Why do most people need religion?

[Jeremiah Ames]

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?

 

[Nakosis]

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 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.

 

[Indagator]

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

I need it as much as i need an expansive car. I would have been a believer if i could.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

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?

If religion is not abused, it is what a person needs. It (all religions) shapes how that person views life-their perspective, purpose, role in society, and how they interact with themselves and others. I can use a knife to spread butter or harm someone; so, religion in itself isn't bad. We just tend to flip, change, and abuse religion to suite our views. In personal-oriented religions, usually it works out for the better. The larger the group, the more liable for things to become messed up since no one agrees with the other on the specifics.

 

[Twilight Hue]

I don't think people actually need religion. Life is just as fine without it.

Personally, I think religion serves as a template for life, or a type of oasis to retreat too. It's a reason why I still involve myself with religion.

 

[Jesster]

I don't feel a need for religion at all. I only feel a need for the facts of life that are presented to me. If I discover that any religion is factual, I will include it in that need.

 

[sun rise]

I don't have a need for formal religion. My attachment to the Divine does not require a formal doctrine.

Depending on the time and place, religion has been a force for good or evil. My basic attitude echoes what Abraham Lincoln put in his second inaugural address. Speaking of the Union and the Confederacy:

Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes His aid against the other. It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God's assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men's faces, but let us judge not, that we be not judged. The prayers of both could not be answered. That of neither has been answered fully. The Almighty has His own purposes. "Woe unto the world because of offenses; for it must needs be that offenses come, but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh."

 

[Vinayaka]

'Need' is an odd word, don't you think? I can go without religion, and have done so for long periods of time. But eventually there is some sort of balance there that gets lost. For Hindus like me the core of religion is called sadhana, the time spent alone, meditating, worshiping, doing the personal practices. It's not at all a social thing, but more a personal balance thing, like practicing good nutrition. Does a person 'need' good nutrition? Sort of, but not really. Life just might be shorter and there may be more pain without it though.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

I feel a need to investigate the spiritual and discover transcendent truth, so I guess I need religion.

 

[Jeremiah Ames]

If religion is not abused, it is what a person needs. It (all religions) shapes how that person views life-their perspective, purpose, role in society, and how they interact with themselves and others. I can use a knife to spread butter or harm someone; so, religion in itself isn't bad. We just tend to flip, change, and abuse religion to suite our views. In personal-oriented religions, usually it works out for the better. The larger the group, the more liable for things to become messed up since no one agrees with the other on the specifics.

Very good points Carlita.
I have one thought regarding your second sentence.
A religion will shape a person in all the ways you mention, but I don't necessarily see that as good. I wish everyone had the courage or confidence to explore and learn about everything in the world, and I don't think most religions would encourage that for fear of losing a member.
And as far as large groups messing things up, history shows that to be true.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

Very good points Carlita.
I have one thought regarding your second sentence.
A religion will shape a person in all the ways you mention, but I don't necessarily see that as good. I wish everyone had the courage or confidence to explore and learn about everything in the world, and I don't think most religions would encourage that for fear of losing a member.
And as far as large groups messing things up, history shows that to be true.

Well, I put it this way. I was a happy Catholic four years out of my life. I did the rituals, went to Mass daily, studied the Bible, prayed to Saints, Mother Mary, went to Catholic retreats, and I volunteered as an ESL teacher for a Catholic organization. Ironically, I moved to a Catholic owned apartment complex owned by the Archdiocese of this metro area.

Not once doing my Catholic years that I was forced to do rituals, told I will go to hell, forbidden to read the bible, told other christians are not real christians, and put down because I am lesbian (which is my identity). Not once did I pray to idols and dead people and all of that garbage. Not once was I indoctrinated to believe something I did not want to.

When you follow a faith without abusing it, it shapes your life and perspective. It should not make you want to kill people in the name of your religion as, in christianity, the death is in the name of christ not our hands.

I mean a couple of years ago, I heard Buddhist overseas (I'm in the states) were actually committing violence.

I mean, of course we have our opinions. My experience the only bad thing I heard from Catholics (which that and Buddhism are the only two faiths I know) is when I went to confession out of state, the priest said "the devil made you do it!" another priest yelled at me because I thought he was sleep or something was wrong because his eyes were closed as if he were sleeping during confession! My first confession was a three hour talk. I had another good hour talk with another priest that explained why the Church views homosexuals as they do without using the bible. That was amazing in itself.

