Weird and Religious
In certain Buddhist stories, the historical Buddha is said to have had hundreds of past lives as animals, kings, and ordinary people. Moral lessons are told through these previous existences, treating identity as something that stretches across many forms rather than one lifetime.
Religious image of the day.
In the name of religion
2002, Gujarat in India. After a train fire, riots and organised attacks killed many people, mostly Muslims, alongside arson and assaults. Participants justified violence as retaliation and protection of Hindu society, invoking religion, honour, and claims of historic grievance.
Fact
In Shinto, rituals and festivals are important, and Shinto celebrates seasonal events and local traditions through community ceremonies.
Age Does Not Matter
There is nothing sacred about an idea simply because it is old or popular. Age does not confer truth and numbers do not confer accuracy. Religion has been protected by both. It has also benefited from the understandable human reluctance to confront uncomfortable conclusions. Letting go of gods feels like loss because religion tied itself to meaning, morality, and identity. It was a theft, not a gift. Meaning does not vanish when gods do. Morality does not collapse. Identity does not dissolve. What disappears is the illusion that these things were ever supplied from outside humanity.
Quote of the day
“Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.” Karl Marx.
Ask the right question
Why do supernatural explanations shrink as scientific understanding grows?
Religious Crooks
Father Divine, leader of the International Peace Mission movement, claimed divine status and attracted donations and property from followers, with detractors arguing that his religious claims underpinned a system that channelled wealth and loyalty to himself.
For more information, google the name.
Almost all of the crooks appearing in this section have their own wikipedia page.
Throughout history and still to this day, there has never been a shortage of religious leaders who were not always following their own spiritual advice.