RedBard
Religion (or lack there of) as an opiate to make oneself feel absolved of responsibility to the material world and feel good about how Pious They Are:  
Religion as a lens to explore the higher mysteries, to pursue self betterment, and to motivate oneself to ravenously pursue piety and devotion towards their fellow people by making the world a more divine place for all: 
Dec 15, 2018 at 3:33pmWeb
Show threadcyborgneticzDec 15, 2018
@redbard1842 I practice liberation theology, and Judaism has a similar practice with tikkun olam...I wonder about other religions, and what socioreligous theologies and philosophies they have that are geared towards collective liberation.
Show threadRedBardDec 15, 2018
@Cyborgneticz I've had a similar curiosity. I know there are traditions in Buddhism that value service to others that might be in the same vein as libtheo, but I don't know particulars; Islam I know has a powerful theological gravitation towards peace, which I'm sure has manifested in a liberatory tradition. It's certainly something I'm interested in studying more; I've done comparative religion studies before and this might be a new road to go down.
Show threadcyborgneticzDec 15, 2018

@redbard1842 that makes sense. Isn't there one form of the enlightened person in Japanese Buddhism whose purpose is to help others not suffer? I'm sure there has to be scholarship on this. It makes a lot of sense seeing as how one of the main focuses in all religions and philosophies is how to live well with others.

I find it really interesting how new age spiritual Christians have integrated Catholic Social Teachings without knowing it

Show threadRedBardDec 15, 2018
@Cyborgneticz Could you clarify what you mean by that last sentence?
Show threadcyborgneticzDec 15, 2018
@redbard1842 Yeah so CST has been developed with a pretty socialist bent. The focus on how workers have dignity, we must help the environment, we must prioritize the most dispossessed, and that human Being is transcendental- it seems to be involved in a lot of Christian circles that are more spiritual than religious, which is really interesting. Granted I am Catholic, go to Catholic, Quaker, and Presbyterian services so my knowledge on spiritual Christians in limited and I could be wrong.
Show threadRedBardDec 15, 2018
@Cyborgneticz I suspect it's an example of convergent thinking; both communities needed ideas to serve the same purpose, and had similar source materials, so they came to similar conclusions. Though I certainly don't have anything to back that up beyond a hunch.
Show threadcyborgneticzDec 15, 2018
@redbard1842 I'm sure historians and sociologists have research on it somewhere