One often hears of alcoholism or other addiction disorders as being "diseases." Personally, I've always had a problem with that statement.
A disease is generally something that you can catch, like herpes. It's often something that just happens in our bodies, like cancer. Typically, it is not something self-inflicted.
Depression is often labeled a disease, but it's a chemical imbalance in the brain. One doesn't contract it from someone or something. It's not a disease any more than vitamin deficiency is. Once again, we're met with a situation where words are interchanged when they shouldn't be.
But what does this have to do with religious fanaticism? That's easy. Religious fanaticism has all the signs of being an addiction disorder, just like alcoholism, just like compulsive gambling, just like being hooked on crack.
While it's true that some people are born with a predisposition to addictive behavior, the addiction doesn't "just happen." People don't contract it from bacteria or viruses, but by repeatedly engaging in the behavior, whether it's drinking, gambling, or religion. And the addicts eventually need their fix, whether it's Cuervo, Craps, or Christ. The religious addict can't get through the day without engaging heavily in their faith.
See the correlation?
But, like the above-mentioned addiction disorders, religious fanaticism can be cured in the same way. To mangle a Nike phrase: Just Don't Do It.
I'm not saying it's an easy road, kicking an addiction. Ask any recovering alcoholic, for example. But the first step is to simply quit consuming the addictive substance.
Of course, the best way to ensure not becoming addicted to any of these is to not even start. To alter another familiar phrase: DARE to Think for Yourself.
Just Say No to Religion.
