Why religions even exist in the first place.

[Jonathan Bailey]

1. from the dawn of man, some people, even primitive or tribal, simply have felt, perceived or believed in their own minds there is a God or gods (supernatural power, superior and perhaps immortal intelligence) above them: something happened in their lives to convince them of such

2. a tool for governments to control or restrict the behaviors of the people: a foundation for self-control, enduring unpleasant things and patience; instills the fear of eternal suffering and pain as punishment for going against the established norm

3. the cement of a moral and ordered society; it bonds people together somehow: think of the bonding in Holy Communion

4. a means of profit or economic personal or corporate gain: selling the name of God or gods as it were; put money in the collection plate or go to hell

5. a means to deal with the ultimate human horror, a most certain death: the promises or possibilities of continued life beyond the physical worldly grave, the hereafter; we don't know for a fact what happens to us when we die, religion provides comforting properties

“Religion is a response to fear of the unknown”.

6. a means to boast and make oneself appear righteous or glorified among other mortals

7. a means of human survival; strong faith compels us to work hard, be productive and possibly even fight and die for the human common good

8. tries to explain mysterious things the human mind can't readily understand, about nature or paranormal phenomenon, attempts to answer questions that logic and science can't answer: Why did the sky soon become light blue from blackness at 6 AM? God made the sun rise this morning, that's all I "know". God created total eclipses. The devil made those horrible rats.

9. it makes us "feel good" inside ourselves

"Religion is the opium of the people" - Karl Marx


What do you think?

Why Do We Have Religion Anyway?

 

[Shiranui117]

Option 1, clearly. Philosophies and organizations can and do accomplish all those other goals just fine. People gather around things that have meaning to them, and things have meaning for us based on our experience of those realities.

 

[shunyadragon]

1. from the dawn of man, some people, even primitive or tribal, simply have felt, perceived or believed in their own minds there is a God or gods (supernatural power, superior and perhaps immortal intelligence) above them: something happened in their lives to convince them of such

2. a tool for governments to control or restrict the behaviors of the people: a foundation for self-control, enduring unpleasant things and patience; instills the fear of eternal suffering and pain as punishment for going against the established norm

3. the cement of a moral and ordered society; it bonds people together somehow: think of the bonding in Holy Communion

4. a means of profit or economic personal or corporate gain: selling the name of God or gods as it were; put money in the collection plate or go to hell

5. a means to deal with the ultimate human horror, a most certain death: the promises or possibilities of continued life beyond the physical worldly grave, the hereafter; we don't know for a fact what happens to us when we die, religion provides comforting properties

“Religion is a response to fear of the unknown”.

6. a means to boast and make oneself appear righteous or glorified among other mortals

7. a means of human survival; strong faith compels us to work hard, be productive and possibly even fight and die for the human common good

8. tries to explain mysterious things the human mind can't readily understand, about nature or paranormal phenomenon, attempts to answer questions that logic and science can't answer: Why did the sky soon become light blue from blackness at 6 AM? God made the sun rise this morning, that's all I "know". God created total eclipses. The devil made those horrible rats.

9. it makes us "feel good" inside ourselves

"Religion is the opium of the people" - Karl Marx


What do you think?

Why Do We Have Religion Anyway?

I consider there are two possible options. (1) Religions are a natural product of the evolution of the human intellect and desire for immortality. Mo Gods nor other spiritual worlds. (2) The religions and belief systems of the world are a product of the progressive evolving spiritual nature of humanity through progressive Revelation from the 'Source' some call God(s)/

The individual religions and their diverse conflicting claims and ancient mythological world views are an unresolvable contradiction if there is a universal omnipotent 'Source' some call God(s).

