What is the best way to persuade people to turn their backs on religion and become humanists?

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 Religions came into existence when man tried to find the reason behind origin of the world and understand mechanism of it. Ancient people were very curious and wanted to know the answers of many questions but no one was there to satisfy their quest.  So, they imagined many deities and attributed everything to their wishes. Gradually they began to worship those deities. A class of people emerged who were considered knowledgeable about the spiritual matters. The priest class didn’t try to find the answers of the questions because it was in their interest to make people religious. Their connivance with the rulers created a system which benefited both but kept people ignorant and superstitious. Many enlightened persons came forward to make people aware of their schemes but they failed because people started to worship those persons as messiahs or began to think them as the avatar of God/gods.

Gautama Buddha was against the hypocrisy of the priest class but after his death his followers started to worship him as the avatar of Lord Vishnu. His ideas were killed in this way. Mahavira, Jesus Christ and other reformers had the same fate. Priest class captured their ideas and formed a new religion over their teachings.

Religion transcends every aspects of human life. From birth to death man has to go through many rituals that are based on his religion. It is not an easy thing to get rid of hegemony of the religions because society supports religions and don’t like persons who are against them. In old times state was also responsible for keeping people under the rules of divine powers i.e. religions. Even in the modern world, many countries are ruled by a particular religion. In many Muslim countries one cannot go against the religion. Death is inevitable in many cases of blasphemy. In secular countries like India, the state can punish one if one criticize religions and ‘feelings of someone get hurt’ because of it.

Religions preach of high moral character but everything depends on the definition of moral values. Normally religions don’t allow man to think rationally. Sometimes, religious beliefs can go against humanity. Animal sacrifice is an essential part of some religions. According to some Islamic religious texts, it is the divine duty of the ‘true Muslim’ to kill ‘infidels’. In India, Hindu mob lynches one who eats beef. Cow is sacred animal for Hindus. In orthodox Christian countries a woman is not allowed to abort a fetus even if it becomes life threatening for her.

All these things may seem irrational and inhuman but religious people don’t think so. Blinded by their faiths, they can kill a rational person or ‘disbeliever’.

Our religious beliefs formed because right from the infancy we are taught that the religion our parents follow, is the ultimate truth.  Right from the tender age a child is taught to follow what religion says. A child is not encouraged to think differently because society sees every new idea with suspicion.

The best way to persuade people to be more humane is to put a complete or partial ban/restrictions on religions. A child should not be taught about religions in the tender age. Instead of it, a child should be taught about values, humanity, merciful behavior, value of sympathy and compassion towards every creature. Religions make people sentimental while they should be sensitive. So, a child should not be given religious teachings. He/she should be given religious teachings only when he/she becomes mature. Even in that as he/she should be taught about every religion and their teachings should be criticized in the light of scientific knowledge. A person should be encouraged to think rationally and logically. Teachings of science and mathematics must be made compulsory. There is no alternative of rational and humanitarian education. I think in this way man can become a true human.  

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