Nah. Plenty of religions are about venerating the spirit and the natural world. It's just the crappy controlling ones you're thinking of.

I don't need an organized religion to venerate the natural world. I just go outside and immerse myself in it. I also don't need any sky fairy to tell me to be a kind person. But yeah, the major religions have failed humanity.

Nobody said you needed organized religion for anything. But that's what most religions are for. Of the major religions, a couple have failed humanity, and a couple have done massive active harm. Please stop conflating the Big Three with all of religion. There are HUNDREDS of religions, yo.

Chill dude. You do you. I'm not telling anyone what to believe but the overwhelming human condition is to believe in a being, in many forms, controlling one's destiny and to appease that being with certain prescribed behaviors or face punishment of death/hellfire/suffering. Most religions 1/

are based on the relief of human suffering. If one believes, one's life will be relieved of suffering, or one will be able to better tolerate the inevitable suffering. It's always been a way to deal with that which we don't understand. Which is fine, until it's used to control people for gains. 2/2

I'm chill already. 🙂 Maybe go study more indigenous religions, of various parts of the world, and came back to this. Yes, many religions have aspects that can be weaponized for controlling people. But that's not where they came from or what they're for.

You said: "Bingo. If humans were not cruel, evil beings, there'd be no reason for religion." I disagreed, with good reason. Feel free to think whatever you think, just don't expect that everyone will join you.

hoo boy. I'm not expecting anyone to join me. Seriously. Chill out man.

Not sure why you keep saying "chill out"? Nobody is yelling or being mean to you, dude...

You keep ranting about your extensive knowledge of religions. No one cares.

ANY religion can be twisted into cruelty, judgment, vengeance. It's about control.

Please explain to me how Shinto can be twisted in such a way. Just for starters...

I had a Psych prof in college who maintained religion was the most effective tool of control ever created by humans. An invisible all-seeing entity that can read even your most hidden thoughts with potential punishment as horrible and permanent as everlasting Hell/Lake of fire. Kinda Makes sense

*sigh* AGAIN, there's lots of religions and plenty of them aren't about controlling the masses through a single "mouthpiece of God". I really wish people would just SAY Christianity when they're taking about Christianity. 🙄

Russians figured that out using Orthodox priests as tools of the state.

I say this as a recovering Catholic. Still deprogramming decades later.

Me, too.

Recovering Baptist. I get it. Luckily I wised up at a young age.