Religion is a place in the brain. With the right patient and the proper brain wave measuring devices, you can detect it. Where it is exactly I’m not sure, but I’m sure any neurologist could probably point it out. It has in all likelihood always been there, since our pre-human ancestors danced behind waterfalls in a senseless frenzy, and since our antediluvian brethren made sacrifices of an endless amount of goods to self-created deities, all in an attempt to carry the favor of the random acts of fortune. For some, this part of the brain is vigorous, while in others the arteries seem to curve their flow around this area leaving it barren and unproductive.

The latter group excels at objectivity, while the former remains pinned down to their views of life everlasting and the reigning beneficence of an omnipotent universal force. Some can manage to be smart and escape the pitfalls of religions’ primal evolutionary purpose as a distraction to logic, and succeed at keeping both their faith and sensibility in check.

There is, however, a vast contingency that fails to keep their religious brain centers in check. There results a sort of shocking madness as ministers dance with venomous adders, and guzzle strychnine in the name of their deity. In circles that are slightly less fanatic, though equally fanatic, are the televangelists. Their followers open their wallets and hearts to God while communicating in tongues, and convulsing on the floor in fits as if they had taken a heroic dose of some strong drug intravenously. Falling prey to their twisted inhibitions, these people look to amass followers to participate in their cathartic experiences of divine bliss.

In most churches or large organized religions the practice is less extreme, generally because people have no true theological beliefs of their own, and only abide a religious organization through an appreciation of tradition. These people drag themselves to every weekly holy day, quietly complying with whatever it is the man in robes and the microphone tells them to do.

Other members of organized religion are there for the strict adherence to the laws of an ancient code of ethics, which they proudly proclaim is out of faith, and is for no real convincingly particular purpose considered sacred. ‘The Book’ is the pure and perfect instruction on how to live one’s life, and generally it isn’t quite the perfect book. There are some typical human mistakes and contradictions in it (Samuel 24.1-2 vs. Chronicles 21.1-2). But it isn’t a bad way to live; there are things that need frequent updating, but overall most of the instruction will lead to better living. On a whole, these books and the religion attached to them do fill some necessary voids that while some lack entirely others have in spades.

But what’s the true problem with religion? In many circumstances the desire to fulfill a sensual urge becomes like dynamite when mixed with other forces.

The right religion is a source of pride for many people, as much of a source as nationalism. When the universal tides of fortune are out on a loyal and devote zealot, then their beliefs are threatened.

The human beast is vain and more often than not, stubborn. Convinced they’re destined for something higher than what they have received they become motivated to take things into their own hands. Faith then blinds the reactionary mind into action. This was the kind of deadly fuel, not so much for Hitler but which certainly drove on his followers. The crusades were a 300-year testament to this form of madness, and then of course more recently we have 9-11 as an example of this.

Admittedly, human atrocities are carried out without the help of religion, but the more organized and unified the greater the capacity they have for potentially committing violence. This is why the necessity for personalizing spiritual beliefs is most important, rather than casting aside religion, like Friedrich Nietzsche or Lord Bertrand Russell, whose opinions were that religion is a worthless crutch and in all ways detrimental to human society.

There is good in a lot of religious beliefs, but it has to be drawn out by the individual and not an organization. I think this philosophy is fortunately prevailing, a sign of which are the world’s major religions beginning to subdivide into groups with vastly different beliefs. The smaller the groups the better off humanity is from religious persecution.

There should be a lot of thinking on the part of the individual on how they wish to go about treating the religious center in their brain; their own conclusion is the best religion.

Robert Carey is a Collegian columnist.