CONVERSATIONS IN THE PANTHEON - The Truth about God and Religion

Religion, Morality and Pascal's Wager

Mary: To scientists and engineers, Blaise Pascal, a philosopher, mathematician and physicist who lived in the seventeenth century, is known for Pascal's law of pressure. To theologians and philosophers, he's known for Pascal's Wager.

As humans, we have to decide whether to believe or not to believe in a god: any god. We have no choice. Everyone has to make a decision. Pascal's Wager was quite simple. It's like flipping a coin. Heads, the gods exist and tails, they don't. If one chooses heads one could win everlasting life. On the other hand, if one chooses tails one could miss out on it. If it turns out that the gods don't exist, there is no loss incurred with either outcome. Therefore, everyone chooses to believe. Missing out on everlasting life is just too risky to wager against the gods. Fear of missing out overwhelms rationality.

Thomas: In stating that there's no loss for believers, if the gods don't exist, suggests that there's no harm done by living a lie. Clearly, living a religious life, in fear of one or more gods, limits one's potential for happiness on earth. So, there is a price to pay for false belief. On the other hand, if the gods exist, who's to say that non-believers would be denied everlasting life? We have only the Church's word on that; and, based on their track record, it's not worth the paper it's written on. Nevertheless, for the majority of people, Pascal's wager holds true, and the Church knows that. That's why they have a thriving business. How big is the business of religion?

Mathew: The US Congressional Budget Office estimated that religions get tax breaks from all levels of government upwards of eighty billion dollars per year. These estimates were for 2013 and they're likely higher now. In any case, in addition to individual religious donations, each taxpayer in the US pays another $250 per year in religious subsidies. And how much does the average American donate to the church directly? The number estimated by a professor of sociology and religion at Hartford Seminary is $433 per person per year, but could be higher today. For example, the Mormon Church of Canada has about 200,000 members and has revenues of roughly $200 million per year, or about $1000 per member per year. Other churches probably have similar numbers, but let's assume that it's only $500 per person per year.

The three largest religions (Christianity, Islam and Hinduism) have membership of about 2.1, 1.3 and 0.9 billion, respectively. The total is 4.3 billion members, which means that these three churches alone bring in about $2 trillion dollars per year. Religion is big business by any yardstick.

Thomas: Don't expect them to come clean on the knowledge that humans created the gods. Churches are hypocritical but not suicidal!

Mathew: Pope Francis is not only the head of the Catholic Church, but also the head of the Vatican state, a corporation that owns the eponymous city state and a vast array of real estate, businesses and financial investments throughout the world. One hundred and fifty years ago, Pope Pius IX ruled over a much larger territory known as the Papal States. In this region of Italy, he was both head of the church as well as head of the army that defended it and head of the government that ruled it. He was also the last to do so.

During the Italian reunification struggle, this region came under attack. It's citizens wanted to be free of the church's autocratic yoke. The pope's reaction was to fight, and published a document called Syllabus of Errors, in which he denounced eighty tenets of modern society, such as liberalism, democracy, civil rights, naturalism and rationalism. He believed that his autocratic government best served his subjects because he knew what was good for them!

Needless to say, His Syllabus was heavily criticized, so he convened the first Vatican Council, which after lengthy and tumultuous deliberations gave him what he wanted – papal infallibility.