eko- I left a response to your analysis of my essay over at oyur blog. For now, let me just say thank you for such a rousing discussion of this subject.

I’d like to encourage everyone to paste eko’s link in your browser bar for more on this essay. (Both his responses to my essay and my responses to his comments.)

Hope to hear from you again eko!

Blah- Concepts of God are not the cause of trouble in the world, organized religion for the sake of power is. Whether an individual needs a God concept to get through life or not should be irrelevant to the way we behave towards each other.
Glad you dropped by.

Sidhe-Quantum physics, eh? Yes, science has been able to explain much about our unseen world, but it too has gaps in its theories. Whether through religion or science, the individual choice and belief should be what is important, and what should be protected as a basic element of freedom. Thanks for the comment.

Dave- I agree completely, at least with regards to many things. Glad you left us a bit of Common Sense to ponder.

Vivek- Thanks for the compliment! In the latest post, I discuss some thoughts on organized religion that hopefully are as cogent as this post. Hope to hear from you again!

Anonymous- I think I agree with you here. In a world seemingly dependent upon religious belief, those who choose to live life without the benefit of a “God in the pocket” so to speak, are the ones who show how humanity can exist and act peacefully without needing to seek wisdom from a god. Thanks for dropping by.

ShaeNC- Oh that crazy golden rule, which has variations in most religions. FOr those who may not know it, it goes something like this: Do unto others what you would have them do unto you.
Simple concept, eh? And one theoretically espoused by many western religions, until the find someone different that is.
Thanks Shae!

Shawn- Humanism is another choice for people to take, and while I hesitate to ally myself with a particular religious movement, I think humanism has a lot going for it. I’ll be sure to check out your site. Thanks for dropping by.

Jamal- Not all religions worship a god, as you say. many eastern religions worship the properties of nature and transcend into multitheism if a label must be applied. Though I only touch on the world’s largest religions here, ther are thousands that differ in their premise. If there is a common theme ( and I agree that there is) it revolves around human behavior and the basis for those actions, whether ascribed to a god and reward or not. Glad you dropped in.

Trudging- A PhD dissertation would be significantly longer and be filled with subtext messages and a bibliography.
All posts on Common Sense require more than 30 seconds to read, but if you agree with my thoughts, than a few minutes out of life shouldn’t be too troubling.
Hope to hear from you again.

Shae- Funny!

Windspike- Never too late to comment. You know that! Organized religion is itself a barrier to a more pure form of individual religousity, but also somewhat necessary for religious proliferation. Your 5 tenets seem to be accurate, but I’m not sure if tey are enough to reform my views on organized religion.

1- Exclusionary tactics create a wall of separation between congregants and the rest of the world.

2- Dependence on a spiritual leader for interaction with ones god or higher power establishes a wall of separation between the people and the god, opening up a path of corruption for unscrupulous priests, et. al.

3- Death and dying are a large part of any religious belief, especially western religions. But security? For those with “hell” concepts, the prospect of death, especially for those who have led a less than righteous life, can also bring trepidation.

4- Moral behavior is not the exclusive realm of religion. As noted earlier in the comments, athiests can acquire moral behavior too. I think morality is not as tied to religion as it once was, but instead has become a cultural expectation in today’s world.

5- True enough. At least in the western religions.

Always good to hear from you!

Windspike’s Five Fundamental Purposes of Organized Religion. They are:

1) Organized religion provides one with a sense of belonging and a ready made community of likeminded friends to which not everyone has access.

2) Organized religion provides a vehicle by which one can, either alone or in concert with some advisors/friends, work to solve her/his own riddles and problems. This is accomplished via prayer, prayer groups, counseling by a priest and the like.

3) Organized religion offers members a sense of security and serenity with the idea of Death, as in comfort with the notion of an afterlife. This assuages one’s fears about death and dying.

4) Organized religion proveds a rubric or set of beliefs and values to which one can adhear or deviate, but mainly sets the ethical tone by which high quality behavior is evaluated. That is, what is right or wrong to do has clear boundaries and members should behave accordingly.

5) Lastly, organized religion offers absolution of, or the forgiving of one’s sins/bad behavior.

PS: How about doing a post on the diminshing attention spans of modern… um… ooh, look over there!