All The Religion in.....

The afternoon dragged by. The pressure on me built and built. If it was not a town of such cool temperatures, I am sure I would have been dripping in sweat from fear of being revealed. I sat throughout the rest of the day’s class, my guilt pressing down on me. Ruining all possible enjoyment in the learning I should have been taking pleasure in. The fact we were raised as Catholics (yes, deliberate use of the capital there), really comes to the forefront at times like this. There is an inbuilt guilt in being raised one (see blog May 3^rd 2012). Lets face it. The religion is really based on feeling guilty. The fact that the main figurehead, according to their text, sent his only son to take on all the sins of the human race, doesn’t that sound like the ultimate guilt. But that aside, I was young then and didn’t fully understand what religion really was at the time. Now I am older, I still don’t understand it, but know I don’t want it. Any of it! The fact that the various ideologies and the differing versions of those similar ideologies have divided the nations of the world, because of their simple differences in respect to colour, creed or even age. It’s frightening to think that entire civilisations, races and social structures have been destroyed through pure prejudice. As I said, I know now, as an adult, I personally don’t need religion.

There are those who do, of course. Nowadays, I know I don’t. That was the difference. I was a young child raised and told what to believe in. I was shaped to believe in a particular thing, in a particular way. Isn’t that what we would call brainwashing? Nations have conducted such elaborate mass conversions to produce a particular result. Sometimes in the name of their religion. For war, for control of the population. So why is religion allowed to do the same. Why can’t religion wait until a person has been educated to think for themselves and make the determination as to whether they wish to follow a religion or not. We can still receive guidance into right and wrong. Just as I was receiving then, sitting in Mr Walsh’s class, thinking of what I had done. I was feeling the full weight of the Catholic religion. What I had done was a sin. I had broken one of the commandments. One of the ‘Ten Commandments’. One of the foundations of the religion I had been raised to observe. I was only around nine years of age, and had pretty much condemned my ’soul’ to Hell (because if you believe in God, you have to believe in the other parts of the story). Although, apparently honest contrition could still save me. According to the religious observances of the Catholic church, honest contrition can clear you of your sins. That’s a bit too easy surely? Do the wrong thing and if sorry enough about it, you can wipe the black marks from your slate? What? That’s a bit like the Monopoly® board game isn’t it? A ‘get out of jail free’ card?

(Continued tomorrow)