Religion is not about God

Religion is not about God

How spiritual traditions nurture our biological nature and what to expect when they fail

By

Loyal Rue

Publisher: Rutgers University Press

Year: 2005

Summary of the book

The book is divided into 3 parts. The first part called “On human nature” tries to describe the neural evolution of the human mind and behaviours, together with the concepts of emotions, memory, self-esteem ... etc. The last chapter of this part is devoted to describe the nature of religion in general. It describes the basic concepts of a religion, how it is always based on, using the author’s words, “a narrative core” or “a myth”, (I’ll later call it a story), that includes a cosmological and moral explanation for the world and for our existence. She mentions that, just as human beings have adaptive mechanisms to survive, so does religions. She calls these mechanisms “ancillary strategies”, which include intellectual, institutional, ritual, aesthetic and experiential strategies. Intellectual strategies are needed to clarify, interpret and defend the core stories because of their usually obscure nature. Rituals include formal ceremonies as well as various informal and routine activities intended to stress the core narration, in other words “to get back to track”. Aesthetic strategies are the arts associated with the rituals. For example the image of Jesus crucifixion, as well as the Madonna and child arouse sympathy and affection which is used by the religion. Institutional strategies have regulatory activities “extending into the domains of interpretation, ritual practice and aesthetic expression”.

Part 2 describes the 5 most widely spread religions, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism. Each religion is discussed according to its core narrative as well as the ancillary strategies.

Part 3 is on the future of religion. She believes that religions have a crisis of losing influence over people. This is mainly due to the cosmological interpretations offered by science which has undermined the core stories of religion and reduced their credibility. The other reason is, according to the author, the awareness of religious diversity. This has the effect of making the religious truth or dogma relative. The third reason is the rise of consumerism, which became a religion in itself. It promises that the “market” will give us all what we want; it will make us happier and more satisfied. Consumerism is not visibly against religions, but it rubs us the time needed to think about and re-enact the core story of religion. The consequence, according to the author, is that we are about to witness an ecological catastrophe, where our planet is already running out of resources to support our way of life. She fears that with the lack of religion, we cannot find an adaptive way to avoid this crisis.

Lessons and critique

The first 3 chapters, i.e. ¾ of part 1, are completely useless. One can do without them. The rest of the book is really interesting. I’m really happy that I did bear the boredom of the first 3 chapters and did not decide to throw the book away. The author describes the goal of life as a mere reproductive fitness, which I donot completely accept (see below in quotations), however, she identifies 2 immediate pursuits of human beings, namely personal wholeness and social coherence, 2 mutually dependent goals.

The title of the book is somehow misleading. It may give the impression that the author finds the concept of God unnecessary. I think she doesn’t. She is even a proponent of religion, but not for a specific one. To the author, religion, any religion would do. However, I must say that it is still a catchy title that would attract attention.

The dissection of a religion in general that the author did in chapter 4 of the book is extremely useful and enlightening. It shows the purpose of religion, rituals, religious art in a very instructive way.

The last part is also very useful. It analyzes the effect of modern science on religion, but argues that, although science is undermining the core narratives of religion, by giving explanations to many cosmological questions that are different from the theological ones, it cannot replace religion because it doesn’t offer a moral context. The concept of relativizing religious life due to awareness of other religions is really interesting and I understand it due to my own personal experience. Finally, the metaphor describing consumerism as religion, with the “provincial market” as god that would satisfy all our desires and needs is really interesting.

Quotations

Religion " ... is about us. It is about manipulating our brains so that we might think, feel, and act in ways that are good for us, both individually and collectively .... Religions have always been about this business of adaptation, and they will always remain so. This is not to say, however, that any particular religious tradition will remain adaptive. Religions sometimes outlive their adaptive utility and occasionally become positive threats to human survival."

"Adaptation by genetic change is always a game of chance, whereas adaptation by learning and memory eventually leads to a game of choice."

