|
Round and Round
(A
Broad Statement of Religious Intent)
23 June 1999
This article is intended to introduce my study of religion. It is by no means
concise or specific. After a time, other articles will follow this one, and will
discuss each of the points in more detail.
Webster defines religion as “a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to
with ardor and faith”. Aside from basic animalistic instincts, religion has been
the primary motivator behind the actions of society throughout history. This
paper will discuss the origins and history of religion, the causes and benefits
of religious beliefs, as well as the disadvantages and possible downfall of such
beliefs.
The major purpose for developing any kind of religious system is to help explain
things that cannot be explained by the present science level. As soon as man
reached a societal level that enabled him to think about things other than what
he was going to eat later, and where he was going to sleep, he begins to wonder
about things, like: what happens to the elders when they die? Thusly, man begins
to speculate and formulate crude theories about death. Archeological evidence
indicates that the first ceremonial burials took place in china during the early
Stone Age. These burials are the oldest located evidence of religious belief.
These people obviously believed in some form of life after death. Says EO James,
Prehistoric religion expert and co-author of World Religions, “It is hardly
likely that early people would have gone to all this trouble in the disposal of
the dead, which often involved reburial, providing them with what they were
thought to need after death, unless survival, whether temporary or permanent,
was the intention.”
Soon man personified his beliefs. This took many forms, from the simple ghosts
of dead relatives, to earth-spirits, to divine and omnipresent gods. These
deities were the next step in religious evolution for most cultures, and marked
an important step in the development of human thought processes. Personification
requires relatively advanced human concepts, like symbolism, that people today
may take for granted. Soon, these entities took on forms, personalities, and
stories that represented things that did not yet have a proper scientific
explanation. For this reason, most very early religions were polytheistic. In
fact, according to Peter and Clarck Byrne, contributors to A World Religions
Reader, there is no evidence that any of these first religions practiced
monotheism.
The best example is that of the Greek and Roman gods. Greek and Roman mythology
is filled with deities. There are figures to represent fertility, sex, birth,
death, the seasons, The Sun, The Moon, the stars, the weather, the hunt, love,
lust, hate , and war, just to name a few. There were even figures that were used
to explain how these gods interacted with the earth and with each other. For
example, Hermes (or Mercury) was the messenger of the gods.
As time progressed, the number of gods in the world’s religions declined.
Mostly, this was due to the explanation for many natural things offered by
science. Why would a culture that understands the true reason for lightning
continue to believe that a bolt-wielding giant throws it from the heavens? The
first true monotheisms occurred when according to Dr. James, “A genuine
monotheism was firmly established … organized on a personalized hierarchal
basis, or of one wholly exclusive living god”
In today’s world very few religions are polytheistic. This is due to the fact
that only very few aspects of our selves and our world still remains to be
unexplained by scientific proof. Example: How was the universe created? Where
does human consciousness and sentience come from? What happens to our
consciousness after we die? These questions are explained by modern religions
such as Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Etc. Such explanations
require only one god.
Modern religions serve many purposes and give many benefits. One of the first
major benefits of religion to the civilized world was a means to allow steady
production among the masses and laborers. This is not as true now as it was only
a hundred years ago, but imagine what would happen if every one spent their time
pondering the unanswered questions of the universe. No one would ever get any
work done. Religion gave the laborers an explanation that they could accept at
face value and let them occupy their minds with their work, leaving the
pondering to the clergy and the philosophers.
Second, religious faith gives many people a sense of security, as well as a
feeling that their life has meaning. There are large numbers of people who might
not be psychologically able to make it from day to day, were it not for their
faith in a higher power that they believe has control over their destiny, and
has placed them on the earth for a purpose.
The third major benefit of religion in a civilized culture is the moral checks
that it places on the populace. Most religions state a set of moral rules and
conditions that must be followed in order to remain in good standing with the
higher powers. This helps some people who might other wise have no sense of
morality or ethics, to become productive members of society, and stops them from
taking rights away from their fellow human being.
Also, religious activities of all kinds bring people of a community who think
alike, together for ritual celebration, solemn mourning, and simple
socialization. Some families even go so far as to encourage their children to
marry a person of the same church, thus allowing the family to be quite sure
that the new relative doesn’t have a conflicting faith.
Finally, religion is responsible for many basic human inventions, like writing,
record keeping, schooling, and bulk printing, just to name a few. If it weren’t
for the need of these things that developed in the religious world, it may have
taken much longer before these creations became widely known and used.
Religion, though, is not all good. The primary problem with any religion is it’s
steadfastness and it’s obstinence. Since it will teach its members that their
faith is the only truth. They often fight with other religious cultures about
whose belief is correct. Religion has caused the vast majority of wars in the
world’s history. Religious conflicts range from the major to the minor; From
beatings on a grade school playground at recess to the assassination of the
leader of a neighboring sect, from name calling to holocausts, from arson to
slave trade, from book burning to crusades, from hostage holding to guerilla
warfare. Large chunks of all of these activities are due to differences in
religious beliefs.
Religion also detracts from the scientific community. There are cases all
throughout history where some great inventor or philosopher developed a great
new idea that was shot down quickly because it endangered the values of the
church.
According to many sources, the number of people who are members of religious
communities is decreasing every year, and the number of people who actively
participate in religious communities is shrinking even faster. Some experts
believe that religion will eventually disappear altogether, while others don’t.
Both sides have clear and standing arguments.
On one hand the statistics say that religious interaction is declining as
scientific discoveries increase, and that as we become more and more
knowledgeable about ourselves and our world, religion will continue to diminish
until it simply no longer has a purpose. Also, as people begin to have more open
minds about the world, strict belief systems, including atheism, will diminish
in popularity. Already, many young people are turning to agnosticism as the most
logical choice.
On the other hand, religion has a lot of momentum and provides people with so
much security and guidance, some argue that it may never completely disappear
from mainstream society. Consider this excerpt from Macionis’ Sociology: seventh
edition:
“The popularity of media ministries, the rapid growth of religious
fundamentalism, and the continuing adherence of millions more people to
mainstream churches lead us to conclude that religion will remain a major
institution of modern society … In addition the pace of social change seems to
be accelerating. As the world becomes more complex, rapid change seems to
outstrip our capacity to make sense of it all. But rather than undermining
religion, this process fires the religious imagination of people who seek a
sense of religious community and are looking for ultimate meaning in their
lives.”
In conclusion, we can see that religion is something that could only be
conceived of by and only be useful to a society of at least self-aware and
sentient human beings, and has well fulfilled its purpose throughout history.
Despite the drawbacks that came with it, it was necessary to the development of
humans as a species.
Now, as we look to the future, we can’t help but wonder, has mysticism all but
outlived it’s usefulness, or will the concept of a higher being remain a comfort
to the world majority. Maybe something in between, something just as comforting,
but not as violent or strict, Tell me if you think of something that would fit
that description.
Works Cited / Bibliography
Frazer, James G. The Golden Bough
Great Briton : Biddles Ltd, 1994
Macionis, John J. Sociology: seventh edition
New Jersey : Prentice Hall, 1999
Markham, Ian S. A World Religions Reader
Massachusetts : Blackwell Publishers, 1996
Parrinder, Geoffrey. World Religions: From Ancient History to the Present
New York : Newness Books, 1983
Wallechinsky, David, and Irving Wallace. The People’s Almanac
New York : Doubleday & Company. Inc., 1975
Notes:
Thanks to Bobby Jordan for his ideas and discussions.
| |
|
