This is a part of the Bitcoin Infinity Academy course on Knut Svanholm’s book Bitcoin: Independence Reimagined. For more information, check out our Geyser page!

The Secular Individual

According to Wikipedia, a *religion *is a “social-cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that relates humanity to supernatural, transcendental, or spiritual elements.” However, there is no scholarly consensus over what precisely constitutes a religion. One could say that religions are inter-subjective sets of unverifiable beliefs that large groups of individuals hold at the same time.

Similarly, a *cult *is defined as a “social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs, or by its common interest in a particular personality, object or goal.” There are many different opinions about what distinguishes a cult from other groups of believers in inter-subjective things. In one of the examples of a definition on Wikipedia, a cult is defined as a social movement that has the following characteristics:

1. Authoritarian ruler. The self-appointed rulers of cults have complete and final say. They are usually considered charismatic and charming.

2. The identity of the community becomes communal and totalistic. Everyone involved relies on each other and the group’s wants and needs become the core identity for each follower.

3. Aggressive campaigns and conversion efforts are enforced by the authority figures. For most, the fear of heaven and hell prompts members to reach out, but authority figures may also rely on social issues.

4. In order to be initiated into the group, there will be enforced and systematic indoctrination. There are usually several practices or ceremonies new followers must complete to secure their place among the group.

5. Religious movements labeled cults are usually quite new and do not have the established title of other religious practices. They also tend to build upon old theology and either update it to modern times or adapt it to their teachings.

Now compare these characteristics to any modern democratic nation-state and see if you can find one that cannot be described as a cult. Authoritarian ruler? Check. Communal and totalistic? Check. Aggressive campaigns? Check. Systematic indoctrination? Mega-check. In fact, the only bullet point whose applicability to the nation-state could be somewhat questioned here is point number five, the one about religion and old theology. But not really. Ceremonial burial, holidays on traditionally “sacred” days, no work on Sundays, marriage, and name-giving ceremonies are all very old theological practices shoehorned into our current systems in order to not upset the established order too much. Not to mention the “In God we trust” banner printed on every US dollar bill in existence.

Secularity is the state of being separate from religion or of not being exclusively allied with or against any particular religion. The idea that nation-states ought to be secular and that there should be a distinct dichotomy between what the state should consider to be religious belief or not was born in Europe during the Enlightenment. Secularity on a national level has put an end to many barbaric religious rituals of the past and saved a great number of innocent victims from the repercussions of these practices. Forced marriage, female genital mutilation, and even stoning still exist in some parts of the world, but they are considered very cruel and primitive by the vast majority of people in states that try to uphold Enlightenment values.

While the separation of church and state was all nice and dandy, it is hard to see it as something other than a small first step towards something even greater once you’ve accepted the idea that there’s really no clear distinction between religious and political dogma. Democratic countries still engage in warfare, and they still imprison people for victimless crimes, such as owning a gun or a specific plant. We’re not immune to barbarism until we’re truly self-sovereign. In order for society to be truly secular, we need to separate not only church and state but money and state. In other words, we have to separate ourselves from the state or at least minimize its influence over our lives. This will never be done by the state itself, but requires individuals to take matters into their own hands. Those who don’t aren’t ever really secular but shackled to whatever set of beliefs their nation’s leaders hold. Politics has never truly been about “us” versus “them”. It has always been, and still is, about you versus those who wish to control you.

If a mobster with a gun knocks on your door and demands payment for your “protection,” the wisest response might be to pay him off. It may also be wise not to slander or talk about him and his organization behind his back. That doesn’t mean you have to agree with his worldview or find his behavior to not be morally reprehensible. The thoughts in your head are always your last bastion of freedom. No matter the threat, you’re always free to do as you please inside the dome of your skull. Remember this because one day, the truth will truly set you free if you need it to. The truth of twenty-four words, memorized. The act of memorizing the seed of a Bitcoin wallet has already saved the lives of an unknown number of refugees, and one day, you might need to carry your twenty-four words in your head, too. The more of your wealth you store in the physical realm, the easier it is to confiscate what you have. Twenty-four words in a brain, on the other hand, can’t even be detected. It is impossible for a perpetrator to know that you even have them. The so-called brain wallet is a very underrated concept and one of the most profound aspects of what Bitcoin can do for you. It completely redraws the political world map for those who know about it, blurring out the border lines between nations and turning otherwise dangerous places into potential markets. When the money already exists everywhere, any limit on what amount you may carry from one nation to the other is as laughable as if there was a limit on how many languages you are allowed to know. The impact this will have on the financial freedom of individuals and, in turn, the world economy is vastly underestimated. The practice is still unknown to most people but real nonetheless. Like with everything else in Bitcoin, it is only a matter of time before people begin to realize what’s going on.  

Clear your mind. Start from scratch. Unlearn what you have learned. Every educational institution you’ve ever been to exists solely because of someone’s agenda. If you were a straight “A” -student, you excelled at being average. Congratulations, you’re a sheep. The core science subjects are true because the experiments can be verified. The social sciences are all biased and tailored for a certain narrative. You’re born, you live, and you will most probably die eventually. The laws of nature govern everything in between. All societies are just inter-subjective constructs of the human mind. Choose your life’s focus carefully. If you don’t, you might trifle away your existence, believing fairy tales to be true.

About the Bitcoin Infinity Academy

The Bitcoin Infinity Academy is an educational project built around Knut Svanholm’s books about Bitcoin and Austrian Economics. Each week, a whole chapter from one of the books is released for free on Nostr, accompanied by a video in which Knut and Luke de Wolf discuss that chapter’s ideas. You can join the discussions by signing up for one of the courses on our Geyser page. Signed books, monthly calls, and lots of other benefits are also available.