Why insist on such a broad definition of religion? I know it’s hard to define, but this definition is so broad it can include a vast array of things. You believe in gravity because you read a book about it, subscribe to newton’s laws and proceed to drop things move or jump without the expectation of flying away, while believing it’s not good to jump out a window ‘cause you’ll die thanks to gravity? Must be a religion. You read about metal working and the physics behind it (believing it is possible due to the laws of the universe and not human rules) then do metalworking with the intention of making money or something of creative value? Religion. You may object that a religion has to be a worldview, but Harari acts like the only reason the theory of relativity isn’t a religion is because it doesn’t have associated practice or values. Also plenty of communists are Christians or Buddhists (if the atheist kind), and who calls stoicism a religion?
I stopped reading when he compared Socialism in the USSR to Islam, can someone please summarise the rest for me?
They stop pretending they care about anything other than claiming that communism specifically is a religion.
It’s basically all in the C&C chart religion is when both “human norms and values” and “belief in superhuman nature” according to Harari. In other words religion is when you believe stuff, do stuff on that basis, and judge things based on what you believe.