“I know zoos are no longer in people’s good graces. Religion faces the same problem. Certain illusions about freedom plague them both.” -Pi Patel
Pi is a University of Toronto graduate who studied zoology and religion. His intense passion for the two seemingly extremely diverse subjects allowed him to connect the two subjects metaphorically. Although I am not religious, this quote made me think deeper about the reasons why so many people are. Pi has constantly heard the argument that animals are not happy in a zoo, because it is not their natural habitat. He attacks this justification by explaining that the animals are born in captive are perfectly happy because they have never known anything else. That is, they haven’t known anything else than having food provided for them regularly, a clean territory that is a haven from predators, and many other luxuries. So why would they desire to enter the wild and face the hardships of real life? The same can be said for someone of religious beliefs. They may be living in a false world, but it is a safe, and happy shelter. They could easily step outside the cage, and face the facts if they wanted to, but these people would rather live by the mantra, “Ignorance is Bliss.” Why shouldn’t they, if they are so happy in doing so.
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