5 Simple Rules for Starting a New Age Religion

History is littered with examples of what works, and what doesn't, when it comes to organized religion.  I thought it'd be fun to theorize what traits a new age religion might have.  Many religions are having trouble growing a membership base in today's environment.  My guess is the more you align your new age religion with my 5 simple rules, the more people you'll find interested in your cause.  Throwout every preconceived notion you have about what religion is, and let's go back to basics.  Here's 5 rules for starting a new age religion...

No Money

At no point when making this religion will we make, or accept money, even if it's charitable.  It's not just about the natural greed, money has surrounding it.  By accepting money, religions are forced into certain decisions, which are counterproductive to being successful.  If I give your religion money, and others do to, what would you do with it?

Maybe you would open a bank account, and put the money in there.  Sounds reasonable to me.  So now your new age religion has a decision, about how to spend that money.  Who's going to make those decisions?   What are we going to spend the money on?

Accepting that money has forced you down a path, maybe you never wanted to go down.  You need a place to put that money.  You need people to spend it.  You need ways to spend it.

The only interest true religion has, is to spread it's word, so that as many people as possible, can benefit in a positive way.  If your message is a good one, naturally, the more people that believe it, the more the impact that positive message with have on humanity.  I have trouble seeing how mixing money into the equation is a net benefit for your new age religion.  Sure, you can have money to expand operations, but you also have to deal with business, which brings many negative implications, like needing a hierarchy, greed, corruption, and power.  Your religion doesn't need any of that involved, so let them keep their money.

No Churches


In order to have churches and locations, you would need money.  You don't have any.  You need to think outside the box in terms of organization.  The internet would be a perfect organizer for a new age religion.  You can find programs that can organize people, and make communicating easier, many for free.  The power of people networking, heavily believing in anything, is incredibly powerful.  If the message was clear, and positive enough, I'm sure your new age religion would grow easily.

As the religion grew, possibly some of the members would have locations or areas, that different people, in different places, could use to meet.  Volunteering land, time, a good laugh, or a shoulder to cry on, all seems safe to me.  While I can respect, and picture, a new age religion working strictly on the internet, meeting each other is important I think.  Bonds are more strongly built in person.  Your religion should have a sense of community, without ostracizing, non-members.

Whether you like it, or not, if you have locations and income, you may be a church, but you are also a business.  Your new age religion should understand to stay as far away from business as possible.

Sex Is Okay


If people are forced to restrict natural human emotions, you will always see something occur in society to counter-balance it, and it will be negative.  This happens both on an individual level, and in masses.  Marijuana is one example.  A certain amount of humans developed a want for marijuana.  Nobody decided for them that they liked it, but they tried it, and made the decision they wanted more in future.   An outside force comes along, that restricts that natural human emotion.  They lie about the effects, and make it illegal, to curb usage.  Our result?  Wide spread availability through a huge black market, generating zero taxes.  Gang, and turf wars.  Huge expenses through our judicial system.  Zero quality control.

Not exactly a success in my opinion.  Restricting natural human emotion, will equal negative consequences.  Ask a priest to restrict his natural human emotions, and I don't need to tell you the results.

Besides sex is okay, in fact, it's awesome!  My religion would make it very clear, that consensual sex, between two loving, mature people, would be encouraged.  If it feels good, and it doesn't hurt you, or anyone else, I say do it.   It's never been the sex anyone has had an issue with anyway.  They dislike young people having sex, teenage pregnancy, STDs, rape etc.  What does any of that actually have to do with sex?

I'm glad the age where when we didn't want our kids to do something, we just straight lied to them, appears to be over.  Kids are just too savvy, now days, too connected, to have the wool pulled over their eyes so drastically.  Lying to people, as an ends to justify the means, is wrong, and it just plain doesn't work.  Your new age religion will go without all that.

No Denouncing

Whatever your version is, you have to allow for others to have a different view, and you have to respect it.  We said above that "the only interest true religion has, is to spread it's word, so that as many people as possible, can benefit in a positive way".  This means of course, my new age religion has zero concern about what any religion is doing.  What that religion is off doing, and believing, has no interest to my new age religion.   All my religion cares about is spreading the word, and benefitting as many people as possible.

That means my religion will never say your religion is wrong.  It makes it impossible to have an us, versus them, mentality.  They have a right to believe whatever they want, and so do we.

I would say it's impossible for one religion to be mad at, or condemn another religion, would't you?  That sounds much more like a human emotion to me.  Your new age religion certainly won't make people feel stupid, for believing something different than you.

No Converting Pressure

If your religion is that life expanding, and awesome, you shouldn't need the hard sell.  What would you say if you saw a group of seemingly happy people, getting together for BBQs, playing games, and giving back to the community?  You probably be like, what are those guys doing?  Looks fun, maybe I'll see if I can join.

Let's not overcomplicate the process.  Your new age religion needs no sales pitch.  You're not trying to recruit, if it happens, it happens.  You will understandably be excited about your message, your people, and your own journey. Understand though, you aren't looking to impose your will, or pressure people in any way.

