My entire life I have been certain of my Atheist beliefs. Although I went to a Church of England (CoE) primary school, sat and sang religious songs in our assembly and ended prays with Amen, I don’t ever recall thinking any of it was real. My mum and dad kept their religious beliefs such a secret that even now I struggle to know if they have any. This was to ensure that I found my own way through these questions of faith. The only time I ever remember thinking about religion or coming close to changing my mind on the subject was six months ago, and once in primary school when I swore at a teacher under my breath and was convinced for one night that I might go to hell for it.
Six months ago, in the twilight years of my twenties, I found myself questioning my Atheist beliefs. Now, I want it to be clear I never walked over the line of a certain religion, I never planted my flag on a side. After all, organised religion is one of the reasons why I think I kept myself as far away from the concept of faith. However, in this continuing period of potential conversion, I did questioned everything, and am continuing to do so even now. Do I believe in a higher power? Do I think there is any truth in the Bible or Quran? What happens when we die? Is Buddhism a religion or philosophy? What is Sikhism? What would I like to happen when we die? Do I believe in evil, or good? Is energy and consciousness our God(s)? You know, the good stuff.
While shocked by my new found potential ‘faith’, I also took time to self reflect on why I was feeling this way. Perhaps I was depressed? Was there a death that had awoken my spiritual conscience? Was I bored and seeking something to entertain me? Has there been any religious influence on me recently? Perhaps a T.V. show was playing at my subconscious? I couldn’t think of anything directly linked to my new questioning of faith… except perhaps my lack of guidance.
I’ve been looking to better my life these past two years. Seeking to become more organised, find a career I will be able to put my entire life and energy into, seek love and travel the world. So, where did I look for guidance? I looked online of course. Here among the archives of philosophical video clips and self help motivational speakers I found Dr Jordan Peterson. A man who spoke about organising your mind, having obtainable goals and seeking greatness from small beginnings. I was hooked, I followed his every word and absorbed his rules into my own life. And with this, I fell deeply into the dark pit of online Gurus.
In this blog I will be exploring the possibility that online Gurus have replaced religion, or at least helped those no longer practicing religion find guidance. This blog will be split into 4 sections
- Religion today (The day the music died)
- Why we need guidance and what is a Guru (How long shall they kill our prophets while we stand aside and look)
- Five main purposes of religion (What is religions place in society?)
- What do online Gurus provide faithless people in todays society. Have they become the new aged prophet?
The day the music died – Don McLean
It is incredibly difficult to track the percentage of religious worshipers across the world as it is a very flued question. How do we define our religion when confronted with the question, are you religious? Some people are all in on a religion, drawing a line in the sand and choosing their side. Others are less hesitant to put their names in the God box. Perhaps they were brought up a Hindu but haven’t worshiped in years, maybe they still value the teaching of their birth religion but no longer have spiritual connection to the God(s). What about people like me who are questioning their beliefs or don’t align to a particular religious organisation. How about those that pray to many God(s) Neo-paganism, a religious growing rapidly across the Western world.
Having said that, lets look at the stats a figures given to us by online data bases to get a grasp on this new age downfall of religious ideologies. According to The British Academy church attendance had dropped by 1.5 – 2 million since 1980 in England. Additionally a graph by the Faith Survey declares that attendance has quartered in Roman Catholics by 2015 and halved by Church of England attendees.
Of course, this doesn’t reflect religious beliefs, you can believe in Allah, or Jesus or Ganesh without attending the local Mosque, Church or Mandir. On a one to God basis it is almost impossible to keep track of the real numbers when it comes to religious beliefs. However, from the statistics shows at the U.K. 2021 census 37.2% of responders identify as ‘no religion’. A rabidly larger proportion from the 2011 statistic 25% of the U.K. population identified as non religious. Yet it is hard to take this census seriously when 0.7% of the U.K.s population stated they were Jedi in 2001. Surpassing major world religions such as Judaism and Buddhism.
