Introduction

What is the difference between faith in religion and being overboard with religion? A fine line divides the already torn humanity, further suffering in the name of overloaded religious beliefs.

With an estimated 4200+ religions in the world, and about 85% of the world population connecting with a particular religion, the world must be a peaceful and gentle habitat, as the basic conclusion of all the listed religions is one point to celebrate: ‘God is one and he is everywhere.’

Since God is one, and we all believe and promote this as a true faith, then why is there so much unrest wherever we look for peace?

Religion: Contrary to their teachings

While researching for this article, I was taken aback to find that religion is a major catalyst in promoting false propaganda against each other, leading to enmity without reason among people who can live amicably in their respective areas.

Although all the religions promote humanity,  justice, faith, love, and other humane values, they indeed go against their teachings to prove their supremacy over other religions.

Their subtle teachings are incapable of stopping any wrongdoings in their religion, but they are always at gunpoint to point out the faults of other religions.

Who is suffering due to the over-religious faith?

The answer is simpler than the question itself. 

The real victims are the ordinary people, the disciples, the followers, and the people working for the religious preachers. Ultimately, the world, which should be a livable place for all its people without any discrimination, is becoming a place where people deprived of power and position are deliberately forced to suffer.

Those who gain control over the masses in the name of religion, or those who think that they are superior to others just because they have inherited this, start treating other people as if they are subordinate to them. They usually take everything else for granted. 

Their infringement on the thinking of common people is so deep that sometimes they forget to rationalize whatever comes their way in a threatening manner.

The ultimate consequence of this tyranny alters society into an unjust realm for those who exhibit the very human values we should cherish.

Religion: The Increasing Discrepancy Between Preaching and Practice

There should be only one religion…that of humanity.

We are all human beings, made of flesh and bones. Our blood groups may be different, but the blood flowing in our veins is the same, so the question of being different should not arise.

The issue arises when one section of society thinks that they must have all the luxuries. They pretend to have a life of asceticism; to the contrary, the majority of society is made to obey whatever they are being preached, regardless of whether the majority have equal capabilities and potential to serve the society in a better way.

Isn’t religion making us too dogmatic?

When the name ‘God’ isn’t enough to make the idea of humanity work for humanity itself, this is all because the flagbearers of religion anywhere in the world are fighting with each other to prove that only their religion they follow is the best. 

They act as bona fide mediators between what we feel intrinsically and what they are selling us as a product, without thinking twice that we are all the same, riding on the same boat, seeking the same divinity. Spirituality is not a product that can be sold through some franchises.

There should never be a ‘copyright reserved’ kind of notion or special efforts to spread one particular religion.

Some poor people may be prompted to follow another faith in lieu of some benefits, destitutes find solace while crossing their religious path, one may get tired of unsolicited restrictions in their religion; under any circumstances, religion should be our internal choice. 

There should be no extravagant crossover to spread it to other regions and the erstwhile alienated society. 

This happens to be the sole reason for many religion-based wars in the world, resulting in the unending suffering of innocent people for a long time.

God is one and omnipresent.

Some people behave as if they are direct messengers of the Almighty God. 

Such people treat others as if they are superior to them.

They even have a plethora of chronicles written in their favor, but the twist of the tale is that all the written references are indeed written by them only.

This is a fact, the fact that these people formulated for themselves, and they don’t even shy away from exhibiting this as their ultimate support system, is religious beliefs that are more about respecting them rather than God.

The idea of God’s existence likely emerged in a time when humans lived very differently from the way they do today. Back then, even the rumble of a cloud could evoke fear, and people struggled to comprehend the sudden cessation of life in those around them.

Even one natural incident was enough to arouse human curiosity; rivers and mountains all played vital roles in shaping the future of our forefathers so subtly that now we have started speculations about the quintessential creator.

In such a situation, it is surprising that some people have created such a narrative as if they are incarnations of God, and then these same people have written such books that completely support their false stories. The result is that a large section of backward people are still struggling to become world citizens, to which they are legitimately entitled.

Conclusion

• Why should we entrust the keys to our spiritual faith to our fellow human beings? 
• Why do we need their validation? 
• Why do we give these people a free hand to act as suffragans of the universal truth of God?
• Why do unscientific myths still dominate our minds?
• Why is our world still suffering?
• Why are even the so-called representatives of God not happy?
• Despite having numerous codes of conduct to follow the path of spirituality, why are we witnessing the downfall of humanity?
• Why is our world not able to become safe and beautiful even after following the path shown by religious gurus?
• We have conquered space, but how did we fail to conquer our evils when most of us follow the path of Dharma?

