Indonesia - and the world - have far too many religions. Ethics is not the exclusive preserve of religion and neither is a belief in God.
Belief in a single uniting divinity is harmless, helps people to appreciate and be grateful for their existence and to treasure all their blessings.
It is a counterweight to the materialistic pressures which insist that we do not have enough and that we should want more and more.
Unburdened from complex belief systems, such a simple axiom does not require us to jump through mental hoops but is enough psychologically for us to make sense of our own existence and to give a sense of purpose to our lives.
But religion is something different entirely. While purporting to be about worshiping God, what it does in fact do is to divide people; create clerical elites; disturb people with the repeated noise of loudspeakers or bells; burden our minds with guilt and worst of all, stop us from being able to question and use our minds to the full.
Instead of giving thanks under the trees and stars for all the wonders of the universe, we worship saints and prophets under the roofs of cramped and gloomy man-made structures, in languages we do not understand.
Religion creates weird and dangerous world views which set us about with enemies and fears. It demands of us unremitting and meaningless duties and sacrifices. It is the spark for war and hatred while claiming to be the source of peace and love. It is evil.
No, the opposite of religion is not atheism nor amorality. The opposite of religion is freedom.
RAFIQ MAHMOOD
Bogor, West Java
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