Education is way to deal with epidemic of wokeism, says author

New Delhi :- Popular podcaster Kushal Mehra in his book, Nastik Why I am Not an Atheist, has made a case for education to deal with the issue of “epidemic of wokeism”. The book was launched at the India International Centre in the national capital on Thursday evening.
“Open debate is way to resolve conflicts and reconciliation of ideas,” wrote Mehra in the book. He asserted that religion is inevitable in society. Mehra also argued that “vacuum is leading to rise in phenomenon of wokeism in the west”.
The book was launched by three self-declared ‘Nastiks’ Anand Ranganathan, Abhijit Iyer Mitra, and Kushal Mehra. The book launch was attended by scores of youngsters with interest in philosophy.
The book launch was followed by a panel discussion moderated by podcaster Shambhav Sharma. Ranganathan argued for science in the debate on religion. Mitra asserted that India is a land of diversity in thoughts and even dietary practices in times of Hindu festivals. Mehra stressed on inevitability of religion in a society.
Mehra has made deep analysis of rise of activism and rejection of traditional religious beliefs in the West. He said that the western world is facing a major crisis with the rise of “irreligious society”. He cited survey to state the US is now more than 30 per cent in population who are “either atheist or none of the above in religions”.
The panellists also weighed the moral template provided by religions. Ranganathan and others argued that moral codes preceded religions. Ranganathan cited social behaviour among wild animals to argue that moral values exist also among non-human species. He cited the evolutionary aspects to make a case for why he is a Nastik.
“Lions protect territories when lionesses go hunting. Similar situation is seen when a baby elephant dies,” added Ranganathan while arguing the case that moral codes exist among non-humans.
The author asserted that religion is inevitable in the society while stating that the absence of religion creates vacuum where disruptions take place.
“The parallels between ‘wokeism’ and religion hint at the inevitable nature of religious phenomena. Even without traditional religious belief, new belief systems and ideologies emerge to fulfil the same psychological, sociological, and cultural functions. This suggests that religion, or at least religion-like phenomena, is inevitable in human society,” wrote Mehra in the book.