What is the origin of religion?

[Green Gaia]

Why did humans develop religion? What need did it fullfill in our ancestors? How is religion today different from religion of early humans in the needs it fullfills for humans?

 

[Lightkeeper]

Joseph Campbell talks of the early hunters being religious. They felt guilty for having to kill to eat. Therefore, they had rituals and stories about the animals coming back. This was the first resurrection story. Even the planters had this guilt of having to kill to eat and there are resurrection stories for plants.

 

[standing_on_one_foot]

I figure it just comes from being curious, really. We seem to need explainations, and religion is good for that.

And personally, I doubt it comes from guilt, but that's just my view.

 

[Scott1]

Why did humans develop religion?

I don't think they did.... it was revealed to them by God.

 

[Ceridwen018]

I think humans developed religion as a means of 'communicating' and 'interacting' with their god, who I believe they also created.

 

[Green Gaia]

I don't think they did.... it was revealed to them by God.

That might explain Christianity and other modern religions if people believe it was given to them, but what about ancient peoples? They certainly had religion. Where did it come from?

 

[Lightkeeper]

I think it's innate in humans. Early man practiced Goddess worship, most likely the female gives birth and was the nurturer. There were early burial rituals. As I mentioned earlier, some religious practices stemmed from guilt. There were rituals for hunting and other food gathering, which depicts a seeking of more power and ability.

 

[Scott1]

That might explain Christianity and other modern religions if people believe it was given to them, but what about ancient peoples? They certainly had religion. Where did it come from?

FROM GOD....... I don't know why you think it would only explain more "modern" religions..... The "cave man" looking up into the sky thinking thunder was a force, a power, a spirit, whatever.... I believe that God was always present in his conscience and reaching out to him..... however simply.

 

[painted wolf]

religion helps keep people together... it gives them common morality and common social interaction. It is one of the things that cemented culture in our highly social species.

any religion woth its salt will clame to 'have been givin to the rightious by god', how can they not? Who would follow a religion that said... "ok, so we came up with this wacky idea and want you all to do what we say or the guy we made up last night will do something mean to you."
or... "Hi, I know that this isn't real or anything but why don't we all bow to this idol I just made.... come on it will be fun."


wa:do

 

[Green Gaia]

FROM GOD....... I don't know why you think it would only explain more "modern" religions..... The "cave man" looking up into the sky thinking thunder was a force, a power, a spirit, whatever.... I believe that God was always present in his conscience and reaching out to him..... however simply.

I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around that one. Ancient peoples developed religion to explain the world around them and the things they didn't understand. The first religions were animistic anyway, they didn't have a concept of a deity, but rather spirits and the spirit world. I don't see why that has to come from a god.

 

[Lightkeeper]

If you come from the standpoint that we have the Divine within us, it would come from God. Maybe we have been evolving and learning more and more about the Divine within. And maybe this will continue.

 

[Gunnar]

I think that God was there all along. Otherwise people maybe would have come up with some other explantion. Its kind of weird that all religions are kind of different but mostly the same. I believe that they are all the same, just different prophets bring God to different civilizations at different times. I know that there is a God because of my spirituality, if you try, you can feel it.

 

[Ceridwen018]

Gunnar,

Why do you think people would have come up with a different explanation? Given early man's lack of science and general understanding of reality, I don't think there is a simpler alternative.

As far as different religions being different and yet also the same, keep this in mind: all humans are different, and yet the same too. It seems to fit perfectly.

Lastly, I would advise you to be careful of your subjective emotions and 'spirituality'. If you want it badly enough, you can 'feel' anything. It's like sugar pills for a hypochondriac.

 

[Lightkeeper]

Gunnar,

Why do you think people would have come up with a different explanation? Given early man's lack of science and general understanding of reality, I don't think there is a simpler alternative.

As far as different religions being different and yet also the same, keep this in mind: all humans are different, and yet the same too. It seems to fit perfectly.

Lastly, I would advise you to be careful of your subjective emotions and 'spirituality'. If you want it badly enough, you can 'feel' anything. It's like sugar pills for a hypochondriac.

We are not here to advise other people in their spirituality.

 

[cardero]

All religions are man-made. GOD is not Catholic/Methodist/Protestant/Baptist/Born Again/Jehovah Witness/Mormon/Unitarian/Islamic or Jewish. They were all designed for the express PURPOSE to adorn and worship an entity who does not want or need it.

 

[Faust]

Imagine if you will, two ancient people who grew up together, worked together,and shared the experience of being alive.
One of them suddenly dies. Your friend is still there. Her body is right there in front of you , but she doesn't move anymore. She won't get up to go about your daily lives together. She is there but some intrical part of her is gone. In fact the very thing that made her your friend seems to be missing. What is it and where did it go? :sarcastic

 

[Sunstone]

I think the origin of religion is in basic human nature. I fully expect that we will one day discover a complex of genes which are responsible for our religiosity. There is already some evidence for such a complex.

Of course, the discovery of a genetic complex will neither prove nor disprove the existence of deity.

 

[meogi]

What is it and where did it go?

The neuron`s being electrically charged in the brain stopped. So it`s electricity and it stopped.

But you`re right if you`re saying that`s another reason religions started... inability to understand or cope with death.

 

[Faust]

Yes Meogi,
I was thinking about the concept of death more than the fear of death though.
Early humans would not have any idea that our brain controls our organs and thought processes.I can only imagine the need to know why, that is so compelling in us would drive them to come up with some explanation of why this person no longer enteracts with us but just lies there. And thus the concept of "soul" would arise. Without the benefit of greater knowledge it would explain the missing component of the recently deceased and beg the question where did that component go? The next logical step would be, it must have gone somewhere else, giving rise to the idea of afterlife or life after death.
This is not an original thought on my part, I believe I ran across it in the writings of Joseph Camble.

 

[Raphael]

If you examined mankinds reasons for anything and specifically avoid gathering any facts and information about history and mankinds gathering of information along the way then I can see your point of view. In the light of fact however there is sufficient scientific information and historical documentation to prove the existance of God and everything related to Christianity.