After all, Religion is a man made concept.
No offense is meant by this, but this subject is important enough not to mince words about.
I personally find this concept to be puerile and somewhat superficial.
Have you examined all religious beliefs, in depth, to arrive to this conclusion?
Just as in all sweeping and blind generalizations there is, of course, some real element of truth to it. But the element of truth is accidental, whereas the element of absurdity is essential here.
It is demonstrably obvious that a good deal of what people consider "religion" has an artificial socially generated aspect to it, of course. But there are principles and there are manifestations and to simply state without justification that the entirety of religious phenomena are man made is simply ignorant. Religion and spirituality consist of a good deal more than what you may perceive, particularly in the pre-modern world. The social aspects of a spiritual ecumen organized around the principles of a formal religion are secondary to the actual principles involved.
The principles of religion itself are of non-human origin, they are not man made, and the only segment of humanity that persistently asserts otherwise has done so much damage to the world in the name of their non-religion that a reasonable person can safely dismiss the view.
...and most of those who make such statements simply assume as such on the basis of a secular world-view whose very axioms they rarely question.
Ever. Really.
The idea that in 40,000 years of the history of homo sapiens, mankind has been not only so profoundly dimwitted, but also so profoundly delusional, as to be unaware that that which all pre-modern traditional non-Western human beings valued highest above all things, the rites and beliefs that tied them, they believed, to their god or gods; that such beliefs were the results of human invention… this is a severe indictment of the intelligence and spiritual sense of all of humanity
The one making this claim should bring for real evidence of her own; and the idea that “all religions contradict each other” is not proof for it is demonstrably essentially false, and shown thusly by the sheer commonality of certain beliefs, symbols, and fundamental principles. It is true that exoteric expressions of specific historical faiths often contradict each other to degrees but is one so blind as to miss those things in which they are all in agreement? Or so superficial as to be unable to examine how such contradctions are often simply contingent on historical processes of decay and involution, and how many religions in their earlier primal phases resemble each other more closely?
That idea also reflects a form of muddle thinking; and expressed on a forum full of people attempting to find an operative spirituality in the middle of the wasteland of modern Western materialism… is troublesome, and disturbing.
The mindset behind this statement is the same mindset that has led to the destruction of our natural environment, of a good deal of the spiritual treasures of humanity (hence people here are on a web forum dedicated to rediscovering that which 12 year old primal aborigines can do without effort), and the invention of the nuclear bomb.
The ability to do neat astral tricks is on a different order than understanding, truly understanding, metaphysical principles and seeing to the essence of finitie religious forms. One can have a good deal of psychic development while being spiritually undeveloped. I argue that anyone who can not see the eternal principles in a religious form has a lot of good-natured self-work to do on themselves.
These are also sweeping generalizations on my part, of course, but I trust my point is taken. These sort of statements about "the flaws in religion" reflect a massive arrogance typical to secular modern and post-modern westerners that is not grounded
A question, and a well meant and well intentioned one. Have you ever read any Rene Guenon? I recommend it, his writings do challenge some worldviews but have a rigor to them. Anyone who rigidly holds the party line that "religion is a man made concept" should at least challenge that view of theirs by reading articulate arguments to the contrary.
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