Journal #9: Organized Religions

Organized religions are boring to me for the most part. The only ones that I think are interesting are Methodists and cults. Methodists are interesting to me because I'm actually a Methodist and learned about them in confirmation class at my church. John Wesley was a beast, starting the Methodist Church and all.

Anyway, cults are a lot more interesting to learn about. They're totally awful in reality, don't get me wrong, but they sure are interesting to read about. In this one book I read, (I can't remember which one- only that it was part of the Temperance Brennan series by Kathy Reichs) the murder victim was in a cult that was trying to find immortality through spiritual means. It was kind of scary how easily the leaders of the cult were able to control the members. It made things so much more difficult for the investigators on the case.

Anyway- random thought -why are disorganized religions never considered? You could still practice a religion on your own. It wouldn't have to be organized, you could just believe it. Or what if you're atheist? The term "organized religion" totally neglects everyone who falls into that category. Same with the people who mix and match their religions, believing in different parts of several religions to create their own kind of worship.

My friend has this book that is a dictionary of old and rarely-used words. It's pretty awesome. The point of that that relates to organized religion is this one word in it. I can't remember what it was (which makes me sad), but it meant that you believed in all the religions equally. It was a really cool word.

By now it's probably become apparent that I'm stalling for more words. I really don't have much of an opinion on organized religions. I've never given very much thought to the subject, other than what I've had to for church. It has worked, however, as I now have the required amount.