 

[Thief]

1. from the dawn of man, some people, even primitive or tribal, simply have felt, perceived or believed in their own minds there is a God or gods (supernatural power, superior and perhaps immortal intelligence) above them: something happened in their lives to convince them of such

2. a tool for governments to control or restrict the behaviors of the people: a foundation for self-control, enduring unpleasant things and patience; instills the fear of eternal suffering and pain as punishment for going against the established norm

3. the cement of a moral and ordered society; it bonds people together somehow: think of the bonding in Holy Communion

4. a means of profit or economic personal or corporate gain: selling the name of God or gods as it were; put money in the collection plate or go to hell

5. a means to deal with the ultimate human horror, a most certain death: the promises or possibilities of continued life beyond the physical worldly grave, the hereafter; we don't know for a fact what happens to us when we die, religion provides comforting properties

“Religion is a response to fear of the unknown”.

6. a means to boast and make oneself appear righteous or glorified among other mortals

7. a means of human survival; strong faith compels us to work hard, be productive and possibly even fight and die for the human common good

8. tries to explain mysterious things the human mind can't readily understand, about nature or paranormal phenomenon, attempts to answer questions that logic and science can't answer: Why did the sky soon become light blue from blackness at 6 AM? God made the sun rise this morning, that's all I "know". God created total eclipses. The devil made those horrible rats.

9. it makes us "feel good" inside ourselves

"Religion is the opium of the people" - Karl Marx


What do you think?

Why Do We Have Religion Anyway?

none of the above

in more primitive times....natural events were unexplained
and greater than Man himself

speaking to each other about the events cured nothing
nature just keeps coming

but picture a situation wherein a spoken word coincides with relief
as if nature responded

prayer becomes a practice

religion is born

 

[dingdao]

Karl Marx never saw TV.

 

[Thief]

Karl Marx never saw TV.

do you think a tv evangelist could have made a difference?

 

[Left Coast]

1. from the dawn of man, some people, even primitive or tribal, simply have felt, perceived or believed in their own minds there is a God or gods (supernatural power, superior and perhaps immortal intelligence) above them: something happened in their lives to convince them of such

2. a tool for governments to control or restrict the behaviors of the people: a foundation for self-control, enduring unpleasant things and patience; instills the fear of eternal suffering and pain as punishment for going against the established norm

3. the cement of a moral and ordered society; it bonds people together somehow: think of the bonding in Holy Communion

4. a means of profit or economic personal or corporate gain: selling the name of God or gods as it were; put money in the collection plate or go to hell

5. a means to deal with the ultimate human horror, a most certain death: the promises or possibilities of continued life beyond the physical worldly grave, the hereafter; we don't know for a fact what happens to us when we die, religion provides comforting properties

“Religion is a response to fear of the unknown”.

6. a means to boast and make oneself appear righteous or glorified among other mortals

7. a means of human survival; strong faith compels us to work hard, be productive and possibly even fight and die for the human common good

8. tries to explain mysterious things the human mind can't readily understand, about nature or paranormal phenomenon, attempts to answer questions that logic and science can't answer: Why did the sky soon become light blue from blackness at 6 AM? God made the sun rise this morning, that's all I "know". God created total eclipses. The devil made those horrible rats.

9. it makes us "feel good" inside ourselves

"Religion is the opium of the people" - Karl Marx


What do you think?

Why Do We Have Religion Anyway?

All of the above (depending on the person/group).

 

[dingdao]

do you think a tv evangelist could have made a difference?

no, the only thing televangelists are interested in is money. TV was the heroin... the internet is the NARCAN with some very unpleasant side effects.

 

[Jonathan Bailey]

none of the above

in more primitive times....natural events were unexplained
and greater than Man himself

speaking to each other about the events cured nothing
nature just keeps coming

but picture a situation wherein a spoken word coincides with relief
as if nature responded