Religion should be our support system, and not a villain in our lives.

• Shouldn’t religious beliefs be left to the discretion of the individual? 
• Are we not sufficient to worship God? 
• Shouldn’t we work for humanity instead of building big places of worship? 
• Shouldn’t we aim to remove evils from society?
• Aren’t we good enough to worship God, and why do we need some external medium to teach us the basics of humanity?

These are some of the questions that still haunt my mind, and I am afraid of those who are supposedly holding the reins of religion.

I am a deeply spiritual person, and I feel this intrinsically. I seldom display my feelings. I rarely support any religious gurus. The only people whom I adore and deeply respect are my teachers, my parents and all my near and dear ones who stand with me in all my thick and thin situations.

Tell me what you think about the topic, which is still so big, hot and never out of vogue.

Hope: The Ultimate Guide

Arts & Culture · Reflections

Balancing Faith and Humanity: Overcoming Religious Fanaticism

Religion can be a quiet shelter of meaning, or a loud weapon of division. Which form grows depends on how gently we hold our own faith—and how respectfully we see others’.

By Lekh-Lekhni · Updated for thoughtful readers

Religion as a gentle shelter

Religion, at its heart, is a living relationship between human beings and the sacred—a way of making sense of life, suffering, joy, and responsibility. It gathers people into communities, weaves shared rituals, and gives language to questions that logic alone cannot answer.

In its healthiest form, faith softens the ego, deepens empathy, and inspires service. The problem begins when the same faith is reduced to identity, power, or fear, and the inner journey is replaced by outer aggression.

When devotion drifts into fanaticism

Fanaticism is not the natural child of religion; it is the child of insecurity, hurt pride, and manipulation wearing religious clothes. It thrives on “us versus them” thinking, on half-understood scriptures, and on leaders who turn wounds into weapons.

Instead of asking “How can I become a better human being?”, the fanatic asks, “How can I prove my side is superior?”. In that shift, compassion shrinks, curiosity dies, and violence—emotional or physical—starts to feel justified.

Signs of healthy faith

• Opens space for questions, doubt, and growth.
• Encourages kindness beyond caste, creed, or community.
• Accepts that different paths can lead to the same truth.
• Focuses on inner reform more than public display.

Warning signs of fanaticism

• Obsession with converting or humiliating others.
• Glorifying violence or hate in the name of “protection of faith”.
• Blind obedience to leaders, no matter how unreasonable.
• Reduced identity: “I am only my religion, nothing else.”

Celebrating, not weaponising, religion

Celebration of religion is quiet, spacious, and inclusive. It appears in the way festivals bring neighbours together, in how temples, mosques, churches, gurdwaras run langars and community kitchens, and in how ordinary believers offer time, money, and skills to heal the world a little.

True celebration does not need enemies. It can honour its own deity, scripture, or tradition while still bowing its head to the dignity of other paths. It asks: if the sacred is truly infinite, how can any one human label exhaust it?

The test of any religion is simple: after following it, do we become more truthful, more gentle, and more just—or more arrogant, bitter, and cruel?

Everyday ways to resist fanaticism

Warding off fanaticism is not only the work of scholars, saints, or governments. It starts in homes, WhatsApp groups, small conversations, and the private corners of conscience where each person decides what they will amplify and what they will refuse.

• Refuse hate-forwarding: Do not share messages that insult, generalise, or dehumanise any community—even if they come wrapped in “religious concern”.
• Ask deeper questions: When someone quotes religion to justify cruelty, gently ask: “Is this really what our faith teaches us at its highest?”
• Learn beyond your bubble: Read about other faiths from their own voices, not just from critics or stereotypes.
• Support bridge-builders: Stand with those who work for interfaith dialogue, shared community work, and peace education.
• Watch your own ego: Notice when pride in your tradition slips into contempt for someone else’s; that is where fanaticism quietly begins.

A faith that protects life

The world does not need less religion; it needs religion that remembers its own soul. Any path that truly leads to the divine will protect life, not glorify death; will honour conscience, not crush it; will invite humility, not demand blind surrender.

To celebrate religion, then, is to guard its tenderness from those who would harden it into a weapon. It is to live in such a way that, through us, faith becomes a shelter—for ourselves, for strangers, and even for those who do not believe at all.

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