Religion or ideologies, they are the same thing.

 

The purpose of religion and religious institutions in medieval times was primarily to decipher the reality, separate truth from the mélange of information around us and, provide a course of action for human beings or the society to tread a path from which they could optimise their behaviour; the behaviour which should be aimed at attaining the “best” life which is consistent with the following terms which religions all over the earth delineated : morals, god-fearing, karma-fearing persons. The aim of these religions was to organize the agricultural societies and provide a broader course of action for every member living in it. The contemporary notions such as ‘ambitions’, ‘success’ and ‘achieving something’ were reproved as they were considered to be a course of action swerving from the greater design of the God or Brahma, and rather motivated its adherents to follow a ‘holy path’, ‘pray’, ‘devoted to the glory of God’ etc. These were considered to be the paths through which humans could find a meaning and a greater purpose with their lives. The religious logos perfectly put together everything for the people and they navigated their life based on these principles.
A prime example of religious logos can be understood while having discourse with a staunch religious adherent. It would seem like he/she knows everything about the universe. His/her knowledge about understanding the metaphysical reality around us would be subjectively defined and it would also seem as if he/she is quite confident about their position. I talked to an Islamic scholar. He appeared firm on his position that everything in the world is in a sense, ‘made’ by the Allah or the all-mighty and that Quran is a repository of sacrosanct knowledge. But, what ignited my interest the most was that he had a particular idea that if everything in the world is manifested or structured as the way it is written in the holy book Quran, things would just magically be peaceful or good. This idea which revolves around a certainty of output just due to the merit of application of a particular belief is just all over the place. Even Hindus believe that the predicament of the Kal-Yuga can be reversed if people adhere to Bhagvad Gita. Christians believe that if everyone follows the path mentioned in the Bible, the world will be a nobler place. This trope of having a belief that things would just magically turn out to be positive is what I was intrigued by the most. This is the purpose which religion or religious logos served. It explains everything and provides a way to make existing reality better. The trajectory which people choose to take in their lives is heavily dependent upon religious articulation of a future which is hopeful. However, that authority to explain the reality using a myopic religious lens and ultimately attributing everything to have an element of divine or God started to take a tumble from the inception of the industrial revolution.

But, this aspect of a religious ‘ideology’ seems to find its way into other ‘ideologies’ too. This is based on human beings’ psychological built because we always aspire to be better in every aspect. This ‘ideological hope’ is an extension of it on a collective magnitude. It finds its way into every other ideology too. Even they operate on a religious template. For example:

1.        Communism: A hope that if working class owns the means of production, then the society would be equal. The communists have even gone to a greater length to implement the idea in USSR and other parts of the world.

2.      Capitalism: A hope that if market forces act independently of any central authority, then the society would be prosperous and wealth would be generated.

3.      Feminism: A hope that if the gender differences are obliterated, and gender quality is established; then the world will be a better place.

4.      Nationalism: A hope that people of a country come together and act in a harmonious way, then the country as a conceived place would be prosperous. Here the ‘country’ which poses the threat to the national sovereignty is automatically hostile.

Etc.

A group has a distinct idea that it wants to manifest as a result of implementation of their belief system. However, it isn’t in a vacuum that it occurs. These ideologies or religions have a distinct understanding of the reality around them and a clear definition of the problems they collectively face. This them enables them to come up with their own prescribed solutions to these problems which contains an element of a belief that it will be in the good of all. People don’t want to support conceived immoral or unethical causes because as Aristotle has brilliantly put, “All human actions stem from the notion that it is for the benefit of the humankind.” People not just have hope in their beliefs but also like to believe that it is good for everyone in the society, no matter accurate or inaccurate that belief might be. This ‘hope’ aspect or a collective belief that situations will be ameliorated as they presently exist is prevalent in every ideology. I believe it is because as human beings, we collectively attempt to find solutions for the material or perceived problems in our lives and we need a collective agenda to progress as a society. It is due to this psychological or biological instinct that we create ideologies and collective understanding of the world according to changing times and attempt to solve contemporary issues. Whether that is religious or any other ideology, it works fairly on the same template and similar psychological dynamics.