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What is the most effective religion (faith-based institution) you can think of?
That is, the one that has had the best ability to control and manipulate its adherents? Let's be real here. The original purpose of religion is to control. Until the U.S. was formed, there was no distinction between government and religion.
You don't have to constrain yourself to traditional religions. If you define a religion as a belief structure and/or structured philosophy which usually leads to a social stratification to establish order, transmitted to the next generation usually by birthright. More points for thinking outside the box.
I will put forth mine: The financial/monetary system, hands down. The value of the medium of money is an entirely faith based system. It is also very pervasive. Virtually everyone on the planet is an adherent to it; it is inherited by birthright. It has a system of concentric controls all the way down to your employer who ultimately tells you when to sleep, eat, take a piss etc.
People are punished at random for not making the right proficiations (which usually means to give up money) at the right times for it. These amount to the sacrifice and piety of traditional religion.
Finally, and my favorite analogy: Like traditional religion once was, people are unaware that it is even a religion. There is no separation of State and Money, and wont be for several hundred more years (if at all). This also makes the well known argument argument of creationists "if humans came from monkeys why are there still monkeys?" orders of magnitude more stupid and backward. You could apply an evolutionary paradigm to religion as well: "If the new religion of money came from the traditional religions, why are there still the old religions?"
What is it about faith-based (religulous) institutions that make them *ALWAYS* so insidious?
Meghan W: yours is an incoherent answer to what you wish was an incoherent question. ALL stratifications are faith based. They come from members first convincing themselves then others below them that they are better people. This in turn starts with faith. I asked for creativity; it looks as though you were creative only in your ignorance.
5 Answers
- oldandtiredLv 71 decade agoFavorite Answer
Your question............What is it about faith-based (religulous) institutions that make them *ALWAYS* so insidious? Because they are about control and control means.......money.....which equals power.
The love of money is the root of all evil and is therefore the religion of most of the world no matter who claims otherwise. How many hungry people could be fed with the money that has been pi$$ed off building fancy churches? How about the multi-million dollar preachers we now see? Authority (power) is the most addictive and corruptive thing that has ever been.
- Anonymous1 decade ago
The money system isn't really THAT faith based. If you question the value of your money you can test it by trying to spend some and see if you get what you expected in return.
Now money would be a full fledged religion if they didn't let you spend it immediately. If they promised you one day you'd be able to spend your money, but for now you should just collect as much of it as you can.
That would be like the promise of heaven after death.
- Anonymous1 decade ago
The ones that tell you not to shake hands with the opposite sex. To wear a certain clothing as mandatory.
There is nothing wrong in giving if you are blessed by God for it and absolutely noone should force you to give money. Non-religious people give to charity all the time its their choice. Noone has the right to tell an individual don't give - especially if that organisation is religous or not, is helping a community with that money.
- DustLv 61 decade ago
You seem rather confused. For example, I fail to see how religions *cause* social stratification since that has always existed in every society. I think that if you read modern anthropologists, you'll find that they would point to other reasons for this stratification, primarily the fierce competition for social resources that are always known to exist in preindustrial societies.
"There is no separation of state and money" is just a nonsense way of expressing yourself. Please be more precise in your writing.
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- Anonymous1 decade ago
all TRINITY CHURCHES...
