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Why do most people need religion?

sayak83

Veteran Member
Staff member
Premium Member
From what little I've read about Hinduism and from your comment,
I don't view Hinduism as a religion in the sense that my mind understands it. Its far superior than religion in my opinion.
Hinduism is vast and diversified. A person can use it both for good or for evil ends. Both Gandhi and Nathuram, who killed him, thought their actions in life were motivated by Hinduism. Thus one needs discernment and inner vision and conscience. Otherwise, even the best things can be bent into evil and a source of suffering for all.

GITA CHAPTER 6

‘By the Self one should raise the self,
but one should not degrade the self,
for the self is the Self’s true friend,
and may indeed be the Self’s foe.

‘The self overcome by the Self
has the Self as its companion;
but the Self is inimical
to the self that is unsubdued.

‘The supreme Self of the self-subdued
and tranquil one is collected
in cold, heat, pleasure and pain,
in honor and dishonor too.

‘Whose self, subdued, is satisfied
by knowledge and insight, aloof,
and sees clods, stones and gold nuggets as one,
is said to be a yogi.

“Who sits apart, indifferent
to foes, associates and friends,
neutral to enemies and kinsmen,
righteous and wicked, is renowned.
 
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lewisnotmiller

Grand Hat
Staff member
Premium Member
I turn into an emotional wreck without it and not because I have a need for god in my life but more so that I cannot fathom having a negative opinion to such a meaningless claim.


I don't have a negative opinion of God or religion, but I'm an atheist...so...
sides

I have found both sides to offer so many disagreeable things and I find both atheists and theists to be at fault for quite a bit of idiocy.

They're discrete groups, but religion can overlap them. Both groups are made up of people, and people are flawed.
 

sayak83

Veteran Member
Staff member
Premium Member
I seriously thought that said "GTA Chapter 6"

When a Hindu starts quoting Grand Theft Auto, things about to get real :D.
This is a slightly different video game.. ;)
images
 

Rival

Si m'ait Dieus
Staff member
Premium Member
I assume it's mostly a need for social interaction. To belong to something larger than yourself.

Being mostly antisocial myself, I've little need for religion.

I think you are mistaken. I dislike social interaction and I am a very strong introvert, but religion is a large part of my life. Where I live is no Shul and no Jewish community whatsoever. This has never bothered me.
 
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Altfish

Veteran Member
I think as has been said before the main benefit of religion is social, companionship. But it is one of the reasons for its decline as people now join rugby clubs, tennis clubs, gyms, pub quiz teams, rambling groups, etc. for their social needs.
 

Araceli Cianna

Active Member
It seems that most people I meet need religion.
Do you have a 'need' for religion and why or why not?
An added question I ponder is:
Does the good that comes from religion outweigh the bad?

For me, it just feels like it's something that completes me. Nothing else really gives me the feeling and sense of happiness that having a spiritual path does for me.

I can't really answer your last question. Religion has its good parts and its bad. For some it may really enhance their life positively. For others it may ruin it. For me it's done both, but I push on through anyway because without it I feel lost.
 

Sclavus

Member
It seems that most people I meet need religion.
Do you have a 'need' for religion and why or why not?
An added question I ponder is:
Does the good that comes from religion outweigh the bad?
I don't need religion, in the sense of a routine of worship, prayer, and so on. I have faith because God has shown me He is there, and is more a part of me than oxygen in my lungs. But as for any sense of organized religion, it's done me more harm than good. Some of that is my fault.

I've known Christians for whom religion is very important, in the aforementioned sense of the word. They get a great benefit from praying regularly, from attending services, and so on. It helps them to ficus on what they and I agree to be true religion: helping the poor and downcast. That--true religion--is not how the word is generally defined, so I take it you define religion in a different sense for the purposes of this thread.
 

LukeS

Active Member
For me its provided a more "psychic" approach to life, whereas I used to be neglectful of the spiritual dimension (thoughts feelings intuitions alongside "God-centred" spirituality etc) my conversion made me more sensitive.

