The original essence of religion was hijacked in favour of a twisted kind of corporatocracy.This appears to have become a widespread failure in general within these groups whether it be christian,muslim,buddhist,jew etc. All have become mired in dogma,corruption,abuse of power and division.They have failed to evolve along the principles under which they were established.
Religion has become an empty vessel,however this is not to say that there is not something worth seeking.Robert Bonomo writes,"Mainstream and not so mainstream religion generally tries to sell people on a hodgepodge of fear and fantasy, with a big pay-off for the self righteous who drink most from the sacred well of Kool-Aid.
What must never be attempted is to actually have an authentic spiritual experience,for this would cause the subject to run from the dogma and quite possibly bring most of the remaining parishioners with him.Real consciousness is as much an anathema to religion as critical thinking is to academia".
The important point is the "authentic spiritual experience",and this is something which many people do manage to experience at least once in their lives.As the bible says,"seek and you shall find".
Barrelnut,you may 'dream of a utopian society without religion'.Personally I think religion is dying a natural death because it has become corrupted from the essence.Many have grown beyond religion,however this does not mean that we are finished with the message.