Of course this only reflects the U.K. in this instance, the rest of the world maybe seeing a growth in religious belief. I know that South America for example is the leading continent in Catholics, the middle east is still majorly Muslim, and India still has the majority of Hindu worshipers.
How long shall they kill our prophets while we stand aside an look – Bob Marley.
It is hard to determine the accurate decline of religion across the world, however we can to some degree track a major fall of worship between 1980 – present day within the United Kingdom, and most of the Western world. But what has filled this void? Because it is my opinion that we human beings need guidance and meaning in our lives. Be it religion, career, family or society, we must feel or have been taught to feel the need for order within our world.
Why do I think that? Well, look at what order brings to our lives, compared to what confusion, chaos and undetermined mystery can offer. For example, we like having financial security, it brings us peace of mind knowing that we will not be burdened by a future of uncertainty and potential crisis. We also like having relationship security in our social lives, knowing that we have other human beings around us to support us in times of need and offering us a sense of purpose and connection. Without it, we would feel unpopular, a burden on those around us, vulnerable to attack, be it physical or mental. Why then, would we be settled in a state of spiritual neglect and spiritual ambiguousness?
Surely our spiritual nourishment is as important as our social and financial needs. So what has replaced our need for spiritual guidance? Well if you ask me, its internet ‘Gurus’.
I use the word ‘Guru’ loosely. I do not deem these internet personalities Gurus, I only use the term as it fits the religious aspect of this argument nicely. A Guru, according to our trusty online dictionary, is both ‘a person that is generally recognised as a teacher or leader. A person with knowledge and expertise’ and or ‘A personal religious and spiritual guide in Hinduism’.
Obviously I am not stating that Brett Cooper or Andrew Tate are legitimate Hindu gurus, however, they are often treated as such by their followers. Each of the ‘people ‘Gurus’ I have and have mention in this blog have extensive groups of individuals who watch them on a daily basis and follow by their example. Candace Owens for example posted a video two hours ago (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_dLeLg_nNQ) and already has more viewership than church mass across England on a average Sunday. Jordan Petersons most viewed video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-wWBGo6a2w) has almost triple the amount of viewers than Sunday Church attendees in the U.K. in 1980 (According to the graph above).
What is religions place in society?
Lets be clear, this is not a section on if God is real, nor is it about which religion is the ‘right one’. This is discussing religions place in our society in an attempt to find out what connections, if any, these Gurus have with religion. What void have they filled within out diminishing religious society?
According to the sociology department at Minnesota University religion serves society in five fundamental ways;
- Giving meaning and purpose to life.
- Reinforcing social stability and unity.
- Serving as an agent of social control of behaviour.
- Promoting physical and psychological well being.
- Motivating people to work for positive social change.
(https://open.lib.umn.edu/sociology/chapter/17-3-sociological-perspectives-on-religion/)
Of course there are plenty of solid arguments for other uses religion has within society. Some state that without it our moral judgement would be warped. It is also suggested that our justice system is heavily influenced by religion and without it, we would be living in anarchy and lawlessness.
What, if anything, have these online Gurus brought to the table that has replaced religion?
Giving meaning and purpose to life & motivating people to work for positive social change.
Now lets examine each of these five points and see if any of them fit into the role of our online Gurus. Starting off with ‘giving meaning and purpose for life’. Lets take the OG, Dr Jordan Peterson for this retrospective.
Dr Petersons online presence has been the most radical for change, in comparison to all the other Gurus mentioned thus far. Once a prestigious an well renowned lecturer at the University of Toronto, Canada. Petersons life took a turn for fame, after viral videos of him dismantling new-aged liberal ideologies on gender, sex, race and Bill C-16. Now, he is a Podcaster and Youtube sensation who preaches God and the mysterious and complex underline mythos of religious texts. Comparing the stories of Jesus with modern day life. In a sense giving meaning and purpose to modern life by using old religious stories…. If that isn’t enough to convince you of his placement within religions old footsteps in today society I don’t know what will. Alas, I will continue anyway.
