There is a collection of media that centers around fighting demons with the help of the church, and in the end, the church always wins. Interestingly, there are very few mentions of what happens to life after the fight, or the ordinary existence of those who are expected to triumph over evil. Now that the fallacies of organized religion are being brought more to life, it is becoming clear that being in a church is not necessarily an indication of “goodness” or the ability to combat real evil. Most of the world understands the presence of evil as a metaphor for the pain that is consistently present, and growing as the world rewards cruelty instead of any positive behavior. Essentially, a religious routine is not a sign that someone can battle with the very real difficulties in the empire, and this is another example of how we receive messaging of putting faith in institutions.
Without question, there is a persistent belief that there is no evil that cannot be stopped with a routine of “good,” which is why so many people have tried to change the suffering in their existence by changing their routine. The problem is that there is no routine that will allow people to alter their external circumstances other than direct alteration of those circumstances. Notwithstanding the existence of an eternal presence, praying does not resolve poverty, and offerings do not lower cost-of-living costs. Sending people to church without actually managing the evil of a world that supports abusers and bullies is the same as telling everyone that dragons need hugs. This is one of the reasons that people have called religion the “opiate of the masses.”
These portrayals also fail to acknowledge that people can live within routine and still produce evil, which is one of the reasons that the church has been steadily dying over time. “Holy wars” are a consistent part of a lot of histories, meaning that people can go to church and give to their local community while dreaming of dropping atomic bombs. Imperial constituents have made a practice out of alienating everyone outside their inner circles while claiming that they “love everyone,” despite how their behavior appears, and then going to church to socially/emotionally absolve themselves of their behavior. Routines do not erase alienation, and all the communions people take will not take the place of true accountability.
True spirituality involves developing a relationship that is not managed by others because even the existence of a god is considered laughable by large portions of the population. Religion, however, is visible to everyone else, and follows specific societal rules that become flexible when enough of the population decides that they no longer count. Gathering together in groups is perfectly acceptable–unless those groups think that judging others and mocking them with passive aggression is acceptable. Tithing to an organization that provides community service is reasonable–unless that organization demands the right to control anything and everyone surrounding it. Religious organizations that alter their morals for those who support institution over personal relationship are not capable of facing any evil with which they are confronted.
People will like continue to watch shows of religious figures battling evil, and with CGI and different acting skills, those images will still be a joy to watch. However, it helps to understand that one is not just consuming media, but absorbing propaganda about maintaining an institution. No one can afford to pretend that they are not being sent messages when they watch media anymore, because such messaging has shaped the atrocities that everyone is enduring. Institutions are not the answer to evil; more often than not, they are the evil, and at this point in time, people cannot ignore that reality. One can only wait and see how religion evolves after this current era.
Chasing A Dying Empire 