PROLIGION, The Evolution of Religion

Today, I am convinced more than ever that Religion must evolve, if the human race is to advance into a new era of peace and prosperity. We have major religions, those that have been able to amass huge numbers of followers, a great accomplishment in itself and yet, a main source of division and conflict. If the nature of religion is to make better persons out of human beings, then what is the reason for all the hatred and the fighting?

The reason for all the discord is that people accept religious claims and doctrines through the questionable power of belief or faith. If everyone stopped right there and said, “Okay, this is what I believe, but I am not sure,” there would be no problem among people of different faiths.

The trouble starts with the texts of the so-called “holy” books professing supremacy and asserting they have “the Word of God.” It continues when preachers magically convert belief to knowledge: “We believe we have the Word of God” becomes “We know we have the Word of God. This is the Truth, the Way, and the Life” or some other unequivocal statement.

Finally, the followers of each particular religion exacerbate the situation a zillion times over by remaining segregated from other religious groups, and by reinforcing the indoctrination process through rituals and testimonials. Bottom line, each group thinks they have the key to the kingdom of heaven, and they will confront anyone who thinks otherwise.

Things that are a matter of knowledge cause no such upheaval. We all know the sun comes out every day. Nobody fights over that. Therefore, the great Sin of Religion is to pretend it has knowledge when, in fact, all it has is belief. Granted, people are legally entitled to their beliefs, and morally entitled to their well-reasoned beliefs, but then call them what they are and do not present them dressed in suits of wisdom, knowledge and understanding.

Religion needs to evolve into Proligion (see “Ercian Testament” at http://www.ercian.org/). In a few words, proligion is always in search of the truth, rather than claiming to possess the truth. While religion seeks to bind people to the past, to God as Source, proligion seeks to bind the great divided masses toward the future, to God as Goal or Destination. We are all going to die some day and encounter the Truth: what is and what is not. That is a fact. Therefore, why not share the place we call Earth like good brothers and sisters, like the sons and daughters of the same God that we are? That is my proposition.