EP 22 Why do we take religion so seriously?

I know this is going to be a controversial one, but today's podcast answers the question why do spiritual people lack a sense of humour? And why they should embrace it more. I did find Christian comedians, for example, they call themselves "clean" but in the bout of research I did (I watched quite a few videos) they did makes jokes but not one of their jokes was about God or Jesus. Why? Whilst researching, I found what I consider a pretty hilarious anthology of George Carlin on religion that you can watch here. For me, the explanation comes from history. Here is where Sting's song History Will Teach Us Nothing might have been wrong. If you look into canon law, which is religious law. In case you don't know it, it is taught in universities. In the UK there is even a canon law society. There is also an ecclesiastic law society in the UK.  Anyway, looking back in time, blasphemy was an offence that was punishable by death. And even though this is no longer the case in the Western world, I am pretty sure it's a sin so you are told you will be going to hell for it. And for religious folks, that's serious. By the way, blasphemy also exist in Judaism and Islam and are taken equally as seriously if not worse.  The first person to be condemned to sorcery was Roman and was sentenced to death in 386. The last one to be executed as a heretic was in 1626. It's not that far back in time. So my theory is that religious people do not laugh about religious matters because of fear. A fear that was handed down by their ancestors.  And of course at the time, religious organisations established their power and control over their flock through fear. This is the sign of a cult, in my humble opinion, so something to ponder on.  This lead me to research the purpose and benefits of humour, but also to find out that laughter can only happen in a safe environment. This was concluded by research done at the very reputable University of California by Christopher Oveis.  What people who don't have a sense of humour are missing (my mother has no sense of humour whatsoever), is the power it has to free you from fear. Being able to see the funny side of things helps our resilience when facing what might otherwise be soul crushing challenges. The sadder the times in your life, the more important laughter is.  I conclude episode sharing about a way you can laugh without ever having to be funny or hurting someone else and the six areas where comedy and spirituality intersect inspired by an article I found on Chopra.com.