And I want no part of it, either. Today I burnish my Thomas Paine credentials. Yes, I feel your opprobrium. I just hope that more than six people show up at my funeral.
Just a note: the word “religion” came from the Latin word “religio” which was the leather strap used to hold the bundle of rods and axes that were the fasces - the symbol of the State’s authority to beat (rods) or to execute wrong-doers (the axe - beheading). In a sense then the “religio” represents the ability of the State to use concepts of divine judgment and retribution to control their masses. But if religion failed to enforce social order then without the strap out comes the State’s use of its monopoly on force to put the citizens in line.
Just a note: the word “religion” came from the Latin word “religio” which was the leather strap used to hold the bundle of rods and axes that were the fasces - the symbol of the State’s authority to beat (rods) or to execute wrong-doers (the axe - beheading). In a sense then the “religio” represents the ability of the State to use concepts of divine judgment and retribution to control their masses. But if religion failed to enforce social order then without the strap out comes the State’s use of its monopoly on force to put the citizens in line.