Touchy about religion?

Religion is 95% interpretation and 5% fact. The interpretation is done for the most part by people who follow that religion. The real reason they are touchy is not that someone has spoken wrong of their religion but because someone is questioning their interpretation, and therefore their intellect. Mostly, there is no interpretation as people inherit their faith like they inherit other things. Ego is involved here. Had there been a separation between the self and the religion (choice), people would not have been as emotional about their religion.

Why do I say that there is only 5% fact? Almost every religion is based on a divine scripture, which consists of facts that need to be interpreted. A divine scripture does not explicitly address many issues within the realm of that religion. You can not deny this fact even if (and especially if) you believe that a scripture should be comprehended literally as opposed to being interpreted with analytical reasoning.

Furthermore, there is little to argue about the facts and a lot to argue about the interpretation. A particular word in a scripture (fact) is visible to all of us and there is no dispute. But what exactly is the meaning (interpretation) of this word? A word can have several meanings, connotations and uses. Complicating the matter are two further problems. First, is the present meaning of this word the same as it was more than a millennium ago (or two millennia ago), in a different society with different issues & challenges? Second, what does the context imply? Note that the context itself is made up of many words that need to be interpreted or comprehended themselves.

Yes, I believe that interpretation is a very complicated procedure but it’s not one man’s responsibility. This responsibily has to be shared by all the followers of that religion. It would not be as daunting a task if we employ the combined intellect of all the followers plus the intellectual synergy. But how can we combine our intellect when we are as followers divided in to religious sects. And synergy there is, but negative. One negative synergy is our emotional (angry) reaction to any criticism aimed at our interpretation of our scripture (see paragraph 1).