[avatar4281]

Have you ever read about meme theory?

Religions have a basic set of memes which are easily spread and very sticky. One way they are sticky is that for very little effort (belief, whatever that is) you can have a great reward (eternal life as opposed to damnation). The Church of Reality, although a cool idea, will probably always be merely a forum for modern philosophical discussion, and people can get that anywhere. A successful religion has a few basic ideas, but the whole purpose of the religion is to spread those ideas to as many people as possible-- to infect and propagate the idea, like a virus. The more basic and hard-hitting the idea, the more easily it infects people's minds.

My theory is that all religions at their core are about sex. Why is it that in so many religions, male ministers must abstain from sex? Is it because that focuses their minds, or is the religion itself a useful tool for the society, keeping inferior genetic males from breeding or making trouble?

Homosexuality exists in many apes and monkeys, so we can assume it is not a modern phenomenon, and it has been around since before religion. Although many religions view it as an abomination, does not the religious service attract homosexuals? I think the Catholic Church has been full of pedophile homosexuals since it began-- only our modern campaign against pedophilia is bringing this to light. Why do people get so crazy about pedophilia anyway? I think it is because as humans our sexuality can actually be programed at a very young age. Parents now get very very angry at the thought of some priest turning their son gay (and thus taking his genes out of the pool), but back when people had many children, it was not such a big deal-- it was necessary even. The Church created a large, somewhat useful organization where genetically inferior males could be taken out of the gene pool. Because homosexuality was an abomination, yet people still practiced it especially priests, the Church further reinforced the memes of sin, heaven, hell, and salvation.

The Church of Reality offers no salvation-- there is no promise of genetic continuity. There is a vague promise about the continuance of life, but in an evolved state, which is as good as death for most people. There is nothing that says, "If you follow this strict code of behavior, you will have this in reward." There are no concrete definitive answers that people can build their lives around. This is, at best, merely a forum for generating possible memes for a future religion to base itself on.

[Poor Richard]

avatar4281, on 22 July 2010 - 05:46 AM, said:

Have you ever read about meme theory?

Religions have a basic set of memes which are easily spread and very sticky. One way they are sticky is that for very little effort (belief, whatever that is) you can have a great reward (eternal life as opposed to damnation). The Church of Reality, although a cool idea, will probably always be merely a forum for modern philosophical discussion, and people can get that anywhere. A successful religion has a few basic ideas, but the whole purpose of the religion is to spread those ideas to as many people as possible-- to infect and propagate the idea, like a virus. The more basic and hard-hitting the idea, the more easily it infects people's minds.

You make a fair generalization about religion. I consider the presentation of the CoR as a religion as somewhat of a gimmick, but then the idea of reality as something sacred is a fairly simple, sticky, and (for some) hard-hitting meme so it fits your description of a religion to that extent.

avatar4281 said:

The Church of Reality offers no salvation-- there is no promise of genetic continuity. There is a vague promise about the continuance of life, but in an evolved state, which is as good as death for most people. There is nothing that says, "If you follow this strict code of behavior, you will have this in reward." There are no concrete definitive answers that people can build their lives around. This is, at best, merely a forum for generating possible memes for a future religion to base itself on.

The salvation offered by reality is salvation from error and delusion. Not instantly or totally, but incrementally and relatively. If reduction of cognitive error is not a survival advantage, what is? If accurate information about reality is not a reward, what is? If reality is not a superior foundation to build your life around, what is?

Do you imagine a future CoR congregation practicing some set of ceremonial rituals and chanting pithy memes? How would that be better than whatever this website and forum is now?

If the memes presented in the main pages of this website are not simple, sticky and hard-hitting enough, what are your specific suggestions for improvements?

What else are we doing wrong or neglecting?