Dogma is a depressing topic for me. I grew up in a catholic household and as such was taught all the normal stories about Jesus and God and the like, but even then it wasn't as bad as some of the other people in our congregation since my parents also encouraged me to learn about other things which conflicted with certain church teachings. When I was about sixteen I think that my being an agnostic/atheist finally took hold, as I realized that the teachings of the church didn't make sense. I feel even more strongly about this now. As I have grown older and have gained more access to information about the world I realized that the church isn't a force for good, just for its own propagation. This isn't to say that they don't do any good, I just think that the people in charge have other priorities.
Dogma isn't a catholic specific thing. I once had a very depressing conversation with a religious fanatic type that was protesting where I went to college. He belonged to a non denominational church that believed that the bible was 100% literal truth. It wasn't depressing because he believed in god or was stupid or anything, but because when I talked to him I saw a physical change which indicated dogma taking over. We had been talking about evolution and I suggested that maybe God, being a metaphysical being and all, couldn't interact with the world in a very direct manner, and that maybe he nudged evolution in a direction that created people. I thought, at the time, that this would at the very least open him up to the idea that evolution was a possibility. He said that it made sense and we talked about it for a few minutes until I saw his face change to a stern expression and he said that it didn't match with the bible, and therefore didn't happen. This was a heartbreaking thing for me to see. I had, somewhat foolishly, thought that people could easily engage in a discussion and come to a consensus based on mutual understanding. Unfortunately, extenuating circumstances can make this very hard to accomplish.
I have a problem with organized religion for this reason. I don't care if people believe in a god or gods, but in the face of evidence contradicting them, fanatics will completely ignore it and that's a problem. This isn't a problem just in religion either. Religion was just my first experience with it. Its a big thing in America, and I am sure it happens in a lot of other places, that politicians cannot be "flip-floppers". Opponents will constantly throw this accusation around at each other as evidence of them being untrustworthy, weak willed, or both. Here's the thing though: if you have an ideology and you see evidence that shows that your beliefs; be they religious, scientific, or political, are wrong, or misguided, not adjusting your views based on that new information is wrong and very dangerous. In the political world this feeds into way more fucked up territory,where people will side against someone, completely ignoring evidence, because they are on opposite sides of the aisle. They reinforce this by creating an extreme political dogma, to which only strict adherents of, are allowed to remain in power. Those who fail to tow the party line are then continuously replaced by more and more zealous elements. Unfortunately, this radicalizing of political ideology results in a manic power struggle that forbids any kind of productivity. And when nothing gets done things can only get worse.
Not looking at evidence and making the best decisions for the citizenry, and instead "sticking to your guns" is hurting the country. This happens to both major parties and as long as we have a fear of change it will never go away. Fear of change is the ultimate reason that this behavior persists. People who invest a lot of energy into a practice don't want to feel as if the energy was wasted so they fight to make it work. But change is inevitable. Physics says so; even with information. You can fight against it, but it will always beat you in the end. Failing to adapt is the best way to ensure that your way of life/beliefs die out.
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