There is a clear line between religiosity and losing touch with reality


I believe that religion today should be viewed more as a preservation of cultural heritage and a study of religion that explains the origins of social thought, rather than as some genuine meta-narrative, an explanation of reality that provides answers to life's questions.

The thing that separates pre-modernism from modernism is the idea that nature is not explained by the actions of God, but by science. If you want real meaning and wisdom in your life, it is more fruitful to explore philosophy rather than religion. Philosophy is the love of wisdom, it is already in the word itself.

If a person believes in God and other religious things mainly because it helps them deal with the horrors of life or their own crimes, then that is understandable and the person should be left alone. When religion is mainly a coping mechanism, it helps the individual and does not harm anyone else.

What is essential is that a person recognizes in a way that their religiosity is mostly just symbolic. That it is just a coping mechanism and makes no sense, because it is not part of the scientific worldview to truly believe that God exists. Or would you write about God in a science paper? Or if you were to write to a psychologist about your sense of reality, would you tell them that God is speaking to you? So, of course it's symbolic.