prayer becomes a practice

religion is born

Maybe I can expound here: a caveman, 50,000 years ago, in Timbuktu, is hunting for game along with his brother both clad in saber tooth tiger skins for loin cloths, for a whole week and they have no luck finding an animal, in a loud voice one says to the other in cave talk, "OOOGGA VOOGGA" . Meaning I long to find a wild buffalo. Then suddenly a buffalo appears from out of the bush. As if some unseen person heard the caveman's spoken wish had opened some secret doorway in the thick bushes to let the animal out into the open. The cavemen assume there is some invisible person in nature who is in control of the game's level of abundance. And this unseen person, the first "god" conceived by man, must be superior because he has the gift of invisibility and the power to grant spoken wishes. The cavemen utter "NANOO BOOGOO HUBBA DUBBA" meaning "thank you, great invisible giver of meat". Perhaps the first human prayer of thanksgiving. The coincidence was that they uttered their wish aloud right as the desired gift of nature appeared. The buffalo's appearance right at the moment of need and utterance of the wish is probably the first apparent miracle to humanity. This is but one of a myriad of possibilities that spawned human religions.

 

[Cooky]

1. from the dawn of man, some people, even primitive or tribal, simply have felt, perceived or believed in their own minds there is a God or gods (supernatural power, superior and perhaps immortal intelligence) above them: something happened in their lives to convince them of such

2. a tool for governments to control or restrict the behaviors of the people: a foundation for self-control, enduring unpleasant things and patience; instills the fear of eternal suffering and pain as punishment for going against the established norm

3. the cement of a moral and ordered society; it bonds people together somehow: think of the bonding in Holy Communion

4. a means of profit or economic personal or corporate gain: selling the name of God or gods as it were; put money in the collection plate or go to hell

5. a means to deal with the ultimate human horror, a most certain death: the promises or possibilities of continued life beyond the physical worldly grave, the hereafter; we don't know for a fact what happens to us when we die, religion provides comforting properties

“Religion is a response to fear of the unknown”.

6. a means to boast and make oneself appear righteous or glorified among other mortals

7. a means of human survival; strong faith compels us to work hard, be productive and possibly even fight and die for the human common good

8. tries to explain mysterious things the human mind can't readily understand, about nature or paranormal phenomenon, attempts to answer questions that logic and science can't answer: Why did the sky soon become light blue from blackness at 6 AM? God made the sun rise this morning, that's all I "know". God created total eclipses. The devil made those horrible rats.

9. it makes us "feel good" inside ourselves

"Religion is the opium of the people" - Karl Marx


What do you think?

Why Do We Have Religion Anyway?

Good question. I think we have to find things that all religions have or had in common. Numbers 3 and 5 seem most logical to me personally, but then, for other religions there was hoping for good luck in hunting and rain.

...Lol. In the end, it seems like they all have less in common than I just thought... There may actually be no single common trait on this at all -which is even stranger than the whole concept itself.

 

[Zita]

1. from the dawn of man, some people, even primitive or tribal, simply have felt, perceived or believed in their own minds there is a God or gods (supernatural power, superior and perhaps immortal intelligence) above them: something happened in their lives to convince them of such

2. a tool for governments to control or restrict the behaviors of the people: a foundation for self-control, enduring unpleasant things and patience; instills the fear of eternal suffering and pain as punishment for going against the established norm

3. the cement of a moral and ordered society; it bonds people together somehow: think of the bonding in Holy Communion

4. a means of profit or economic personal or corporate gain: selling the name of God or gods as it were; put money in the collection plate or go to hell

5. a means to deal with the ultimate human horror, a most certain death: the promises or possibilities of continued life beyond the physical worldly grave, the hereafter; we don't know for a fact what happens to us when we die, religion provides comforting properties

“Religion is a response to fear of the unknown”.

6. a means to boast and make oneself appear righteous or glorified among other mortals

7. a means of human survival; strong faith compels us to work hard, be productive and possibly even fight and die for the human common good

8. tries to explain mysterious things the human mind can't readily understand, about nature or paranormal phenomenon, attempts to answer questions that logic and science can't answer: Why did the sky soon become light blue from blackness at 6 AM? God made the sun rise this morning, that's all I "know". God created total eclipses. The devil made those horrible rats.

9. it makes us "feel good" inside ourselves

"Religion is the opium of the people" - Karl Marx


What do you think?

