Why is there religion?

[mystic64]

Historically speaking religion has always been a part of humankind in one form or another. Why? Is it possible that there is something going on that is real and that religion is the response to it?

Anybody?

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

We are capable of experiencing fear and awe and wired for presuming agency.

 

[crossfire]

Historically speaking religion has always been a part of humankind in one form or another. Why? Is it possible that there is something going on that is real and that religion is the response to it?

Anybody?

One possible (rather clinical) explanation for ceremonial burial with grave goods: if a member of a group died, the members of the group might be "haunted" by the spirit (memories) of that person every time they saw one of that person's items. Being "reminded" of the dead person every time they saw one of their items might suggest that that person really wasn't dead, but was still interacting with the surviving people through their minds.

So, burying that person's items along with the body would be a way to help the survivors from being "haunted" by their memories of the dead person. Ancestral worship was a way to keep good memories of the person that could be done at an opportune time, instead of being "haunted" by a memory at an inopportune, or perhaps dangerous, time.

 

[HonestJoe]

Historically speaking religion has always been a part of humankind in one form or another. Why? Is it possible that there is something going on that is real and that religion is the response to it?

Anything is possible but that doesn't strike me as very likely. Religious beliefs are so diverse and varied that it seems highly unlikely they could all or even mostly be inspired by the same source, however obscure. There are also religious concepts that we now know (or are at least very sure) were entirely temporal in their true sources and motives.

In general terms we also have some significant understanding of how the psychology behind religious beliefs came about and developed in our minds (to the point that they're used in marketing, advertising and politics). There is nothing like that regarding any external explanation to religious beliefs as you propose. Without even a well formed hypothesis, I'm not sure the idea is worth even considering.

 

[Sunstone]

Religions seem to arise from certain human traits.

 

[Twilight Hue]

Historically speaking religion has always been a part of humankind in one form or another. Why? Is it possible that there is something going on that is real and that religion is the response to it?

Anybody?

It's a good way to cope with some things. Religion offers an oasis and refuge.

 

[Thana]

Historically speaking religion has always been a part of humankind in one form or another. Why? Is it possible that there is something going on that is real and that religion is the response to it?

Anybody?

Well, personally I'd say it's because there is a God.
But if you really want to know, (From a non-religious standpoint)
Try researching the psychological reasons for religion.

 

[Quintessence]

Well, seeing as how my entire religion is pretty much centered around "things that are real" and responses to them...

... yes?

 

[mystic64]

Anything is possible but that doesn't strike me as very likely. Religious beliefs are so diverse and varied that it seems highly unlikely they could all or even mostly be inspired by the same source, however obscure. There are also religious concepts that we now know (or are at least very sure) were entirely temporal in their true sources and motives.

In general terms we also have some significant understanding of how the psychology behind religious beliefs came about and developed in our minds (to the point that they're used in marketing, advertising and politics). There is nothing like that regarding any external explanation to religious beliefs as you propose. Without even a well formed hypothesis, I'm not sure the idea is worth even considering.

Your answer is interesting Your assumption that I am attempting to create a foundation that religion is real is incorrect. This topic was created to explore everyone's "opinion" about the possibility of there being something real behind religion or nothing real behind religion. The "opinions" of anyone who wants to present an "opinion" (because there is not any true scientific evidence for one way or the other) and the discussion of the opinions presented are welcome, as far as I am concerned, no matter what their religious inclinations are including absolute disbelief.

Is it possible that there might be something real behind the concept of religion? Anybody have an opinion?

 

[mystic64]

Well, seeing as how my entire religion is pretty much centered around "things that are real" and responses to them...

... yes?

More is welcome

 

[mystic64]

Well, personally I'd say it's because there is a God.
But if you really want to know, (From a non-religious standpoint)
Try researching the psychological reasons for religion.

