This is a place where, in my opinion, religion is seriously overlooked in modern culture.
The times when my religious upbringing have been most useful to me have all been in the face tragedy.
That's easily the difference between being an isolated island of a person, miserable thinking the world is against you. Or being a bit down, and getting a hand up.
I've replaced it with philosophy and meditation-- it actually seems to do the job much better, and doesn't require any particular leaps in logic on my part.
Philosophy and meditation are just religion by another name in my opinion. At least in terms of the practical application of religion, which is sadly neglected by most branches of modern Christianity.
I agree that they may be similar in practice, but I want to make sure you understand that they are fundamentally different in every other aspect. The biggest difference is that religion believes it has a monopoly on an explanation of the metaphysical, and therefore shuts out other philosophies. This is the height of human hubris.
There are many different philosophies, and all of them are merely ideas, and none of them claim to be the exclusive explanation of the metaphysical.
Meditation is just the practice of looking inward, and many studies show benefits. Whereas, many of the reported benefits of religion come from the practice of it, and are most likely due to placebo.
So yes, in practice they are similar and they have many of the same benefits. What I can not get behind are the potential/probable drawbacks of religion. The narrow mindedness and the arrogance come to mind.
- Recognizing when someone may not be acting in your own best interest
- Setting personal boundaries with other people (esp. people who may be doing the former)
How to take advantage of people... that way they are less likely to be taken advantage of
Restraint enough that, though they know how, they don’t take advantage of others
How to look for sense of self satisfaction within yourself rather than in the approval of others
Not really a skill, but a habit of intense exercise at least 30m a day. Running and swimming are great for this.
Similarly, a habit of reading books.
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