Is It a Religion?

I do not consider myself a religious person much. Raised a Catholic, I soon stumbled upon science and thought it would be a far more satisfying way to interpret the confusing world around me. In hindsight, I admit science has not made me very happy.

Although I now consider my belief in science to be a huge mistake, once science is your master, the suggestion that there’s a god becomes rather silly. There’s no way back, really. Science dictates that the best theory of anything is the one that explains the thing with the least unproven assumptions. And assuming there’s some higher entity governing the universe is not only far-fetched, if not ridiculous, but also unnecessary, as science can quite easily explain matters without it. Well, not quite, but we’re getting there.

Still, it would seem we all need to believe in something beyond our grasp, in order to avoid suffocating in a vacuum devoid of meaning. We need to fool ourselves into believing there is some meaning, somehow. Or to at least distract ourselves from the depressing notion that we’re just random machines capable of nothing but what we’re programmed to do. It’s not a happy universe, but it’s mine. And in many ways Deconstruction has become my religion. If Deconstruction has proven anything, it’s that it really doesn’t matter what you believe in, as long as you can believe in it. Even the seemingly meaningless act of collecting objects, taking them apart and rearranging the parts in a photograph can be a goal giving someone’s life an illusion of meaning where there really is none. So yes, Deconstruction is a religion. It’s my personal religion, giving my life meaning and at times making me sort of happy.

Update: I’ve found an even better religion, which is simply existing. It’s very zen or apathetic, just sit and watch the world go by. I’m happy.