Religion

 is  the  Opium  of  the  People,  

My  Aunt  Fanny  
 

 
 
By  Jane  Gilgun  
 

R  
eligion  is  the  opium  of  the  people?  Whoever  said  that  has  no  idea  what  religion  is.  
People  throughout  the  world  live  their  lives  according  to  what  is  deep  within.  They  
stay  faithful  to  a  sense  of  what  is  right.    
 
Their  fidelity  to  love,  justice,  care,  themselves,  and  others  affronts  those  who  want  
everything  for  themselves  and  nothing  for  everyone  else.  Some  who  are  affronted  kill  or  
want  to  kill  in  order  to  keep  what  they  have,  or  maybe  they  just  rape  and  molest,  or  give  a  
few  whacks  on  the  head,  a  bit  of  physical  intimidation,  a  good  verbal  lashing,  or,  if  they  
really  are  in  the  groove,  buy  some  politicians  to  do  their  bidding.  Big  me,  little  you.  I’m  on  
top.  They  do  whatever  works  to  get  what  they  want.  They  find  selfishness  most  satisfying.    
 
Those  who  stay  faithful  to  love,  justice,  care,  themselves,  and  others  know  we  are  in  this  
together.  They  might  not  require  organized  religion  to  guide  them,  but  that  is  what  
organized  religion  is  about  when  you  strip  away  the  gold-­‐trimmed  robes,  some  stained  
with  semen,  the  jewel  encrusted  miters,  the  hats  big  and  tiny,  the  hubris  of  declaring  
themselves  God’s  mediators  to  the  people  when  the  people  require  no  such  mediation  but  
only  require  openness  to  the  benevolent  presence.  
 
Religion  is  not  the  opium  of  the  people.  Tyranny  cloaked  in  what  tyrants  say  is  religion  is  
opium  if  religion  tells  people  to  do  nothing  and  accept  as  God’s  will  their  unfilled  desires  to  
feed,  clothe,  and  house  themselves  and  their  children  when  tyrants  have  so  much.  
 
Those  who  are  faithful  to  love,  justice,  care,  themselves,  and  others  upset  that  order  simply  
by  their  fidelity.  Sometimes  they  have  full  knowledge  of  consequences  of  their  fidelity.  
They  are  faithful  anyway.  
 
They  do  what  organized  religion  could  do  and  sometimes  does.  
 
Faith-­‐based  values  as  opium?  Not  according  to  my  Aunt  Fanny.