Virgin MaryOne of the most powerful aspects of religion, well organized religion, is the sense of community.  Religion seems to be the exception that proves the rule of the wisdom of crowds.  If you are surrounded by people who all believe something, it’s very easy to just go along with it.  It’s like peer pressure in school.  People like to be in crowds, its an aspect of our evolution.  Strength in numbers.

Of course, we know from organised religion that going with the flow is not always wise. It sometimes has disastorous effects.  For example, where people are staring into the sun after being told an image of The Virgin Mary had appeared there.  Like with most organised religious groups, where there is also a distinct lack of common sense, the outcome isn’t good.  Around 50 people lost their sight in the incident.  Some would surely argue that if they had opened their eyes to the madness around them, this could have been avoided.

So please, don’t just blindly follow, question everything.