Religion as an Ego-modulator
I agree.<p>Like many people, I draw a distinction between religion (read: organized religion) and spirituality. From what I can see, religion can have the effect of hardening the ego, by creating an us-vs-them mindset. As an American, I see this as perhaps the fundamental dynamic driving our country at a national level, both in domestic politics and foreign policy.<p>On a personal level, I was raised in a very religious household. In our particular fundamentalist Baptist church, there were strains of ego minimization, in the sense of subordinating the individual to the identity and outlook of the group. But within that identity, I saw ego maximization, in the sense of the feelings of superiority of our creed.<p>As I became alienated from organized Christianity and its dogma, I&#x27;ve found that I am thankful for many of the ego minimizing aspects. And now, as a parent, I&#x27;m interested in the ways in which I can raise my children to have these benefits, without all the harms I experienced and see from organized religion.<p>Incidentally, I just read all of the books from Arbinger Institute: Leadership and Self-Deception, The Anatomy of Peace, and The Outward Mindset. The Arbinger Institute was founded by Latter-Day Saints folks, and while I definitely register the vibes of Christian thought, they are fundamentally secular books, devoid of dogma. I do think it&#x27;s very possible to draw from the more positive, ego-dissolving parts of religious spirituality and teaching, while rejecting the divisive parts.<p>Completely aside from the ego conversation, another thing I have noticed about raising kids outside of a church is that my family lacks the same community that the Baptist church my household growing up attended. I think this is one of the major functions of organized religion. Provided you can remain in good standing with the church, you get a community, which serves all sorts of useful functions. Outside of a church, you have to manually find this, through friendships and other organizations. But there&#x27;s big replacement cost to everything a church community gives you &quot;batteries included&quot;. I&#x27;m very pro secular society, but I don&#x27;t think we&#x27;ve come up with great answers to this problem, leading to potentially catastrophic levels of social fragmentation and susceptibility to cult-like online movements.