Even though I grew up in a non-religious environment, I know and I am fully aware religion is deeply ingrained in some people. But let’s say my knowledge was on the academic level – textbooks, peer-reviewed papers, books. I have seen many documents about megachurches in the USA, but it was my very first experience of attending Sunday morning service in my hometown in the Czech Republic (this just happened to be the Czech Republic, hopefully, we will gain some opportunity of the global government in the future).
How culturally religious are Czech people?
The Czech Republic stands out as one of the least religious countries in Europe. Many Czechs identify as atheists, reflecting a deep-rooted secularism that has grown since the 20th century. Decades of communist rule discouraged religious practice, and even after the regime fell, religious institutions struggled to regain influence.
Atheism is more than just a lack of belief here. It’s part of the cultural identity. People value rationalism, personal freedom, and a critical view of authority, which extends to religious organizations. Most Czechs prefer a private, non-religious approach to life and spirituality, rather than formal structures like churches.
Despite the dominant secularism, religion still plays a minor role for some. Small Catholic and Protestant communities exist, but they don’t have significant political or social influence. Religion is often seen as a personal choice rather than a public one, with many Czechs indifferent to the debate entirely.
Statistics
According to recent data, about 72% of Czechs do not affiliate with any religious group, with 25% identifying as atheists and 46% claiming “nothing in particular” as their religious stance. Furthermore, 66% of the population states that they do not believe in God, reflecting the country’s strong secular tradition (Sčítání 2021) (Pew Research Center).
This secularism has historical roots. Particularly, Catholicism was associated with the resentment of Habsburg rule, when Germans ruled over the Czechs. Consequently, religion became connected to the “occupiers.”
In modern times, the Czech Republic ranks second globally in terms of self-identified atheists, with around 30% describing themselves as “convinced atheists.” Despite the country’s predominantly secular nature, small religious communities, including Roman Catholics (around 10%) and other Christian denominations, still exist.
An atheist at the Mormon Sunday morning service
A pair of American female Mormon missionaries (with visible deeply ingrained religion) convinced me to attend their Sunday morning service. I told them I suffer from many mental illnesses and they were fine. After the gathering, they had a meeting scheduled.
So I went to their church which would cost a very high price on the real estate market. And I was shocked. “What the hell am I going to do during the whole process?”
They started singing, I must have oriented in the sheet music. “God damnit,” I thought. “What the heck am I going to do?”
Since not every option has been left out, I am trying everything (even though I estimate probability of the God’s existence at an unbelievably low probability). I told one of the Mormons that if they pray for me to have emotions (I am completely emotionally flattened) and to be able to have joy (this is called anhedonia) and it fulfills, I will become a Mormon.
“No, we cannot dictate to God what to do, you must accept him first, then he may hear you.” How typical for a religion!
The service was very gentle and cultivated, I must admit I hadn’t expected this.
There were some speeches which were kind of interesting.
Deeply ingrained religion, severe OCD that is more than severe
I suffer from OCD which manifests in many obsessions, compulsions, and rituals. But when I saw the assembly, I thought, “This is nothing.”
You could just see how deeply ingrained religion is in their minds. They were feeling the presence of God, how He dictates to them what to do, experiencing intense peace or a sense of being in the presence of something infinitely greater. They also felt joy, love, and connection. Basically, they were out of their minds.
Yes, religion is a plague
Out of thousands of religions, they just chose this one (or were raised in it). How unbelievable. A religion that happened through socio-economic-culturally-historical progress. Just a pure accident!
They happened to be born at this time, in this place (Europe, USA).
The universe and earth are billions of years old and theism just happened to be just so new. Brand new!
As I was observing them being in different mental states, sitting on their chairs, they just don’t get the one thing – they are just monkeys (Homo sapiens).