I do understand from the psycological reasons, from the brain chemistry reasons, and from the mystic experience reasons. This topic is not about me, it is about a lively interesting discussion, if anybody is interested, with the understanding that everybody is welcome.

Thana, why do you believe there is a God? What experiences have lead you to that belief? What has given you that opinion? There are no right or wrong answers here.

 

[Thana]

I do understand from the psycological reasons, from the brain chemistry reasons, and from the mystic experience reasons. This topic is not about me, it is about a lively interesting discussion, if anybody is interested, with the understanding that everybody is welcome.

Thana, why do you believe there is a God? What experiences have lead you to that belief? What has given you that opinion? There are no right or wrong answers here.

My first experience with God was strange, Scary even.
I was hmm.. About 6 or 7 and I went up to the pastor at church, And I can't remember what he said, But he touched my head and pushed me back (I was caught from behind)
And when I tried to get up, I couldn't, Couldn't even walk until we left the church.

I've had many experiences with God and I can't not believe in God, When he has so blessed me, Shown himself and his love to me. There are moments when you think on Him, And it just brings you to tears with the amount of peace and love you feel.

I know most people feel the need to explain these sorts of experiences away, But I'm a logical rational person. I trust what I see, hear and feel. I spent a lot of my life rebelling from God, Trying to escape the pressure of my family's faith.
But that was because I had to experience God for myself, I had to seek Him, Otherwise I would have lived my life blinded to anything but the world.

I didn't seek God because I was afraid, But because I was lost. I didn't know what to think, What to believe. He opened my eyes, And once you see Him, You can never go back to the way things were. Everything will always be God.

 

[bobhikes]

Historically speaking religion has always been a part of humankind in one form or another. Why? Is it possible that there is something going on that is real and that religion is the response to it?

Anybody?

Belief is necessary to learn. It is not just a human trait but I believe a trait in all intelligent life. Belief in human intelligence evolved into our creativity. The creativity of the human mind and the need of social interactions created religion.

 

[Sunstone]

Religion is one of the bandages humans put on the cosmos so they can pretend its ouchies don't hurt as much.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Historically speaking religion has always been a part of humankind in one form or another. Why? Is it possible that there is something going on that is real and that religion is the response to it?

Anybody?

Religion seems to be a common sociological and psychological human response rooted in our various sociological and psychological vagaries. It is an incredibly useful tool for fulfilling many people's social and emotional needs. It is very understandable that a comforting, yet irrational and empirically unevidenced, belief appeals to so many people, since, as a species, we are primarily driven by emotion, not rationality.

 

[Quintessence]

More is welcome

Well, with Paganisms in general, the gods are essentially poetic and artful renditions of various aspects of reality. They're things we humans have relationships with and are part of our everyday existence, sometimes packaged into a personified form to help us wrap our heads around them. All religion is fundamentally about making sense of humanity's place in the world and our relationships to other things out there, but in Paganisms specifically, the divine is immanent and the various facets of reality itself.

As an example, it is extremely common for Paganisms to center religious celebrations around the turnings of the seasons, for this process profoundly influences many aspects of human existence. There are planting celebrations, harvest rituals, and the various forces (gods, really) that went into making all these things happen are given honor and reverence. The process of agriculture itself is often packaged into an artful godform. Demeter is an example of this from the Greek pantheon. The sun, given its relation to the seasons and the agriculture upon which civilization depends, is a god in virtually all cultures worldwide. Then you have gods of tradecrafts, from smithing to medicine. I could keep going here with example after example; all the Pagan gods are basically various aspects of reality. Real things, tangible and ideological, directly inspiring religion. Such is the norm in Paganisms.

 

[mystic64]

Well, with Paganisms in general, the gods are essentially poetic and artful renditions of various aspects of reality. They're things we humans have relationships with and are part of our everyday existence, sometimes packaged into a personified form to help us wrap our heads around them. All religion is fundamentally about making sense of humanity's place in the world and our relationships to other things out there, but in Paganisms specifically, the divine is immanent and the various facets of reality itself.

