I don't normally write much about psychology.

While it's very interesting to hear about, reading

at length about it always seems to put me to sleep. There's no question that studying people's mental
functions and behavior can be deeply insightful; but at times it can be painfully boring. On the subject
of religion, however, psychology has a lot to say, and you really need to hear it.

A recent study had some very enlightening things to say about the relationship between our
beliefs, and our Gods' beliefs. This study demonstrated what lots of us on the outside of religion have
observed for a long time: the views and beliefs of people are routinely projected onto their Gods. This
is not exactly groundbreaking by any means, but stick with me as I expand on the subject as it relates to
the institution and maintenance of religions, and as I poke at what's underneath the hood of the vehicle
that gets those shared beliefs from point A to point B.

Psychology tells us that we have a nasty habit of wildly projecting our inner qualities, ideas, and
motivations out into the world (we will focus on one type of projection, that is the habit of projecting
qualities we are aware of). As a result of this, and other factors, we hardly see the outside existence for
what it truly is; we see it through a filter, a conceptual framework, that is supposed to help us sort out
what we're taking in. One problem with this lens is that it can only attribute known qualities, it doesn't
have a comprehensive database of information to draw from, so it cannot attribute unknown qualities.
In other words, this method of organization is reliant on our knowledge, we will never attach to a
person a quality of which we have no understanding. We will never think of a person as “slotted” or
“paved”, that would be silly, we ascribe to others qualities that we are familiar with, like “young” or
“old”. Another problem is that we find it difficult to change our labels, even if we have really
compelling reasons to; think of a diehard DC shoe fan replacing his third pair this year. These habits
have a direct effect on our world view. Take an example from human to human relations: the very
instant we meet someone, we start making all kinds of qualitative judgments about them; it assists us in
understanding others and deciding the best ways of relating to them. Sometimes we're aware of this
habit, but mostly it passes by without registering to us. We do the same thing with all kinds of objects:
blankets, lemonade, dentist's tools, and chalk boards; all those things have significant subjective
qualities attached to them. Our world is vibrating with people's ideas about the things contained in it,
these ideas are whizzing past each other in the air as they bounce from item, to person, to concept, and
finally back into our minds for assimilation.

One common problem we run into is that we all see one thing in many different ways. We spend
a fair amount of energy foolishly extending our consciousness to all kinds of silly things, in doing so
we cover the truth up. Take the example of the government: to some it's a stern father figure, dishing
out heavy handed punishment, setting firm limits, and being a bit cold or uncaring about our more
sensitive stuff; to others the state is a nurturing figure, a maternal supporter that is more likely to give
ground than to assert authority on contested issues. To me it's just a not-so-disguised version of the
Mafia. In fact, it's pretty damn hard to talk about the state without sounding as if you're talking about
the Godfather. Given these different views, it follows that when we debate about functions and
methodologies of the state, we find ourselves at odds about what they should control, and how they
should control it. A great book can be had (for free!) on this very subject, written by one of those
psychologist types named Bob Altemeyer, a professor from Canada.

The very same things apply to our religions, and our Gods. Even within a specific faith we can
see vastly different practices, that may help explain the 38,000 or so Christian denominations we have.
Some of those types are hard nosed, while others are all mushy with Jesus-love and all that sort of
thing; this begs the question of why? Why is the God of Abraham simultaneously happy and bereaved
about the death of American soldiers? Why is Jesus known to some as the nicest possible person, but to
others he's a little less than ideal due to the fact that he supported slavery? It seems as though our habit
of seeing things how we want to see them isn't contained to everyday things, it even extends to
imaginary items or abstract concepts. There must be a mind boggling amount of different opinions
about, say, the qualities of the Islamic dogmas – and no small amount of those will be incompatible. To
some, the beating of women for explicitly religious reasons is something that is to be expected, others
try to not think about it, while some are rightfully repulsed by it. So we can see that our religions and
dogmas are a tangled mess of out-of-control ideas and transpersonal qualities; just how are we going to
sort this mess out?

I've heard a few suggestions about how to clean this stinking mess up, for starters we have to
identify what we're throwing out there; we have to pin down exactly what's ours and what's theirs. This
is hardly easy to do, but it's worthwhile; when you strip away the layers of falsely attributed nonsense
from people you can begin to see them for who they really are, and that is nothing but awesome.
Having a clear understanding of people and how you relate to them will lead to much better
relationships: say goodbye to misunderstandings, useless bickering, abuse, and feelings of resentment
for any variety of reasons. It also serves another, less talked about, function: by accurately identifying
liars and manipulators, we protect ourselves from letting them form our thoughts to their prejudices; it
seems like we're given a decent toolbox for identifying the abusers, but our projections can blind us –
or at least cloud our judgment long enough to let them do their damage. Learning the traits and tactics
of con-artists is a common sense approach to bolstering defenses against them, learning to identify a
manipulator before they can push their agenda is only enhanced by doing an accurate accounting of
traits; that is to say we have to cut through our projections of morality and virtue and see what the
person before us is truly made of.

Another step in the process is to take responsibility for our projections. Once we've singled
them out, we have to be honest about where they come from, and how they got there. It won't do any
good to identify one of these buggers and then explain it away, or digress into thinking you're not to
blame for this false attribution. We simply have to step up and account for our crazy thoughts. Next
time you get fired up about a certain politician making a certain statement, stop and think about why
you're getting irked. You may find there are some mind tricks going on since strong emotions are a
telltale sign of one of our mistakes. You can't try to hold a person to a different standard than the one
they live by without driving yourself mad in the process; at that point you have to realize, and accept,
that the problem isn't them – it's you. By projecting a pattern of behavior or values onto another we set
ourselves up to be disappointed when they don't conform to them. The sooner you stop deluding
yourself about the cause of your problem, the sooner you can get it sorted out. Realize that the heat is
coming from your grinding gears, and be realistic about resolving the issue.

Take a look around, you can routinely see people beating their heads against the wall in
frustration for all kinds of silly reasons: their boss is an idiot, their husband is a jerk, Obama is a liar, no
one respects the traditional values anymore, and God is allowing some terrible things to happen to
undeserving people. This stuff can come from, and can be maintained by, a fault of perception: your
boss doesn't base all his decisions on your opinions, your husband is not emotionally built to suit all
your desires, Obama is just another promise maker in a long line of bullshitters, we have never had a
universal set of values that every single person observed, and when it comes to God you're sending
your letters to the wrong address. Realize that these are just your wayward thoughts stuck onto
imperfect people, and your thoughts tossed out into an empty sky. There is great beauty and lasting
peace to be had by removing your mind matter from places it doesn't belong: the flag, the state, the
electorate, the television, the clergy, and the Gods.
 Great strides will be made when we're able to show people their errors, and we move past the
irrational tendency to keep making those mistakes simply because we don't notice what we're doing, or
because they keep us comfortable, or even because we've been told to keep them around by people that
don't have our best interests in mind. Coming to terms with objective reality is a really tough thing to
do when it pertains to our most sacred beliefs; but if you care about truth you have to test all your
elements against the best tools we have for reducing errors: evidence, reason, empiricism, the scientific
method. If you want to hold a rational world view you have to have the humility to submit your
commonly held opinions to the test.