Something I've noticed about people is that they often telegraph their personality and character regardless of what they believe. Nice people are nice whether they are Christians, Muslims, Mormons, atheists, Brights, etc. Judgmental people are judgmental, arrogant people are arrogant, lazy people are lazy, thoughtful people are thoughtful, generous people are generous etc., whether they are religious, or not. I’m sure we all know someone, from our perspective belief system or faith, who still exhibits undesirable attributes or traits even after years of devotion to their faith or ideal. The same is true of the desirable personality traits.
We modify who we are, but we don’t seem to radically change who we are. The fact that our prisons have a high level of religious believers, people who believed before they entered the institution and those who having found religion in the system are back in prison, gives credence to this idea. Just because we believe something doesn't mean we've changed.
In my opinion, we modify our basic psychological make up, but we don't become someone else no matter what we believe. We may become legal after leaving an illegal lifestyle, but even nice people break the law and even criminals have certain moral standards. It's my opinion that the average rational person has all that they need to live a fulfilling and decent life without adopting religious faith or ideological beliefs.
Just as each human being has a genetic propensity toward certain physical attributes; each human being seems to have, to a greater or lesser degree, a genetic propensity toward certain behaviors, or certain characteristics in thinking. The line that separates us from acting on certain impulses is either stronger or weaker depending on the person’s genetics and environmental influences. Our beliefs modify who we are, but they don’t supplant us. The fact that our crime rates are very high, in my country, tell me that the threat of punishment doesn’t deter all criminal behavior. Anything we gained from our environment can be unlearned, and our genetic propensities can be managed, but I don’t believe genetics can be completely overcome.
The difference, in my opinion, between who we are and what we become has a lot to do with the line of thinking we adopt. What we learn can improve us, stunt us or, in extreme cases, destroy us. The beliefs we adopt or reject have an effect on the inner quality of our personality and character. Those beliefs sometimes modify, amplify, or curtail who we are. On the other hand, sometimes, beliefs hijack who we are and convince us to do the opposite of our nature.
Steven Weinberg (Nobel Laureate in physics) wrote, “Religion is an insult to human dignity. With or without it, you'd have good people doing good things and evil people doing bad things, but for good people to do bad things, it takes religion.” Whether you agree with Dr. Weinberg or not about the result of religion on human dignity, in general, you can probably sympathize with the later part of his statement. I’m sure many of us have witnessed a good person do something bad after becoming fanatical about a particular belief whether it was religious or not. Even most religious people see the danger in taking their beliefs too literal.
According to national statistics, high levels of teen pregnancies, porn use and divorce occur in more conservative states, which implies that certain beliefs, or values do not necessarily translate into the conservative values & behaviors these states espouse, In fact, they quite possibly show a correlation between certain beliefs and opposite behaviors. I've often wondered if by trying to supress people's natural desires, without rational justification, you actually increases the likelihood that they will act out. Just do it cause God says so doesn't seem to work any better than when a parent says do what I say, not what I do.
The hard work many of us do to mature, gain self-knowledge and improve ourselves often happens regardless of what faith or idea we use. Just like a placebo, sometimes we get better simply because we believe we are getting help. It’s certainly an aspect of human psychology that many experts in this profession will affirm.
Our impulses sometimes get the best of us, no matter what we believe, especially when we are under stress, in love, afraid or anxious, but in general we get along with others and mean well. Consider the fact that conservative religions often reject homosexuality yet profess to love all people and not discriminate. The two ideas are direct opposites often motivating good people to reject or discriminate because they believe it is god’s moral will.
The truly saddest situations occur when we adopt a belief that takes over reason and equanimity and replaces those qualities with the opposite of who we are or what we aspire to be. Sometimes the very thing we espouse produces the very thing we decry.
Lets consider pushing all the things we think we have to be and take the time to listen to who we are already. Let's improve the positive traits and lessen the less desirable ones, but let's not try to be someone elses idea of spiritual or moral. Find your own moral center based on a rational standard and live wisely. Slapping any faith on top of your character doesn't change who you are unless you actively take responsibility for your actions and make positive changes, otherwise you are still a prisoner of your own character.... religion or not.
Bill Jeffreys
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