Anyway, yeah, if the religion promotes bad, then I can see it being bad in itself. I don't know any religions that promote doing anything bad. We just like to change religion to suite our own needs.

Shrugs.

 

[Skwim]

Why do most people need religion?

Comfort and security, and to allay fear

Does the good that comes from religion outweigh the bad?

Really depends on the religion.

.

 

[Jeremiah Ames]

'Need' is an odd word, don't you think? I can go without religion, and have done so for long periods of time. But eventually there is some sort of balance there that gets lost. For Hindus like me the core of religion is called sadhana, the time spent alone, meditating, worshiping, doing the personal practices. It's not at all a social thing, but more a personal balance thing, like practicing good nutrition. Does a person 'need' good nutrition? Sort of, but not really. Life just might be shorter and there may be more pain without it though.

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.

 

[Sha'irullah]

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 is very bizarre since I was extremely sure I would remain an atheist for quite some years and I saw it progressing that way more and more. The more knowledgeable in mathematics and philosophy I became this sooner ended and quite abruptly at that. I do not hold very strongly to any belief and I am not a very bias person so this only bothered me emotionally and not so much intellectually.

I say that undoubtedly I have a need for religion and what it provides. 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 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.

So I am fairly certain in my belief in gods and I am very confident in the duality of mind and body.

 

[osgart]

in school I was not even taught evolution. it was Godcentric. as a child I envisioned an amazing God, and then I actually read the bible, and it was downright awful, other than a few romantic notions, it was screwy.

iv e discarded all bad religious notions since then. and I have developed my own religion to fulfill the needs I have from one.

to me evolution is a very intelligent way to make life. I see that the evidence for evolution is real, when I finally was exposed to good teachers of it on the subject.

there are highly intelligent delusionists out there that are absolutely highly motivated by the fantasy of religion, and they are heavily immersed and invested in the tripe.

fear, pressure, and inspired delusions of God are very dominating being born into a religious household.

now that I'm older, i've broken the spell of it, finally. and yet I still have created my very own religion based on reality. The part of evolution I don't agree with is that it is noneso intelligent. and the whole intelligent design movement is more delusional desire from highly intelligent well wishers.

if you are none exposed to science and see the persuasive arguments of intelligent design, you might think they are right on until they start spewing young earth garbage.

religious people live in a shell because most religions are not founded in honesty, and reality. I think people like Lawrence krauss, is doing himself a disservice in saying religious people are not honest. they are strongly deluded, and strongly conditioned.
and yeah sure I want to live forever, and reality might have a way of that. but now iv e prepared myself to let go of existence, and accept the spited end of existence.

nothing to fear. but admit life is good.

 

[SabahTheLoner]

Religion is a way to communicate to ourselves how we feel about the world. I guess some people need to reassure themselves more than others.

 

[Jeremiahcp]

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?

"It seems that most people I meet need religion."

I think you are seeing what you want to see.

 

[LuisDantas]

There are actually a few different typical reasons why people adhere to a religion. Some of those are at odds with others.

In some communities there is not much of a choice. There is a language and a social structure and even rebelling against it means learning it and expressing it in order to be understood.

It happens at a smaller scale as well; some families simply fail to have a working structure without an explicit claim of religious underpinnings. Sometimes it is even a true and functional claim.

Others - far too many, apparently - don't want to deal with matters of significance and purpose and choose to third-party it to some figure of authority. That may lead to eventual religiosity, or to a grim caricature of it. It depends on how healthy the social environment is and on a bit of luck and sincere, honest effort.

Yet others see a need for contemplation of matters of morality and hard choices.

 

[Deidre]

If you've been raised in it by religious parents, then it becomes very familiar. It's hard to give up the familiar, sometimes. Also fear. Fear is a powerful motivator behind why people seem to 'need' religion. But, it can also be very deeply comforting when you are struggling to make sense of bad things happening all around you. And every good thing that happens to you, you credit a god. It doesn't seem like a bad idea at the time when it's all you know.

 

[Terese]

Religion as a mere tool for safety or reassurance is the most inferior reason to be religious. To understand what's beyond the material world and the nature of the universe and all it's glory is to me being truly religious, truly spiritual.