"we can say with confidence that the ultimate goal of human beings accords with that of all other life forms—that is, to maximize reproductive fitness." ... A view of human beings as a mere mechanical and genetic development of chimps is presented. We are merely smart chimps. A human being is just the product of the genes he has inherited. I would disagree with this. Humans are the only creatures that produce warfare that would kill its own species. Even if we want to have a better future for our offspring, we are then killing our species. Here in Germany and in many european countries, they are having a low birth rate and the population is shrinking. It means that "reproductive fitness" and gene transfer are not instincts. In Germany, there's even a natural selection for the stupid, since smart women care more about there carriers and donot think of having kids, while the less smart women are more likely to have kids. The auther herself says "no one actually feels the deep biological imperative to seek reproductive fitness." Despite the objections I stated above, we, humans, always say we would like to make the world a better place for "our sons" in the "future". Is this related to the "reproductive fitness", or it is an altruistic act? ...... this is worth a deeper investigation.

"When scientists exhaust their own resources for ruling out their best guesses, they take a deep breath and submit their work to the scrutiny of others."

"Myths are, literally, stories. They always take the narrative form and are often embellished with florid images and provocative symbolism. They also contain elements of mystery and ambiguity. Despite the fact that they are entertaining, easy to remember, and broadly appealing to persons of all ages and levels of sophistication, myths are often obscure and difficult to incorporate into the concrete circumstances of everyday life. Religious myths, therefore, invite—in some sense require—interpretation."

"Despite the fact that myths are often oblique and ambiguous— or perhaps because they are so—they manage to endure the test of time, whereas the explicit interpretations of them tend to come and go. The intellectual custodians of religious traditions therefore station themselves at the front lines of social change, ready to guide individuals and communities through the process of adapting to fresh ideas ... New modes of thought may even excite timely new insights into the timeless meanings of the myth."

"The crucifixion of Christ, for example, is a powerful image exploiting a human predisposition to feel sympathy in the presence of a fellow human enduring suffering or distress. The familiar image of Madonna and Child exploits a predispositon toward affection at the sight of an infant. The massive scale of medieval cathedrals exploits a predisposition to awe and humility when overwhelmed by size."

"Artistic forms are multivalent, full of possibilities for variant meanings. Theology tries to identify one central meaning that all individuals can bring away from their encounter with the myth, whereas works of art try to accommodate the wide range of interests and concerns that individuals bring to the encounter. Whereas theological formulations seek to focalize the myth, artistic creations seek to diffuse it into a spectrum of meanings, some complementary, others conflicting."

"We may suspect a breakdown in religious function whenever we observe systematic losses in the achievement of personal wholeness and social coherence." Note that the breakdown is in the function not the practice. This explains the personal and social deterioration in Egypt despite the apparent increase in religious practice. It is because the religious function is lost. The practice is not enacting the narrative core towards specific goals, i.e personal wholeness and social coherence, but is a way to escape reality.

"The religious life is a life of constant revitalization. The myth is under continuous critique and reinterpretation, the rituals must be performed regularly, the art must be ubiquitous, the social administration must be vigilant, and the subjective validation must be deepened. The spiritual life must be tended daily, even hourly, for the minions of evil ... are relentless."

"The therapeutic function of religion is to transform the individual from an orientation of self-centeredness to one of reality-centeredness ...... The entire realm of being, ultimate reality itself, is presented to me as an incentive event to which I respond in newly positive ways nurtured by the story. The universal story now becomes my own particular story. My self-understanding is transformed, for now I apprehend my true nature, my ultimate origins, what is genuinely good for me, and how I might be fulfilled ....... The selfish goals I once pursued have been displaced by new commitments and my self-esteem is now linked to projects that advance the common good .......... The story is always available to me, to absorb my uncertainties and to conquer my temptation to default back to narrow self-interests. As the challenges of everyday life erode my personal integrity, I may restore my soul by revitalizing the story ......... Differences between individuals are trivialized by deeper, common interests. When you and I share a myth, we affirm a common origin, a common nature, and a common destiny ........ Ultimately, what is good for me is also good for you."

"If you have one vision of ultimate reality and value, and I have another, then we have nowhere to go when we encounter deep conflicts of interest. If we lack a shared orientation in nature and history, and if we lack a common understanding of who we are and what we should strive for together, then we lack the means to transcend our differences when the social chips are down. We will be left to think that the other just has it wrong. And further, we may be inclined to believe that the other’s way of thinking constitutes a serious threat to the true way of thinking."