Why Do We Have Religion Anyway?

you made plenty of sense,The main religions are quick to say other forms of religion that worship differently are cults!! Christianity is the biggest cult there is!!!! It is a scare tactic and to control!!

 

[Cooky]

All of the above (depending on the person/group).

I think I agree... It's almost as if humanity just naturally tends toward belief in some higher power. Odd.

 

[Cooky]

you made plenty of sense,The main religions are quick to say other forms of religion that worship differently are cults!! Christianity is the biggest cult there is!!!! It is a scare tactic and to control!!

Or it bcould be we're all like monkeys, going tribe verses tribe.

 

[Brickjectivity]

Why religions even exist in the first place.

Almost no religion calls itself 'Religion'. People have different ways that they live, and that is usually described by 1. culture 2. religion 3. politics. Sometimes the 3 things overlap.

The term religion was originally anything that people did regularly, so it became applied to activities such as prayer and meeting on particular days. It never lost its meaning, and people who run at 5 am regularly could be said to run religiously. Nations could be said to go to war religiously.

Why do people believe things? That is a different question.

 

[lukethethird]

Why religions even exist in the first place.
Religion began when money was invented, because God needs money.

 

[Augustus]

1. from the dawn of man, some people, even primitive or tribal, simply have felt, perceived or believed in their own minds there is a God or gods (supernatural power, superior and perhaps immortal intelligence) above them: something happened in their lives to convince them of such

3. the cement of a moral and ordered society; it bonds people together

5. a means to deal with the ultimate human horror, a most certain death: the promises or possibilities of continued life beyond the physical worldly grave, the hereafter; we don't know for a fact what happens to us when we die, religion provides comforting properties

These are probably the main ones.

Some degree of religious style beliefs being innate to us, a means of bonding together groups of unrelated people to allow larger social groups to form and a sense of transcendence of our short lives are likely significant contributing factors.

7. a means of human survival; strong faith compels us to work hard, be productive and possibly even fight and die for the human common good

This is more of a factor that influences the success of certain belief systems rather than their appearance. Faiths which encourage self-sacrifice proved more successful.

2. a tool for governments to control or restrict the behaviors of the people: a foundation for self-control, enduring unpleasant things and patience; instills the fear of eternal suffering and pain as punishment for going against the established norm

6. a means to boast and make oneself appear righteous or glorified among other mortals

4. a means of profit or economic personal or corporate gain: selling the name of God or gods as it were; put money in the collection plate or go to hell

These are certainly not reasons for why religion emerged in the first place. They may happen to a limited extent after certain religions appeared, but are very naive suggestions for their genesis.

 

[Augustus]

Why religions even exist in the first place.
Religion began when money was invented, because God needs money.

When you don't like religion, but critical thinking is just too much effort...

 

[Jumi]

Creative list, you can pick and choose. But the explanatory and predictive power can be weak.

 

[shunyadragon]

no, the only thing televangelists are interested in is money. TV was the heroin... the internet is the NARCAN with some very unpleasant side effects.

Billy Graham used to ask believers to put their hands on the TV to feel the vibs from God. When TVs came with a third ground wire on the plug the God went away and the vibs ended.

 

[Quintessence]

The list is missing what I feel is the crux of the religious impetus. Some of the items on that list dance around it, but miss stating it directly.

Religion happens because humans are storytellers. And humans are storytellers because they have limited awareness and experience of the world around them; they need stories to help navigate and ground. Religion is, first and foremost, about myth making or bodies of narratives that convey information about ourselves, others, and relationships. It's about the meaning of life and living. From there, religion also provides a framework for enacting these stories. This often is called ritual, but the point is that stories are not simply told, they are a way of life. Together, the myth and ritual articulate the values of a person or their culture. They deal with our sacred things, or aspects of our lives that hold deep meaning. Lastly, this is all a shared experience. Religion creates community through shared myth and ritual. This at times means religion becomes organized and institutionalized, but the degree to which this happens varies.