My problem with religions

Every child dreams of being “special”, making a big difference in the world, and being remembered forever. This is built into our genes and probably accounts for much of what humanity has accomplished over the millennia. But as the child grows up and gains perspective about the real world, the adult often despairs of accomplishing great deeds. At this point there are many choices, but the three I want to focus on are:

1. To be consumed by despair and give up.

2. To assign responsibility for one’s significance and “the meaning of life” to a greater power outside oneself — either a political entity or a supernatural one — who has an agenda beyond our ken but who cares what we do. If this is true, any accomplishments we achieve are as meaningless as the “success” of a son inheriting great wealth from his father.

3. To accept that we are only as “special” as our wisdom and effort (and blind luck) happen to bestow upon us — to accept responsibility for creating our own “meaning of life” by choosing well and doing the best we know how.

I worry that as long as the majority of humans choose options (1) or (2) we are destined to destroy ourselves and everything we touch. If option (3) ever becomes predominant, then it’s conceivable that humanity might one day make it to the stars and (more importantly) be thought well of by the creatures we meet there. That would be truly Meaningful. At the moment I see no reason to consider either Homo sapiens or the Earth very significant in the cosmos.