As an example, it is extremely common for Paganisms to center religious celebrations around the turnings of the seasons, for this process profoundly influences many aspects of human existence. There are planting celebrations, harvest rituals, and the various forces (gods, really) that went into making all these things happen are given honor and reverence. The process of agriculture itself is often packaged into an artful godform. Demeter is an example of this from the Greek pantheon. The sun, given its relation to the seasons and the agriculture upon which civilization depends, is a god in virtually all cultures worldwide. Then you have gods of tradecrafts, from smithing to medicine. I could keep going here with example after example; all the Pagan gods are basically various aspects of reality. Real things, tangible and ideological, directly inspiring religion. Such is the norm in Paganisms.

True Paganism is based on Nature worship with the Goddess Mother being the supreme deity. The Druids came along and added some things to it that are not truly Paganism (animal and human sacrifice as two examples). The question is, "Can one affect physical reality by in some way appealing to the forces of nature as Deities?" Based on my experience you can, but the problem is that those that can do this in a predictable way are very few in number. And those that actually can, will not agree to sit still long enough to be polked, probed, and studied by science .

The question is, "Is there anything real behind Panganism as a religion parctice?" Real is defined as, "Affecting and manipulating aspects of Creation to create physical results." Legend claims that there use to be individuals that could, but in today's world nobody, including me , is going to admit it. So Quintess, "Do you have any experiences with real that would be an example of why Paganism is/was founded on something that is real?"

 

[mystic64]

My first experience with God was strange, Scary even.
I was hmm.. About 6 or 7 and I went up to the pastor at church, And I can't remember what he said, But he touched my head and pushed me back (I was caught from behind)
And when I tried to get up, I couldn't, Couldn't even walk until we left the church.

I've had many experiences with God and I can't not believe in God, When he has so blessed me, Shown himself and his love to me. There are moments when you think on Him, And it just brings you to tears with the amount of peace and love you feel.

I know most people feel the need to explain these sorts of experiences away, But I'm a logical rational person. I trust what I see, hear and feel. I spent a lot of my life rebelling from God, Trying to escape the pressure of my family's faith.
But that was because I had to experience God for myself, I had to seek Him, Otherwise I would have lived my life blinded to anything but the world.

I didn't seek God because I was afraid, But because I was lost. I didn't know what to think, What to believe. He opened my eyes, And once you see Him, You can never go back to the way things were. Everything will always be God.

I have met and interacted with God and He scares the pee wad out of me . But I have no evidence to support my claim. And I too rebelled against Christianity as a religion, but not because of my family because they were not religious. I rebelled against Christianity as a religion because of the Christians that I met growing up and I am now what would be considered a solitary Christian which would generally cause most Christians to question whether or not I am a Christian.

So Thana, do you feel that the Christian religion is founded on something real? There is written legend that claims that Jesus could do and did wonderous things, but there doesn't seem to be anybody that has been able to do what He did since Him and that which is claimed that he could do was done over two thousand years ago. A lot of folks in today's would are from the "show me" state and they rightly request, "Show me."

 

[mystic64]

Religion seems to be a common sociological and psychological human response rooted in our various sociological and psychological vagaries. It is an incredibly useful tool for fulfilling many people's social and emotional needs. It is very understandable that a comforting, yet irrational and empirically unevidenced, belief appeals to so many people, since, as a species, we are primarily driven by emotion, not rationality.

Good post Mr. Trout! So basically you are saying that there is not any "real" behind the concept of religion. Which is ok with me, I have no true evidence of "real" . I would also like to add that there would be a lot less religion if folks were not forced into it by pressure and threat, "How might you feel about that part of the sociological and psychological vagaries?".

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

Religion is one of the bandages humans put on the cosmos so they can pretend its ouchies don't hurt as much.

Do you truly believe that to be an informed and fair characterization of nascent religion?