John Horgan for Slate magazine takes a look at the growing interest in Buddhism in the West. Buddhism seems to provide many with the advantages of a religion without all the heavy theologizing or religiosity. Horgan isn’t so sure. He argues that Buddhism per se is actually a religion and that the Western incarnations are to the genuine form as Rebecca Black is to a real musician. While “hardcore naturalists” like Sam Harris and many who espouse a scientific worldview are glomming on to Buddhist practices, Horgan sees Buddhism as little more than a gateway religion and harmful at worst and unnecessary at best.

All religions, including Buddhism, stem from our narcissistic wish to believe that the universe was created for our benefit, as a stage for our spiritual quests. In contrast, science tells us that we are incidental, accidental. Far from being the raison d’être of the universe, we appeared through sheer happenstance, and we could vanish in the same way.

Read Horgan’s article here.

Thanks to Barry Smith for the link.