Why do we need Religion? This question could not have been more relevant at any time than it is today. Today the world faces crisis under the pressure of religious fanatics. Hundreds of lives are being taken every day in the name of religion.In these times of turmoil, we stop and ask ourselves, ‘Do we need a religion at all?’ I am reading a book named ‘Breaking the spell – Religion as natural phenomenon’ by Daniel Dennett. I do not place this book among the high quality thought stimulating material. But it did provide some useful insights into the rationale of an atheist. Dennett is more of a scientist – a proponent of evolution theory and Darwinism. He views everything from the point of view of Darwin’s theory and tries to fit the argument at hand into the Evolution theory. Therefore his arguments are almost always based on Darwin theory. The motivation behind this post is not to critic Dennett. I might write a critic on the book sometime later. The objective of the post is to present my thoughts about the need of religion in a society and why people follow religion.
1. To teach us to be good, just and loving to each other.
Although there will be a faction of people who would not agree to this, in general, I believe almost every religion has this foundation. To teach people to be good, just and loving to each other. The fundamental message that the religion is supposed to convey is the overall good of humanity and peace. Most certainly, we can say that there is no religion which is founded on the basis of hate or violence.
2. To teach us how to live our lives beautifully.
They act like cookbook solution to making our lives happy. They teach us good practices. They spread the message of happy living.
3. To give us shelter in the name of intangible and invisible ‘Almighty’
Sometimes, we do not have answers to complicated questions of life. We can not understand why the fate is so cruel to us. We do not have a way of knowing why our loved ones depart. We are upset with ourselves. We are upset with the whole world. The God or Almighty is the answer to all this. We say it’s the Almighty’s will. At least, it gives us temporary respite.
4. To help us achieve ‘Moksha’ (Salvation) after death
Most religion describe the goal of humans as to achieve ‘Moksha’ or salvation. Although we do not know what lies behind the closed opaque doors of death, we always long for a beautiful ‘after-life’. Salvation from the circle of life. Nirvana.
5. To give the follower a sense of belonging to a group
Herd mentality. It gives us a sense of belonging to a larger group. We Hindus. We Muslims. We Christians. It makes us feel stronger. It has ramifications of both nature. Good and Bad. People gather and pray in group. On the other hand, people also form cults and indulge in unacceptable activities. People form mob and spread riots or commit hate crimes.
6. To help keep people away from crimes and anti-social activities
‘Thou shalt not kill’ as the bible says. Killing is bad. If you hurt someone, God will never forgive you. As if the God is omniscient Supreme Court Judge who has absolute discretion and power. Even though nobody is watching, we do not steal. Because we are taught that ‘God is watching you’.
[Image Source: http://www.wisegorilla.com/images/worldreligions/S_S_world.GIF]
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2 comments:
Hey BM, you are very well read, i remember the first time i met you, you were reading something on linguistics! I'm certainly not an atheist. I agree that religion exists just as a means of living a good life, it's like learning Moral Science in school. Humans are not perfect and we need a source of examples to tell us what to do and what not to. I think laws reflect morals preached ages ago, but sometimes religion and the law are bipolar.
i wish the world had a single religion, and no biases on that account.
Thanks for your comments Nat :)
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