They talk to gain knowledge of hunter-gatherer groups, learn from their social dynamics, and apply that understanding in modern contexts. These groups relied on communication to share information about the environment, track food sources, and organize cooperative hunting or gathering efforts. In the same way, today’s humans use communication as a tool for social cohesion and competition. People exhibit clear mating preferences based on traits that signal genetic fitness, such as physical health, strength, intelligence, and resources. Evolutionary psychology explains that these preferences are deeply embedded in human nature. Individuals historically sought partners who could help them produce healthy offspring and increase their chances of survival. Even in today’s modern world, this drive remains influential, shaping dating choices, relationships, and even the way people present themselves socially.
We help each other but are selfish at the core
Humans are inherently selfish, not in a purely negative sense, but because self-interest has always been key to survival. Competition for resources starts early, with children learning to secure attention, food, and toys. This need to compete for resources and status never fully disappears. It simply evolves with age. Adults compete for partners, higher social status, job opportunities, and wealth. In hunter-gatherer societies, this competition often revolved around leadership roles, control of tools, and access to resources like food or shelter. Today, the scope has widened: people now compete for money, properties, social reputation, jobs, and even stocks. Wealth and social power serve as proxies for survival, giving individuals the ability to secure a better quality of life, attract desirable partners, and provide for future generations.
The competition for social reputation and resources is deeply tied to human evolution. In small hunter-gatherer communities, reputation could mean the difference between being included in group activities – such as hunts or decision-making – and being left out. Humans now live in much larger and more complex societies. So the fundamental drive to earn social status remains the same.
People seek promotions at work, accumulate assets, and cultivate their public images to signal success. This isn’t just about ego. It’s tied to reproductive success. Studies in evolutionary psychology show that individuals with higher status tend to have more reproductive opportunities. And they can provide better resources for their offspring. In the same way, access to wealth increases an individual’s ability to navigate life’s challenges, whether through health care, education, or social influence. This ancient need to compete for dominance, resources, and mating opportunities is still a core aspect of human behavior, shaping not only personal relationships but also economic systems, political landscapes, and social hierarchies.
Wars, genocides, ethnic violence
Religions can unleash profound cruelty, fueling violence and hatred in the name of belief. They fought wars, and countless lives have been lost due to religious conflicts. From the Crusades to genocides, holy texts and doctrines have been twisted to justify mass murder, torture, and persecution. Extremist groups commit unspeakable atrocities, believing their actions are divinely sanctioned. This sanctified violence breeds deep cycles of hatred, leaving entire societies scarred and divided for generations. People are not only killed; they are brutalized, dehumanized, and stripped of dignity under the guise of religious righteousness.
Religions often enforce oppressive systems that crush individual autonomy and stifle freedom. Many faiths dictate strict, inescapable rules on behavior, sexuality, and personal choices, reducing people to mere followers of rigid dogma. These rules can be especially cruel to women, who are frequently treated as second-class citizens, denied rights, and subjected to humiliating rituals or forced marriages. LGBTQ+ individuals face harsh condemnation, excommunication, or worse, violence and death. The pressure to conform leaves no room for doubt or self-expression. Fear of divine punishment keeps people trapped in lives of guilt, shame, and repression, creating deep psychological scars.
Religious institutions often protect predators and exploit the vulnerable under the veil of holiness. Corruption festers within many of these institutions, where powerful leaders manipulate, abuse, and exploit their followers. Sexual abuse scandals involving clergy have ruined countless lives, with abusers shielded by the very organizations meant to uphold moral integrity. The betrayal is immense, as faith is weaponized to silence victims, cover up atrocities, and maintain power. Religious leaders have amassed wealth and influence by exploiting the devotion of the faithful, turning spiritual belief into a tool for greed, domination, and abuse on an unimaginable scale.
Religion is part of Homo sapiens evolution
No, as I wrote above, circumstances were the same, but they (the people at the Sunday morning service) just exhibited something billions of people experience. But in different religions: Christianity (about 2.38 billion), Islam (about 1.91 billion), Hinduism (about 1.2 billion), Buddhism (about 507 million), Chinese traditional religion (about 394 million), ethnic religions (about 300 million), and African traditional religions (about 100 million).
