Coding Viruses for the Mind
From Kuroshin.org written by brain in a jar
If as some have suggested religions are viruses of the mind, then it might make sense to separate the components of any given religion into two parts. The first part being those things which are necessary to maintain viral infection and which assist in the infection of new hosts. The second part is the payload: Those instructions which the virus writer wishes those who have been infected to carry out or execute. My hope is that this method of analysis will assist others in understanding the structure of existing religions as well as those who aim to write one from scratch
First I should explain quickly the analogy at the beginning of the article. The analogy is not mine, but its truth may not be immediately apparent if you have not heard it before. A religion like a virus requires a host, it exists only in the minds of its followers. Just as a virus uses the cellular machinery of the cells which it infects to make more copies of itself, religions generally cause those infected by them to attempt to recruit others to the religion. The analogy with biological viruses only fails in that biological viruses always damage their hosts to some extent, whereas in some cases religions can have a positive effect.