On religion

Religion is a type of morality. In fact, it is a morality that is different to the one described above, because its basic terms of reference are different: morality is based on regulation, whereas religion is based on holy texts. These two moralities, therefore, have developed independently within states. At times they have had a harmonious relationship, when their texts of reference have been the same, and at other times a conflicting one, meaning that each insisted on its own solution as to what individuals (in fact, the very same individual) should do. The reason why two types of morality exist in parallel in each state is due to the fact that, from humanity’s beginning (or at least its recorded history) until a few hundred years ago, each served a very different purpose: religion was humans’ only way to discover the law of Nature (see also §20.00.03), whereas morality was the outcome of regulation to manage human relationships. Of course, with each passing century each type of morality gained depth as a result of human progress, that is, humanity’s increase of its information processing capacity; and religion unavoidably developed its own moral code (humans need to control Nature anyway, see §20.00.03). After the Enlightenment, religion was replaced by science; however, its moral code, developed over thousands of years, often through indescribable pain and bloodshed, remained in place.

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