citizenship is a real thing, or even that most ethnicities exist.^27 These are all
socially constructed beliefs that we’ve all bought into, taken on faith.
The problem with evidence and ideologies is that humans have a tendency
to take a little bit of evidence and run with it, generalizing a couple of simple
ideas to entire populations and the planet.^28 This is our human narcissism at
work—our need to invent our self-importance, our Feeling Brain run amok.
So, even though ideologies are subject to evidence and verification, we’re not
exactly good at verifying them.^29 Humanity is so vast and complex that our
brains have trouble taking it all in. There are too many variables. So, our
Thinking Brains inevitably take short-cuts to maintain some otherwise shitty
beliefs. Bad ideologies such as racism or sexism persist due to ignorance far
more than malice. And people hold on to those bad ideologies because, sadly,
they offer their adherents some degree of hope.
Ideological religions are difficult to start, but they are far more common
than spiritual religions. All you have to do is find some reasonable-sounding
explanation for why everything is fucked and then extrapolate that across
wide populations in a way that gives people some hope, and voilà! You have
yourself an ideological religion. If you’ve been alive for more than twenty
years, surely you’ve seen this happen a few times by now. In my lifetime
alone there have been movements in favor of LGBTQ rights, stem cell
research, and decriminalizing drug use. In fact, a lot of what everyone is
losing their shit about today is the fact that traditionalist, nationalist, and
populist ideologies are winning political power across much of the world, and
these ideologies are seeking to dismantle much of the work accomplished by
the neoliberal, globalist, feminist, and environmentalist ideologies of the late
twentieth century.
Interpersonal Religions
Every Sunday, millions of people come together to stare at an empty green
field. The field has white lines painted on it. These millions of people have all
agreed to believe (on faith) that these lines mean something important. Then,
dozens of strong men (or women) plod onto the field, line up in seemingly
arbitrary formations, and throw (or kick) around a piece of leather. Depending
on where this piece of leather goes and when, one group of people cheers, and
the other group of people gets really upset.
Sports are a form of religion. They are arbitrary value systems designed to
give people hope. Hit the ball here, and you’re a hero! Kick the ball there, and
you’re a loser! Sports deify some individuals and demonize others. Ted
Williams is the best baseball hitter ever, and therefore, according to some, an
American hero, an icon, a role model. Other athletes are demonized for