How many nutjobs does it take to make a religion?

If only one person believed they could eat and drink Jesus, any rational person would label them as insane.

If several thousand people believed they could eat and drink Jesus they would be considered a cult.


However if a billion believed they could eat and drink Jesus, they are considered adherents of a religion and we accord it respect. Am I the only one that considers this weird? Does the fact that a billion believe they are dining on a long dead religious leader make the the proposition any more credible? Evidently the human mind is wired in such a way that no matter how ridiculous a proposition, if enough people buy into it, we give it respect. In fact we give it so much respect that we allow them to make up two thirds of our Supreme Court.

Another good example is Mormonism. Their founder, Joseph Smith, claimed to have dug up some golden plates inscribed in a "lost" language that was decipherable only through some magic reading stones and only by him. He warned that if anyone else peered through the stones they would instantly die. A nutjob by any reasonable measure. Yet they now number 12 million worldwide, 6 million in the U.S. (Four million who have personally knocked on my door) They believe they have a living prophet in Salt Lake City who receives messages directly from God. He is their revelator. (Rhymes with elevator) We elect them as senators, congressmen and governors.

Like Lloyd Blankfein of Goldman Sachs, they are all convinced they are doing god's work.