This means no weekend doorbell rings at 8am.  Have your new age religion simply present the information, and let the potential member make up their own mind.


Conclusion


I was going to suggest you formulate your new age religion's version of creation, based on science, and proven fact.  My thinking is it would be an easier sell in today's day and age, but I also realized in saying that, I was actually showing too much of my own personal bias, and an overall incorrect thinking.

Whether your religion even chooses to attempt to explain the universe's creation is totally up to you.  It's certainly not up to me, to tell you what to believe in.  Regardless of what explanation your new age religion can muster, it will never be as important as what your message for today is, and the action your new age religion takes. How your members behave will have much more of an impact on membership, than having the perfect answer, ever will.

The most important rule not listed is you have to have a respect for every single person, and creature on this planet, and their right to exist.  I can assure you, the God that created this wonderful world, doesn't play favourites.

I wrote these rules to help you avoid some of the pitfalls that might come with starting a new age religion.  I'm certain all religions started out with their compasses pointed due north.  Combine my rules, with a whole bunch of general happiness, love, and understanding, and I'd be shocked if your new age religion, can't both stand the test of time, as well as inspire millions.

The Contemporary Dating Game

If you are a Man, born after 1970, and have had even minor success dating women, I want you to reach your hand up over your head, and give yourself a pat on the back.  From a male perspective, the dating game of today, is the hardest it has been since the dawn of humanity.  There has never been a harder time in history to attain, and keep a mate.

Think about it for a second.  It wasn't until about 150 years ago a women voicing for equality, even began to be heard.   Before that, as unfair as it was, Women were essentially the property of the man who provided for them.  For the most part their needs were basic.  They needed protection, food, shelter, and probably in 4th place, love. 

Photo by DigitalArt

Woman were used to being provided for, and Men were used to doing the providing.  Fast forward to today, and things have completely changed, and for the better I might add.  These changes however, have not made the dating game easier for Men, but harder by an order of magnitude.

A whole new host of outside factors have been added to a Women quest for a mate, but those factors I'll call mental factors.  These are factors that through the social changes of society, woman have added to their list of things they want in a mate. 

These mental factors, are decided, not innate.  Shelter, protection, love etc, those are things women need innately. Things like prestige, money, job quality, appearance, are now being factored in a woman's decision when choosing a mate.  To me these new external factors, are ruining a Woman's ability to choose the right mate for them.

The right mate, is always the one that makes you the most happy day in and day out.  They give you love without holding back.  They listen.  They are strong when you need them to be.  They cheer you up when you are down.  You can trust, and rely on them.  You are enamored with them.

Those are the traits that all Women want in a Man, whether they know it or not.  Not only that, if a woman chooses their mate based on mental factors, rather than their innate ones, the relationship will fail eventually, guaranteed.  The very act of choosing your partner based on these mental factors, rather than what you feel innately is what I call, "building a house on sand".  I've seen many of these relationships in my life, many of them appear to be successful, but they were born by a either party selecting their mate by their own criteria, rather than allowing thousands of years of history to guide them.

I've seen these types of relationships a thousand times in my life.  An example would be the overly attractive female, with the pushover boyfriend.  He chose her because she was gorgeous, and he wanted prestige.  She chose him because he had money, or a car, or she could control him.  Clearly a relationship that should've been aborted right from the get go.  Humans are amazing at fooling themselves though, as well as staying with the status quo.  People try to turn these types of arrangments, into relationships, with devastating consequences.

Photo by DigitalArt

The house these people build, can be beautiful.  Their two wonderful children can be the windows.  Their matching Mercedes' can be the doors.  Their successful business can be the beautful landscaping.  The whole house they are constructing however, is built on sand.  Their relationship was born for the wrong reasons, meaning nothing they accomplish, or do, going forward will matter.  The very foundation the relationship was built on in the first place, is rotten, and no amount of renovating will fix that.

In my single days, I would read many online profiles.  Many would want specific things, like tall, attractive, non-smoker, good job, no drugs, must love dogs etc.  I always kind of chuckle to myself when I read these criteria, knowing that if any of these women met a short, broke, ugly, smoker, who hated animals, and he actually knew how to take care of a Woman, they would fall head over heels for him, and throw all those bullshit mental factors, right out the window.

Women all want the same thing, though with all the terrible decision making, it's really hard to tell.  Women want to be in love.  Not the bogus love, born out of circumstance, and mental factors, the real, "fuck me right now before I explode" type love.  This type of love can be given by anyone, to anyone, who has a clear, clean perspective, good morals, and an understanding of what it takes to please the other person.  It does not take into account, appearance, money, status etc. 

You are allowed to be confused in this dating game.  You'll find two types of Women out there these days.  Women who are completely in touch with what their real needs are, and know what kind of a man that can provide it, and others who are misguided, selecting mates based on mental factors, which really have no bearing on what's important to their overall happiness.  The simple female needs, are being drowned out, by these mental factors, and it's confusing the game for everyone.

Make sure you don't build your house on sand.