Overly simplistic. Lots of things are the abuse of anxiety.
this post was submitted on 04 Apr 2026
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"Lots of things are the abuse of anxiety" doesn't make my statement any less true. As far as extent of abuse goes, I would say religion is near if not the top of the list though.
They’re oversimplifying a complex situation to the point of no longer adding anything useful to the discussion.
true; religion can act as therapy for anxiety
but similar to other self-help like activities it can easily abused to be the exact opposite and even like a cult. like the commies here and trump's cult
Are you convinced that this is what Occam's razor is?
I'd say it's more accurate to say the abuse of religion/abusive religion uses the abuse of anxiety. Yes, abusive religious organizations exist, and they all use anxiety about some cosmic punishment to excuse and enforce their abuse. I absolutely agree with you on their existence and how terrible they are.
I don't think that's universal and inherent to religion. There are religious groups that are simply good sources of community with either no focus on any cosmic punishment, or that don't agree that any "cosmic punishment" exists.
There are religious groups that are simply good sources of community
Which is an important factor for social animals like us humans. This also underlines that there is a lack of alternatives for people who seek community, social support, etc.. Thereby inviting more people to become indoctrinated.
There are religious groups that are simply good sources of community
Houses built on sand.
A community built on lying to the gullible and anxious can never last long. It inevitably gets taken over by abusers because it's an easy target.
A community built on lying to the gullible and anxious can never last long.
There is multiple thousand year+ lineages of morons worshiping gods that they are willing to die for. Its a pretty solid system of control.
Oh, I meant the part where the community is supportive and a positive force for good. But yeah, once it's coopted, it can still last a long time. Just not in a positive way.
I think religion is the salve of anxiety.
People have anxiety about death and their purpose, and religion relieves that anxiety
Its absolutely supposed to be. But then we came along and got the classic human stink all over it. Everything will be fine after you die as long as you recruit all your friends and do as I say and gimme some money. Might do a Holy War too, stay tuned for that.
I mean, religion is human made, so we didn't just come along.
But more importantly is can be both of these things at once, a salve for your existential anxiety and a tool to whip people into a mindless frenzy; nearly any source of profound hope can be used thusly
Maybe that's why I have too much of it then. Also think it does worse for people to believe in things that have no factual basis for being real. We need to learn we are humans, an sentient being but just an animal, we aren't special and we have issues and need to deal with them in a healthy way.
For the record I'm just saying no tangible proof of a higher existence, if you want to believe that's for you is all. To each their own. I just need some proof myself.
Course some people drink a lot not like that's worse than religion healthwise. Long as you don't go on a crusade anyways then the drinking may be better.
Any source of profound hope can be used as a tool for hate by the hateful, but religion has served very important community functions that we haven't really replaced as we move to atheism, to our own detriment.
I've found some of Britt Hartley's videos on the topic of secular spiritualism (gag at the term) kind of eye opening (and easy to consume) as an atheist myself. This part is this video in particular was great
That's really only Western religions whose job is to answer purpose and providea guide for eternal paradise. That relives the anxiety of why am I here and what's next.
Eastern religions in general have the end goal as enlightenment rather than something external like a Heaven or Hell. That is more of an acceptance of the anxiety and suffering rather than an abuse of it.
I have never seen much difference between reincarnation and the resurrection. One is circular, one is linear.