My "Religion"

A yacka and the Wilpena landscape The whole thing needs to be loved and protected. My religion is far more successful in telling me how the world works than is any other religion. I've got the Evidence to prove it! My gods are living gods, not productions of the fertile imaginations of people unreliably recorded in ancient books. My holy book is kept right up to date, it's not based on the state of the world and the beliefs of men who lived a thousand or more years ago. It is continually being improved and added to so that the changing world and the changing needs of society can be accommodated. Sure, I have to think for myself, continually look for what is right and what is wrong, continually check the facts, examine my beliefs; not just follow what some preacher, priest, imam or monk tells me. That's a job that I try to do as well as I can and it's a price I'm very willing to pay. What is the message of my religion? Love of learning, love of knowledge, compassion, love of the whole world; not just of your sect, your nation, your race; not just love of humanity; love of all animals, plants, the biosphere, the Earth, the Universe – the whole works. Despise money and power, and those who devote themselves to the pursuit of money and power; the pursuit of money and power is a great error. Oppose those who place money and power ahead of what is right. Use truth, facts, education, with tolerance and patience, to move society away from injustice, ignorance, bigotry, dogma, selfishness, superstition and all beliefs not founded on evidence. Study ethics, moral philosophy, it can clarify what is right and what is wrong, how you should live. Do whatever you can, with tolerance and patience, to work toward a better, more just, more caring and sustainable world. But above all, think critically about everything. Is science a religion? In saying that science is my religion I was being figurative, not literal. Some have said that science is just another religion. No! Science is based on sound, verifiable evidence; religion is based on unsubstantiated belief. Science is based on reason, religion is based on blind faith. Science is based on doubting and questioning, religion is based on accepting. Science is based on searching for truth, religion is based on being given falsehoods and being satisfied to accept them. Science and religion have nothing in common. The deepest roots of science are in philosophy, which, like science, is based on reason, doubt and searching.