Petersons provides the role of both teacher and preacher. Not only providing meaning and purpose, but teaching us how to function as human beings. There is a running joke on the internet about Jordan’s fascination on cleaning your room and making your bed. The memes play on the fact that Jordan thinks making your bed in the morning is the first step to world domination. Of course this is highly exaggerated, as most memes are, but the premise of his lesson is there. Bed making is about creating meaning in your life. Finding order in chaos, finding purpose by organising your life before tackling the bigger issues. This lesson gifted from Jordan Peterson mirrors the Doctrine & Covenants 88:119 that preaches;
“Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God.”
Dr Peterson suggests modern solutions to find meaning and purpose. His books ’12 Rules for Life’ and ‘Beyond Order’ are both bibles to help its readers find their own purpose, and how to reach those goals in a modern setting. Dr Peterson could be seen as a figure head for all five of these ‘fundamentals of religion’. Motivating people to work for positive social change, much like a rabbi would to their Jewish followers, or perhaps a Shifu in Buddhism. Highlighting the importance of exercise and psychological wellbeing though his motivational speaking and self help books. Reinforcing stability and unity within his speculated libertarian right political alignment by creating communities on both Youtube and Peterson Academy. The list goes on.
From a personal retrospective of Dr Peterson’s influence on my journey. I must admit, his influence before Jesus preaching was far more powerful than the new religious preaching he has gone on to do. I enjoyed watching his lectures on power, wealth, narcissism, bed making and self help. He spoke to me as an individual without the curtain of religious teachings. He is the only person on this list that gave genuine life advice. However, after his illness and finding Jesus I felt he no longer served a purpose in my life and lost interest in him. He did, provide for me in a time of uncertainty guidance and a sense of meaning and purpose.
Reinforcing social stability and unity.
The second service of religion in our society is reinforcing social stability and unity. For this section, I’d like to nominate Candace Owen a ‘commentator’, whatever that means. She is a conservative Youtube voice that makes short videos reacting to left wing drama. Often responding to LGBTQ+ videos with educated, witty and well articulated remarks, landing herself in controversy on a weekly basis. She is the founder of Blaxit, a organisation dedicated to Black conservatism. She is famous for having ‘beef’ with A list celebrities, such as Eminem, Harry Styles and Lizzo. Usually due to her calling out social controversies that celebrities impose on stage or on catwalks.
For the majority of time, religion has been one of the largest forms of division for our species leading to millions of deaths and plenty of wars. With religion slowly diminishing, we are now open to a new divide, one that has taken the world by storm. The culture wars. Left and Right tare at each others throats all awhile influences feed the fire by preaching political content to the millions.
While researching Candace, I noticed a comment on Reddit that stated “Candace isn’t Catholic, she practises ‘Rightism’. She find anything left winged Satanic and Sinful”. Although presumptions to suggest this, it gives sight into her place on liberalism or wokeness.
Candace is a unifier to conservative thinkers. Providing a stable and safe place for her audience to explore new and old traditional ideas, all a while being preached to by a calm, educated and entertaining figure head. Candace’s Youtube channel is the ark for conservative thinking and be it liberal or right wing, in this day and age content must push their audience further and further into their ideology in an attempt to secure the viewers position in the political spectrum. In doing so securing more and regular viewership. Candace’s channel is no different, her first video ‘Mom, Dad… I’m a conservative’ and ‘Feminism vs also feminism’ used comedic undertones and satire to poke fun of liberal thinkers. Now, as her channel has grown she has invited conspiracy theorists and topics onto her platform creating a unity within the conservative movement and securing their viewership by projecting extremism within her content.
Promoting physical and psychological well being.
Say what you want about Andrew Tate, he is a genius. He has found a gap in a market and flooded it with content. Six years ago Andrew was a nobody, an champion ex-fighter and a minor part on big brother. Now, he is one of the most googled persons on the planet with millions of dollars and a cult like online following. How did he do this? The same way religion snuggled itself into our society. He harnessed power from the outcasted members of society and educated himself in a doctrine that will serve them as a comfort blanket. Rather than conforming to social change and moving with the times, Tate offers traditional values for a generation of people who feel neither aligned nor represented by the new agender of liberalism. I personally think Mr Tate had no real idea of the power he held within the political sphere and if he did he didn’t use it to its full capability.
