Zhihu: The Crown of Tokamak
Because those things called "materialism" actually castrate the essence of religion, leaving only the dregs and inefficiencies, and they commit mistakes that even religion dares not make, resulting in a subpar version of religion. How can a subpar version compete with the genuine article?
The essence of a successful religion often lies in its strong religious community. In any thriving religion, the religious community is generally not lacking, as it is the true material foundation and institutional guarantee of religion.
The religious community is essentially a grassroots self-organization based on shared customs, common understanding, and a collective social order. It is an important supplier of public goods, providing comprehensive social services ranging from laws and morals to welfare and relief, covering everything from marriage and funerals to local agreements and community regulations.
Taking welfare and relief as an example, in Islam, theoretically, a qualified mosque cannot refuse anyone entry. It is a basic tenet of Islam for the clergy to provide basic food and shelter for those seeking refuge. The poor can request relief from the mosque, while the wealthy have an obligation to donate to it.
Recently, there was a case in the country where a person, after undergoing gender reassignment surgery without informing their parents, was too afraid to go home. So, they decided to hide in a mosque, learning to pray and helping with cleaning and cooking. After more than a month of blending in, the parents reported their (now her) disappearance, and the police eventually found her in the mosque.
This level of relief is indeed not low.
Why are various armed groups in the Middle East extremely fervent and devout in their religion? Because the region has been plagued by war and devastation for years, leading to difficult living conditions and employment challenges. Many young people see no way out except for the relief provided by the mosque. The high level of relief in the Islamic religious community fosters a strong sense of identity among the youth, resulting in a situation where the poorer they are, the more devout they become, and the more devout they are, the more they engage in jihad.
Hamas is a typical example; it was initially established as a relief organization by a group of religious scholars. Although the princes do not dare to confront the West directly, they have not ceased to make substantial donations to various religious communities associated with armed organizations for decades, never being stingy.
Christianity is even more noteworthy; the modern welfare and relief efforts initially originated from the Christian church, and even the origins of modern medical and nursing professions are intricately linked to the church.
It has built a comprehensive, large-scale, tightly organized, and highly sophisticated charitable relief system, covering everything from basic food and shelter to surgical procedures, from end-of-life care to psychological therapy. Its level of relief has even extended beyond mere medical assistance to the realm of emotional value.
For example, among various church rock bands in the United States, there are quite a few high-level bands and works.
Church hospitals, church schools, and church cafeterias are flourishing worldwide, even maintaining a significant presence in the Middle East, the stronghold of Islam. The profession of nursing originally had much in common with that of nuns. In the 19th century, when lower-class soldiers were treated like cattle, the only ones willing to patrol the filthy, smelly barracks of wounded soldiers with a lantern were the clergy. The world's first global charitable organization was directly named the Red Cross.
To borrow a famous line from a certain priest in a Hong Kong film:
"I have been preaching here for over thirty years. They may not believe in Jesus, but if I tell them to kill, just ask them if they will do it."
Then there is Chinese Buddhism, which is also skilled in religious community and welfare relief.
Before the Three Religions and One Martial Art suppressed Buddhism, why did Chinese Buddhism develop into a de facto armed group of estate lords? Why did it absorb a large hidden population? Why did it annex vast amounts of land?
It's simple: although those monks wielded power, the officials of the court also wielded power. However, compared to the various harsh taxes and corvée labor imposed by the court, the rent collected by temples was relatively light. Therefore, many self-sufficient farmers chose to seek refuge in temples to avoid the court's heavy taxes and labor conscription, and they didn't have to serve corvée labor, which could be considered a form of social welfare.
This is called comparative advantage.
After the suppression of Buddhism by the Three Religions and One Martial Art, the social welfare content of Chinese Buddhism further increased, and attracting followers became a way to establish communities. The social functions undertaken by religious communities became increasingly diverse, including medical care, support for the widowed and orphaned, disaster relief, infrastructure development, cultural and artistic activities, celebrations, social morality, and even exorcism (which is essentially a form of psychological therapy).
When Zhu Yuanzhang could no longer survive, he could only become a monk, right? Even when begging, being a monk at least gives you a formal identity.
It's not that the social welfare provided by religion is particularly good, or that religious people are particularly noble; everything is relative.
If you compare yourself to those "materialists" next door, those folks are the ones who come into the village with machine guns and barbed wire to seize grain. When they fail to seize grain, they resort to using armored trains and poison gas against the resistance. Their tax rates are even higher than the most oppressive landlords. You should know that landlords wouldn't dare to seize seed grain because they at least fear disrupting the spring plowing, while the "materialists" would even take away your plowing oxen and chase away your chickens and ducks. If you can't pay, they angrily accuse you of being a rich peasant and a bad element, concocting various accusations against you.
Moreover, surviving religions, after years of development and enduring the trials of history and society, have gained experience in certain matters. For instance, idol worship and image worship are major taboos in most religions. In Christianity, this is called "idolatry," in Buddhism, it is referred to as "attachment," which falls under ignorance among greed, hatred, and ignorance. Islam is even more prohibitive, forbidding any images.
Now look at the "materialists." Statues, wax figures, marble statues are everywhere; oil paintings, prints, posters are hung everywhere, and they are just short of holographic projections.
What's even more outrageous is that idealistic religions understand that they must provide food and rice to preach to people. If there are no cakes or fish, why should anyone follow you? Yet the "materialists" talk about ideals and enlightenment, engaging in a grand display of willfulness. Religions even state that all those seeking refuge are welcome under the eaves of the mosque, even if they are heretics. However, the "materialists" classify people into different ranks, subdivide their backgrounds, and treat them differently.
Thus, it is evident that comparing "materialists" to religions is purely an overreach. The "materialists" are still in the stage of shamanistic beliefs or primitive tribal animism, which is hardly comparable to religion.