The impact of Religion on History

As an affictionated for History, have been reading hundreds of book since early stage. It always called my attention the history of religions and their impact on mankind. Coming from a traditional Roman Catholic family was naturally driven to the church...

(read also Overdose of Religion http://marciocacao.blogspot.com/2010/10/overdose-of-religion.html)

Once I brought my mom to Thailand, a traditional Buddhist country. She was shocked to what she saw as "a country without God" cause she hadn't seen a single Church around. She was terrified...

Actually I did it on purpose cause I wanted to show her there is something else out there. After a week travelling around Thailand seeing all its rich culture, fascinating people, food and the millions of temples around I asked my mom: 

"What would be your religion if you were born in Thailand? You have seen their deep respect and devotion to Buddhism, you also saw they are simple and normal human beings, just like us..."

I got no answer... but I'm sure she gave a lot of though to it!

It is easy to understand that Culture and Geography play a key role on people's Religion choice but what would it be if it had happened differently?

Take Thailand as an example. Few know, but It could have became a Roman Catholic country.

The Portuguese were the first Europeans to arrive in Thailand in 1518 and they were allowed to open a Christian mission. In fact the Thai king gave a large donation to build the first Christian (Roman Catholic) church in the country. English traders who arrived in 1612 were agents for the East India Company and were more interested in building a factory than a church. Under King Narai, who was interested in the West, European missionaries and adventurers exerted considerable influence at court. However, when King Narai died in 1688, members of the government, fearing the missionaries proselytizing efforts, killed or expelled all Westerners from Thailand. It remained a closed country to the Europeans for the next 100 years.

The History repeated itself over the centuries with comings and backs of Christians trying to bring Thailand to another path, but they failed.... and I pray to God on that. Thailand is a fantastic country, Buddhism is deeply inside of its soul and anything different would make it lose its magic.

Can you imagine what it would be to the western civilization if the Roman Empire hadn't adopted Christianity? For the good or the worse thank Emperor Constantine on that. Couple of centuries late Islam rose and started to spread into the Middle East, Africa and Asia... Just imagine the 200 millions of Brazilians (biggest Catholic country in the world) turning its head to Mecca 5 times a day to pray to Allah.

China has started overseas navigation at least 100 years before the Europeans. There are indications that Chinese Admiral Zheng He has reached as far as America... Well, China navigations broken the Economy of the state and made China close itself and stop the adventure, but just imagine if they continued and had settled down in America. USA would be now driven by Confucius principles? 

Anyway am always curious and imaginative in terms of History...

Wherever location you are or beliefs you have just imagine what it would be if History had been different!

Overdose of Religion

Growing up in a traditional Catholic family I was driven since my early days to the Church. It was a weekly routine... every Sunday there were masses at the Church nearby. Being only a kid, without too many leisure options, going to the church always represented maybe the only way to get to know more kids, apart from the school and to sing (yes, I loved it and there were plenty of music at the Sunday masses). 

There are plenty of activities at the Church for kids: Parish parties with all its sweets, you could be trained to assist the priest during the masses (a great honor which would make your parents very proud of you) and among others there were the catechism, a kind of Sunday school after the masses where you would learn about the Bible in preparation for the sacraments to be received during your Christian life.

The first one was the Baptism (received right after you were born), then Confirmation also known as Chrismation (kind of confimation of Baptism) and Eucharist (the most important one which completes Christian initiation). In my case, Eucharist came before the Confirmation but I had to go for 4 years of catechism in order to get it. 

Again, as a kid it was fun and made our parents very happy but as you start to grow up and find some other things to do it becomes a problem which usually comes when you reach Puberty and naturally have a lot more interests outside of the Church, but still haven't finished your Christian studies. Another important factor is that after years of "brain wash" you start questioning its effectiveness and your own beliefs, which for me it is just a natural step of growing up. 

The point is that once you have undergone for all these years at the Church, find now difficulties to reconcile your agenda and on top of that have doubts related to all these Church stuff you simply don't wanna go anymore and then a war is declared at home. Naturally that's not the case in all families once the degrees of "practicing Catholicism" varies a lot, but in my case it was a nightmare. It all started with the Confirmation which my father wanted me to do at all costs and I didn't.

To make a long story short and to avoid anymore fights and menaces to leave home, etc I went to the thing, but it was the first Sacrament I took completely against my will and am sure it was not valid if you put it from a Catholic perspective. Anyway, nowadays I dun give a shit for that!

I was always interested in History, read voraciously and knew a great deal about Christian History: its role in countries politics, sales of Indulgences, Spanish Inquisition, the Cruzades, all the corruption inside the Church, its conflicting dogmas, its position towards HIV/AIDS, condoms, contraceptive methods, abortion, homosexuality and all its hypocrisy... All these made myself uncomfortable with my own faith and what I could get from it, so I distanced myself from the Church.

Hypocrisy was always something which annoyed me. Remember when a kid at the masses, was always looking at the people around. I knew most of them, knew their sins: alcoholics, adulterers, homosexuals, robbers, husbands who beat their women and kids back home, etc... they were all there pretending to be something they weren't.

I really think a Human Being should have some sort of Belief. It doesn't matter which god you pray to, you need to believe there is something else out there. It brings you comfort and there are moments in life you really need it, but one should find balance in everything and when there isn't, intolerance and hypocrisy grow. 

To be honest it is difficult for me to position myself in terms of Religion nowadays because I believe in God, but God for me is really something too big to be fitted into one Religion. If you look deeply at any Religion you will soon realize that men drove them according to their own will and prejudices. There are things simply unacceptable for me like restrictions of food (halal/Kosher, etc), the role of women, fasting, animal sacrifices, discrimination of any kind, dangerous pilgrimages (the hajj), idols, deification of any person (the Pope, Ayatolahs, Prophets, etc), self reference as The chosen people... Ehrmmm!

We should search for simplicity in all things in life and Religion should be as simple as that: one has his beliefs, lives according to that without prejudice of any kind and most important without trying to convince others that his own God is the only one. Forget others, live your own life.

Related to myself had already my overdose of Religion!