Religion is a Drug

Dictionary.com defines the word addiction as "the state of being enslaved to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming, as narcotics, to such an extent that its cessation causes severe trauma." Think about that in regards to religion for just a moment. What are religious people required to do? "Do not forsake the gathering of yourselves together as some have the custom" (Heb. 10:25) Regular church attendance is a requirement of all the faithful, to make it a habit. And for those with more demanding faiths, additional habits or rituals are required. As Witnesses, and Mormons to an extent, regular preaching is required, at least on a weekly basis. We are exhorted to "slave for the Lord". And prayer and daily Bible reading and meditation are added as well. It's amazing these people have time for jobs! In fact, Witnesses are explicitly told to find only such work as fits around their schedule of faith. For Muslims it can be even more demanding with the salah being practiced five times a day. What happens when people let these habits slide? Common side effects of withdrawal include depression, lethargy, anxiety, and hopelessness. These feelings encourage the user (I'm sorry, worshiper) to pick back up the habit again to feel that blessed peace. For anyone who has ever battled a drug addiction, this story sounds very familiar.


I think Karl Marx was being more literal than most people think when he said ""Die Religion ... ist das Opium des Volkes" Religion IS, literally an opiate for the masses. In medicine, what are opiates used for? In Marx's time, opium itself was still being prescribed for pain-relief, sleep disturbances, and anxiety. Why? Because it dulls the senses, takes the mind off of awful things, and provides a euphoric sense of tranquility. Why did Constantine impose Christianity on the Roman public? Any historian will tell you that it pacified the masses. More than any Greek or Roman cult, the assurance of heaven through faith in Christ made the Roman worry less about the incursions of foreign tribes, and made it their Christian duty to observe the law of the State and pay their taxes. It lessened the fear of death fighting as Christian Roman soldiers. If you died fighting the heathen barbarian tribes, the Church guaranteed you an express ticket to the pearly gates.


I remember The Watchtower magazine of Jehovah's Witnesses consistently illustrating the world outside the religion with images of various addictions: heroine needles, pot joints, gambling, prostitutes. And when people stepped outside the faith and experienced these other addictions they'd come running back and were put on stage to explain the horrors and ravages of their "worldly" life styles, and that they were SO SO thankful to be back in the warm embrace of the "truth". Could it be that faiths like this create self-fulfilling prophecies in people's lives by giving them addictive habitual behaviors to start with? Hmmm.