Another Interpretation of Religion

"All religion, my friends, is simply evolved out of fraud, fear, greed, imagination, and poetry" - Edgar Allen Poe.

In today's diverse society, many people do not share the same religion. Even when the religions are separated, each person views their religion a little differently. Coming from an atheist's point of view, religion is nothing more than a concept fabricated from our "spiritual" needs. The basis for a deity comes from the necessity of a meaning in life and someone to look up to that will ultimately never fail you, as this is so hard to find in real life. Poe states that religion evolves from fear and fraud, this is where the typical heaven and hell fit in. Our moral conscience yearns for relief when we have done something wrong, if we have something as scary as hell to fear, it will likely suppress wrong doings. As for the heaven, it is the ultimate incentive for redemption. Imagination has twisted it's way into the depths of everything man made, specifically religion. The stories, characters, and mantras have been slightly altered as time has passed, fitting the modern lifestyles and permeating into each era. Poe also says that poetry plays a part in religion. The written documents of religion are formed with poetry because it appeals to the part of the mind that seeks religion. It is aesthetically pleasing as well as insidiously convincing. As harsh as it sounds to say that religion is formed out of greed, it is truly accurate. People need structure, and to make a structure fit specifically for themselves and to call it religion is selfish. The constant search for the answer to life's problems is often associated with religion, the answers to many questions provided by religion are not really answers at all, merely a mockery of the socratic method. A foolproof way of avoiding a break in the cycle of religion. Society will create whatever seems necessary to sustain satisfaction for the majority. It is a scapegoat for almost anything, it is the one aspect of someone's life that can go unquestioned and untampered with. There is no destruction of a religion, which is what makes it so powerful, not the credibility, that would be ridiculous.