his servants. If this were to be true, then the world would not be in the mess it is in right now.
Believe me or not, religion is deep-rooted in most constitutions across the world. Religious leaders actually participate in constitution processes despite them not being legal experts. It beats me how personal matters such as abortion got into most constitutions, and why governments concern themselves in such. Or why are political leaders involved in sexuality debates, say, which gender should marry which? Or why would government offices close on selected ”holy“ days, even to people who don't subscribe to that ‘holiness’? Of course, religious leaders have forced the government's hand in such matters.
Religion manipulation in government stretches across borders to micromanaging peace and reconciliation processes in different parts of the world. Not that taking part in reconciliation is wrong, but manipulating people into signing peace agreements is both wrong and unnecessary. If groups of people feel aggrieved, then why would anyone convince them to stop fighting for what is rightfully theirs just because religion commands them to be peaceful? That is coercion in its rawest form. Besides, haven't we seen people kill masses in the name of religion?
Is Religion A Business?
Resoundingly, yes! You would actually be forgiven for calling it “spiritual conmanship” if there is such a term. A study by Religious Freedom & Business Foundation found out that religion as an industry in the US was worth $1.2 Trillion in 2016. This figure can only have gone up over the last two years. There are people who have built their own places of worship, invested heavily in technology and other modern infrastructure, and employed staff members to 'serve the lord”. These investors fleece unsuspecting, naive, and desperate believers through religion.
On the other hand, places of worship are now actively doing business. Faith-based schools are mushrooming exponentially across the world. Some religious outfits now own buses, restaurants, and condos for the sole purpose of making an extra coin. Others are in real estate.
All these money-making ventures thrive because, as you would guess, believers feel obligated to develop their places of worship; by water, by fire. A parent is manipulated into thinking that his or her kids will come out best after learning in a faith-based school. But let's be real for a moment: Buying the goods or services that your place of worship sells doesn't make you a better person. It only makes those you entrust with that money wealthier.
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