I believe that "God-centred-feelings" feedback into psychology, by integrating new brain centres into the equation, and can make for a more attuned attitude.
 

Erebus

Well-Known Member
It seems that most people I meet need religion.
Do you have a 'need' for religion and why or why not?
An added question I ponder is:
Does the good that comes from religion outweigh the bad?

Personally, I find that my religion gives me a greater appreciation for the natural world, both the good and the bad. I need it as much as I need an appreciation for good literature. That is to say, neither are necessary to keep me alive but without them, life would be a little poorer.


It's pretty much impossible to determine whether the good outweighs the bad when religion is taken as a monolithic whole. Personally, I tend to feel that bad outweighs an equivalent good in general but that's going off on a tangent. Whether a religion is more good than bad is something that needs to be determined on an individual basis.
 

bobhikes

Nondetermined
Premium Member
It seems that most people I meet need religion.
Do you have a 'need' for religion and why or why not?
An added question I ponder is:
Does the good that comes from religion outweigh the bad?

No one needs religion, just as no one needs science. Without them it just makes life harder. Religion supports our emotional needs in life. Not everyone needs or wants help with emotional needs so not everyone is religious. We all have emotions so there is a large group that follows religion.
 

Thief

Rogue Theologian
It seems that most people I meet need religion.
Do you have a 'need' for religion and why or why not?
An added question I ponder is:
Does the good that comes from religion outweigh the bad?
'cow' mentality
safety in numbers
a sense of feeling like on the pack

all false

you are likely to stand before God and heaven.....alone
and the actual condition of 'you'....cannot be hidden
 

Quintessence

Consults with Trees
Staff member
Premium Member
It seems that most people I meet need religion.

I'm not sure "need" is the right word. Religion is a subset of culture, and culture is inherent to the human condition. It's not so much something we need as something we inevitably are and have. Some call the thing that serves the functions of religion by another name - maybe "philosophy" for example - but it seems universally human to ask the big questions.


Do you have a 'need' for religion and why or why not?

Again, I wouldn't use the word "need." My religion is essentially an articulation of values with respect to the big questions, and I think that process of articulation is important. It helps you know yourself, it helps you understand the world around you, and it informs how you carry yourself through life. It's an axis mundi - a giant lighthouse in my mind to help keep me anchored to that which I am.


An added question I ponder is:
Does the good that comes from religion outweigh the bad?

I'm not a dualist. I don't think about the world in terms of "goodness" and "badness," especially since these are human attributions onto the world and inherently subjective. Someone can always find something to whine about and something to praise. And I think it is incredibly unwise to speak about "religion" as some generalized entity given the incredible diversity of traditions and individuals within those traditions (whose actions may or may not actually be motivated by their religion).

But, not being a masochist, the path I walk must be agreeable to me. I suppose a dualist might call that "good." When my path stops being "good" for me, I change it.
 

Nakosis

Non-Binary Physicalist
Premium Member
I think you are mistaken. I dislike social interaction and I am a very strong extrovert, but religion is a large part of my life. Where I live is no Shul and no Jewish community whatsoever. This has never bothered me.

Then what benefits do you feel your belief provides for you?
 

Rival

Si m'ait Dieus
Staff member
Premium Member
Then what benefits do you feel your belief provides for you?
I can't but believe. Through my experience and understanding. I'm not seeking some kind of material or communal benefit from it.
 

Desert Snake

Veteran Member
I think you are mistaken. I dislike social interaction and I am a very strong extrovert, but religion is a large part of my life. Where I live is no Shul and no Jewish community whatsoever. This has never bothered me.
Why would it, you're not jewish.
 
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Rival

Si m'ait Dieus
Staff member
Premium Member
Fixed my last post. I meant introvert, not extrovert. Typo.
 

DavidFirth

Well-Known Member
It seems that most people I meet need religion.
Do you have a 'need' for religion and why or why not?
An added question I ponder is:
Does the good that comes from religion outweigh the bad?

The way I see it a person does not need nor should they desire religion. A person needs Jesus Christ.
 
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