Being one of the most controversial people in the planet at the time has made a uneducated person like him slip up on many occasions. Tate is the uneducated mans Jordan Peterson, supported by random claims rather than social sciences or data. Having said that, his take on physical wellness and psychological well being is supported by science.
The fourth service religion plays on society is ‘Promoting physical and psychological well being’ and like it or not, Andrew Tate’s suggestion for tackling mental health issues is exercise.
“Like if I’m there telling people, you know, if you go to the gym and you exercise regularly and you eat well, your mental health will improve”. – Andrew Tate. https://podclips.com/ct/many-people-try-to-disconnect-mental-health-from-physical-wellbeing-objective-reality
It is well documented that ‘Physical activity has a huge potential to enhance our well-being. Even a short burst of 10 minutes of brisk walking increases our mental alertness, energy and positive mood’, according to the Mental Health Foundation. That the release of endorphins projects positive feelings and a stress relief. As a runner and occupational gym going, I feel at best after a run. It clears my head, helps me reset for the day and allows me time to reflect on my busy schedule. Mr Tate has fully ticked the box of the fourth service religion once provided our society in accordance to Minnesota University.
However, when it comes to psychological well being, he missed the mark by several miles. Yes promoting exercise is beneficial to psychological well being as previously stated, but telling young men that you are useless unless you are rich, ripped and sexually promiscuous is not. It is damaging to the self estem of viewers and can lead to an incel mentality, or polarising that and promoting ‘toxic’ traits within their fragile egos. Like most organised religion, Andrew has disguised this poor effort of promoting psychological well-being through smoke and mirrors. Curving the opinion of his viewers in an attempt to make his advice valid and nondetrimental to them.
Lets take homosexuality. Most religions today are against homosexual acts, and most of their followers agree. Yet, we are not born homophobic, we are moulded by the societies we grow up in, taking the thoughts of our teachers and Gurus, be them religious or otherwise. Homophobia is not good for our mental wellbeing, it promotes hatred, fear and anxiety. Andrew Tate does a similar tactic with his audience, he fronts an idea as obvious, gets his viewers to agree with charisma, yet poorly argued points and passes it as beneficial to their psychological well being. Its manipulation 101.
Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day.
You fritter and waste the hours in an off-hand way.
Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town.
Waiting for someone or something to show you the way. – Pink Floyd
Have we fallen so far as a society that we are grasping at likes of Andrew Tate to be our prophet. Gone are the days of MLK, Malcom X, Gandhi, Bob Marley, Nelson Mandela, Socrates, Winston Churchill, John Lennon and Jesus Christ. Instead, we have allowed brittle brained, angry, viewer and financially driven, ideologist take the wheel. Although I have my issues with most of the list provided, especially John Lennon, at least they spoke of unity. They had their differences of course, but they strived for peace and on the whole acceptance. Rather than demeaning the opposition and sprouting room for hatred.
This goes for liberal influencers also (Russell Brand being the first that comes to mind). Both sides of the same coin. These Gurus tell us how to live our lives, what to think, say and feel, while making millions of dollars at out viewership. Anything else come to mind when I say that? Organised religion perhaps?
Don’t get me wrong, I think some of these people have a lot of valuable commentary. Dr Peterson was, before his enlightenment, a good speaker and example for young men. Candace Owen provides a avenue for conservative thinking black people, something often shunned in their own communities. However, from where I am sitting, the gap between left and right is widening and these voices (left and right winged) are the shovel, jack and dynamite used to pry it open.
Once again we have sold ourselves short. We don’t need these influencer to tell us how to hate each other. We need influences that inspire unity, love and cooperation.
Uncharted Thoughts. 
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