The disconnect with religious belief in the West and why religion has fallen off is the notion of being “saved.” There seems to be a dichotomy between the West and East concerning how the divine is conceived. I look at specifically Judaism, Christianity, Islam versus Hinduism, Buddhism. Abrahamic versus Dharmic traditions.

In Abrahamic religions there is duality. God is removed from you and the goal is to achieve that God: to be saved. If you fall, you go to a hell and btw we all start from different positions. The conflict is that these religions at the core are not about you, they are not even about God. They are about those who interpret and arbitrate who can and can’t go to heaven. In a word, they are about control and obedience.

The core of the Abrahamic religions are the Ten Commandments. 7/10 of them are not about the Truth. They are legalistic: “Thou shall not commit adultery.”, “Thou shall not covet thy neighbor’s wife.” While I agree with both of these what do they have to do with God?

This is also true of the systems of prayer in Abrahamic religions. In Abrahamic traditions the focus is not on you as an individual, the focus is on a central authority. You go to a church and you sit in pews and listen to someone who interprets the God that is behind them. In Islam there is more equality but still everyone does the same prayer in the same way. In both of these control and the removal of individuality are a core tenant.

This is why Christianity declined in the West. The horrors of World War 1 & 2, the Vietnam War in America disillusioned people towards their governments. The governments after all were given God given rights. A loss of trust with their governments had also lead to the loss of trust with the Church. Most of this happened in Europe where most of the atrocities happened. This is one of the reasons that Christianity still was so strong in the heartlands of America. But with the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars this likely also triggered another decline.

Chart shows the rise of religious ‘nones’ looks similar in data from Pew Research Center and the General Social Survey

Islam is also going through a similar crisis. While outwardly Islam seems strong, internally it is likely struggling. The loss of faith will likely accelerate among Muslims relatively soon. There are a few reasons for this. Islam was supposed to be strong, God was supposed to be on their side. If you ignore your individuality and believe in Islam then God would save you. And to be honest this was true for a long time. The Ottomans, Mughals, Safavid, and Abbasid Caliphates and Empires all were large and powerful. But Islam started losing. At this point there are no Caliphates, no Empires. The Arab governments are all but subjects of the American financial systems. 7/10 Muslims lives in poverty. The bombing of and the death of children in Gaza with impunity has likely resulted in a crisis of faith. Where was God to stop this violence? This is conjecture but I do believe that this is leading to people leaving Islam unofficially since officially apostasy is punishable by death.

As can be noted the Christian and Islamic belief systems have huge holes in their belief systems that doesn’t gel with the modern multi-faceted lives we have. In urban areas where Christianity has most declined there is a diversity of opinions and people where Christianity is not the only thought process.

Dharmic Traditions

The Dharmic traditions of Buddhism and Hinduism take a different path. For both of these religions the core importance is you. It isn’t God, it isn’t the person interpreting the words. Frankly, God as construed in the Hindu sense isn’t really even defined per se other than as a “conscience.” The Upanishads in Hinduism give the notion, “ Tat Tvam Asi (You are That)” as the core truth. What “That” is, is up to interpretation. Is “That” the other person seated across from you? Is “That” the pet or child in your lap? The country? The universe? God? Well it can be all of those. That is why Hinduism has certain philosophies that are atheistic and theistic. You can believe in God or not. The point is, it isn’t about God. It is about You and Your interpretation of what “That” in “You are That” means.

In Buddhism, Buddha didn’t concern himself with God at all, the Four Noble Truths are about suffering (dukka) and how to stop suffering. Buddha kept silent whenever people asked him about God. His view was likely sure believe in a God but how that is that going to end our current suffering?

Worship in a Hindu temple in India is varied, but one of things that is unique is there is no one telling you what to believe. Each Hindu worships in their own way. I worship differently from my mother. A Hindu temple may have a priest performing a puja (ritual) while at the same time another corner has people singing, another area food is being served, and maybe an area for discussion and commerce. All of these happen at the same time. Because the worship is about you.

There is no “saving.” You are already divine. The dharmic viewpoint is that you are already divine, you just have amnesia. With good moral practices, meditation and prayer you can find that divinity/nirvana within yourself and wake up.

And lastly, the cyclicality of time. As there are seasons through the year there are seasons in one’s life. Certain seasons are nice and light, others are dark and depressing. It is just a cycle. Absolutes don’t exist in nature or ourselves. The absolute of “You shall not kill” in the 10 Commandments doesn’t apply in Hinduism for example because it depends on your dharma. If you are a soldier killing is a part of the job! “Considering your specific duty as a soldier, you should know that there is no better engagement for you than fighting based on dharma; and so there is no need for hesitation,” Bhagavad Gita 2.31. It is also why Zen Buddhism influenced the samurai class in Japan in the same way.

The decentrality of Hinduism is what has lead it to succeed for nearly 5000 years. But I would be foolish to say that Hinduism doesn’t have faults. The centralization of power among the priestly class lead to a long period of decline that ossified Indian society. This is finally starting to break down and some of the knowledge that was considered secret and sacred to be controlled by that class has been unlocked and trust into the world. These ideas of Vedanta, a philosophy of Hinduism, have made their way into Western thinking.

Virtue

“The School of Athens.” Feels like another version of a Hindu temple.

I do think the West needs religion, it has so thrown off the chains of Abrahamic thought that it has gone full force into individualism in the guise of consumerism. But consumerism has the problem that it doesn’t lead to a higher calling, a higher purpose than what I can buy or own. This is likely the loneliness epidemic, the drug addictions, burnout and apathy that we are facing in the West.

What is ironic about this Abrahamic and Dharmic comparison is that the West had these Dharmic ideals before Christianity replaced it. Homer, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Epictetus, and others had the same ideals of the Truth. Instead of Dharma the Greeks sought after Virtue, basically the same thing. Stoicism has a familiar feel to Buddhism. The Dharmic ideals of the East aren’t something that belongs to just the East. They were foundational and universal. I think the West is better suited to a rejuvenation of the Greek ideas than to take on the Dharmic religions which have their own terminology and thinking processes that may seem alien to a Westerner.