Religion

     Human nature was always asking “why”? and not being able to answer why, they found their answer through another factor “who.” The unknown was called, Gods or God. But with the progress of science the “why” became more and more evident, and the question came to be “how”.

   There are approximately 291 million Confucianists, or Taoists, 261 million Roman Catholics, 211 million Mohammedans, 209 million Hindus, 177 million Protestants, 157 million Animists, 137 million Buddhists, 115 million Orthodox Christians—to speak only of the most important religions. Each group, and they are rather large groups,believes its theory or its faith to be infallible and all the others to be false and corrupt. 

   The majority take the path of least resistance, preferring to have their thinking done for them; they accept ready made individual, private doctrines as their own and follow them more or less blindly. 

   Religious = a vague and comprehensive term applied to: certain classes of emotions (awe, dependence, self-distrust, aspirations, etc.) Conduct, witch may take the form of distinctive religious acts (ceremonies, sacrifices, prayers, "good works"). 

  Association of the religion with supernatural; religion has always had for it's primary objective the attainment of a satisfactory adjustment to, or a successful control over the supernatural. Spontaneous generation of superstition. Prevalence of symbolism, mana, animism, magic, fetishism, totemism, the taboo, the sacred, clean and unclean; 'dream logic'. 

   The 16th book of the Theodosian Code contains edicts relating to the Church issued by the Roman Emperors during the 4th and 5th centuries. They made it a crime to disagree with the Church; they provide harsh penalties for heretical teaching and writing, and grant privileges to the orthodox elergy (exceptions from regular taxes and benefits of the elergy). Christianity becomes a monopoly defended by the state. Witchcraft in it's modern form emerges clearly in the 15th century, great prevalence till the 17th century in Protestant and Catholic countries alike... Trial of those suspected of sorcery. Tortures to forced confessions. The witches' mark. Penalties, burning alive, strangling, hanging. Tens of thousand of innocent persons perished... Those who tried to discredit witchcraft denounced as Sadducees and atheists. 

   "The conception of man as a mixture of animal and supernatural has for ages kept human beings under the deadly spell of the suggestion that, animal selfishness and animal greediness are their essential character, and the spell has operated to suppress their REAL HUMAN NATURE and to prevent it from expressing itself naturally and freely."

                                                                                                                               ( Manhood of Humanity, published in 1921 by Alfred Korzybski)