Are you disappointed with religion or with the religious?
It’s very important to understand the difference between these two concepts, in order not to generalize the object of your frustration.
According to the dictionary, religion is the cult of divinity. A religious doctrine or belief. Which is considered sacred.
Religious, however, is the one who follows the precepts of religion.
In an ideal situation, religion presents its ideas through its books and dogmas and the religious follow them faithfully. But, this doesn’t occur in the real world, because of the human being’s interpretation factor, which is completely related to their culture, education and personal experiences.
When we read a book more than once, we have new impressions and interpretations each time you read it. This happens because we change internally, hence, our perception changes.
That is why we see so many different denominations of the same religion. They are different interpretations about the same doctrinal base.
These interpretations are passed down from generation to generation and ameliorated as the human being evolves, reason why we need to separate the divine root of the religious doctrines from the human interpretations of these roots.
A good example is to observe that Jesus promoted a religion of love, forgiveness and fraternity, however, some of His followers still support the death penalty, torture, Lex Talionis - the law of retribution in kind and other anti-Christian themes. This contradiction also occurs in other religions, because it’s the human factor altering the religious doctrine according to their egotistical objectives. History is full of religious wars, which are nothing more than man trying to exercise control, using their religious interpretation as a justification.
It is no coincidence that the origin of the word religion is “Religare”, which means, to reconnect with our divine essence. This reconnection is the individual goal of each person, whether you are religious or not. The divine essence pulsates in you and it’s what forces your individual evolution, and consequently, of the whole community.
When we don’t facilitate this evolutionary process, we experience pain, which is nothing more than an evolutionary agent.
For those who are religious, love your religion above the human egotism, and remember that its purpose is to make you a better human being, through the reconnection with your divine essence and, consequently, your reconnection with God. And for those who are not religious, love yourself through your neighbor, because to reconnect with your neighbor is also to reconnect, or RELIGARE, with your powerful essence.
Angel with Amnesia... Remember your Essence.