So not everyone can be right. Some people say it doesn’t matter, religions are about the same, but I borrow an explanation that tore this notion apart here.
The study of religion from an evolutionary standpoint primarily falls under evolutionary psychology, which examines how religious beliefs and practices may have evolved to solve adaptive problems, such as promoting social cohesion and cooperation in early human societies. This field suggests that religious rituals and moral systems helped groups survive by fostering trust and unity. Additionally, evolutionary anthropology looks at how religion has developed across cultures and time, analyzing its role in group identity and cooperation. The cognitive science of religion also explores how natural cognitive processes, like pattern recognition and agency detection, predisposed humans to form religious beliefs, offering an interdisciplinary approach to understanding religion’s evolutionary roots.
Theories on religion suggest it is either an adaptation that evolved to promote social cohesion and cooperation, or a byproduct of cognitive processes like pattern recognition and agency detection, which originally evolved for other purposes.
Deeply ingrained religion: converting them to atheism as impossible as it can be
What to do with these people? Converting non-believers to atheism is challenging because deeply ingrained religions are resistant to change, especially when they are tied to identity, culture, and emotions. Rational arguments alone rarely sway religious believers. Many have built their worldview on the foundation of faith. However, this often doesn’t rely on evidence or logic in the same way that atheism does. Presenting scientific explanations or pointing out contradictions in religious texts may be seen as attacks on personal or cultural values. This may lead to defensiveness rather than open-mindedness.
Emotional attachments to religion also play a huge role in resistance to atheism. Believers often find comfort, meaning, and a sense of community in their faith. Religion provides answers to existential questions about life, death, and suffering that can be deeply reassuring. For some, the emotional security religion offers is irreplaceable, and the idea of abandoning that comfort for an uncertain or seemingly empty worldview is terrifying. Attempting to disrupt this emotional bond can be perceived as an assault on their entire way of being, causing them to cling even more fiercely to their beliefs.
Additionally, social pressures make conversion to atheism difficult. In many communities, religion is intertwined with family, tradition, and social acceptance. Rejecting religion can lead to alienation, loss of support, and even outright hostility from loved ones or peers. The fear of losing one’s place in a close-knit community, or being judged by family members, can prevent even those who privately harbor doubts from embracing atheism openly. As a result, emotional, cultural, and social forces often outweigh logical or intellectual arguments when it comes to converting believers to atheism.
Why a plague
A quote from Robert G. Ingersoll: “It is a thousand times better to have common sense without education than to have education without common sense. Religious people are not taught to think; they are taught to believe.”
They don’t live in reality and don’t act according to common sense and critical thinking, which together equal science.
Rigid societal patterns hinder societal progress, such as improving people through genetic means, a poor understanding of how manipulative the current educational system is, and, last but not least, servitude to the super-rich.
How did the Mormon interaction turn out?
When I entered the church, I told the female missionaries that they had triggered psychosis during our brief meeting yesterday.
Since my surrounding knows about my ailments, I am used to telling the truth. After the gathering ended, I insisted on having the agreed meeting with philosophical, religious, and scientific topics. Well, they were reluctant. I shouldn’t have told them about the psychosis.
But I bumped into them at the bus station and they surprisingly were willing to schedule a meeting.
The meeting was, however, religion with its absurdities to its core. They didn’t have any clue what “interdeterministic” and “deterministic” is. The free will question? No clue.
The kind of their persuasion was reciting some text. Then they connected me via phone with a Czech Mormon who addressed me in T distinction.
I asked about the age of the earth, and evolution and received only crazy answers. “I don’t care about the age of earth, evolution is a man-made phenomenon, you must accept God.”
This was kind of frightening.
Conclusion
We have to get rid of religion of all kinds. By genetic edits, the minimalizing impact of religious institutions (particularly schools).
My personal experience was an eye-opener, despite I used to have knowledge of such spiritual ignorance.
We have to lead people to rationality, not delusions stemming from primitive Bronze Age myths. Then deeply ingrained religion becomes just very rare spiritual experiences.
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