Something we seldom realize or consider when we take a position on, well, pretty much everything, but especially on matters of politics, culture, and religion is that, to use an old and hackneyed phrase, ‘Perception is Reality”. And human perception depends on many things, including the culture that formed the mind, the environment we occupy, the current state of human knowledge (that changes over time), the early training and indoctrination of the individual, the genetic code that forms the brain and determines or at least influences the mental capabilities of that brain, and the experiential history of the individual human being. All of these things and many more change sometimes slowly and sometimes rapidly and the general perception that guides the life and beliefs of a human being in any past point in time, and including the present, is quite specific to that particular time and environment in which the individual lives. For example, there was a time and place when humans observed the travel of the sun across the sky each day and noticed with apprehension that the days were getting shorter, and they were afraid that the supernatural being (s) that controlled the sun were displeased with them and because of this the sun would eventually no longer return to their world. But if they appeased this deity with the sacrifice of a virginal female (or perhaps just a goat) at just the right time, then the sun would reverse its decline and the world would be safe for another year. That was their perception of reality and it was true to them because it worked! The current perceptions of Christians, Muslims, Jews, Yazidis, Hindus, Mormons, Scientologists, and many, many more religious groups are reality to them because they perceive for whatever reasons that these beliefs are true. And the strength of their belief and the support of other believers makes it appear to work for them, and thus their perception is truth. Science of course, bases belief on evidence and analysis, thus what is accepted as true is subject to change as our perception of reality changes. And in that lays the power of science to change, for good or ill, the course of human civilization, as it has. So what is truth? For the most part it is the belief system that works for the individual, and many people will defend that belief to their death or the death of others that do not agree with them. So unless there is a supernatural entity with a really perverse and extremely complex purpose for creating and manipulating humanity, or a plethora of supernatural entities with conflicting purposes; it should be obvious that religion is a human construct.
