Is Religion an insult to human dignity!

 Is Religion an insult to human dignity!

A famous saying by the Nobel laureate Steven Weinberg has long been a favourite of mine:

“Religion is an insult to human dignity. Without it, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion.”

Such aphorisms are compelling. They are easy to recite and create an illusion of being profoundly thought-provoking. However, upon closer examination, they often reveal a simplification of reality. We tend to craft our rules and maxims for extremes—the upper class or the lower class, the saint or the sinner—while ignoring the vast, complex middle ground where most of humanity resides.

The Spectrum of Human Nature

Society cannot be neatly divided into two classes. You must have observed that some people understand things through mere gestures, while some need a detailed explanation. Others will not understand even after being shown, and a fourth group does not even care to try. This spectrum of understanding and motivation is why binary divisions fail. Even the laws of physics are often situational, working only within a specific range of conditions. If this is true for the physical world, how much more must it be for social rules, which must also account for the ever-changing, multifaceted human mind?

While it is true to some extent that some civilised people can become uncivilised under the influence of dogmatic religion, it is equally valid that many uncivilised people have become civilised because of it. The Indian tradition is rich with examples of radical transformation, such as the redemption of the brutal robber Angulimala or the sage Valmiki after they embraced a spiritual path.

Identifying the True Culprit: Organisation

I agree that religion can be an insult to human dignity, but this applies mainly to those humans who are already civilised and self-regulating. For them, rigid dogma can be a step backwards. The real, universal danger is not faith itself, but the concept of organisation that so often crystallises around it.

Organisation is a mechanism for power acquisition, particularly for those with a weak mentality who are simultaneously ruthless, cruel, and ambitious. If we observe nature, we see that rigid organisation is often a system employed by brutal, pack-oriented creatures, such as wolves, hyenas, and wild dogs. Solitary and powerful animals, such as lions and tigers, are inherently anti-organisation. While some herbivorous animals live in herds, they are not "organised" in the same way; they are a collective. As soon as one is attacked, the rest scatter to save themselves. Any help offered is typically rooted in immediate family bonds rather than a structured group ideology.

Power is gained from organisation, and from power, the ego is born. This ego, in turn, gives rise to the desire for domination. In the hands of uncivilised or unevolved people, this proves destructive. History is filled with hundreds of such destructive examples, carried out in the name of organised religion.

The Vedic Exception: A Path, not a Prison

Vedic culture stands as a notable exception to this pattern. In the Vedic framework, concepts such as religion, God, and worship emerge as part of a temporary system. They are functional tools, or sadhana, designed for a specific purpose: to aid an individual in achieving liberation from worldly desires and attachments.

Crucially, the final step in this process is also clearly mentioned in the Vedic scriptures. The ultimate goal is liberation not only from the world but also from the very religious and conceptual tools used to transcend it. The path is not meant to become a permanent address.