Why Does Religion Exist

[paarsurrey]

Why Does Religion Exist?

Why it must not exist, please?

Regards

 

[Heyo]

Here are a few reasons you may or may not agree with.

1-Religion is a holdover of superstition from a time with limited scientific knowledge that we have since grow out of so it no longer has any value in our lives.

This.
That aspect of religion that "explains" physical phenomena with creative stories is completely obsolete.

2-Religion is a tool is a tool that was and can be used to control the masses.

And this.
And I include self-control into this. While the control from outside is dangerous and should be rejected, community building is still a useful aspect of religions.

 

[RestlessSoul]

Religion exists because for as long as there have been humans, some of those humans have had religious experiences; by which I mean, profound phenomenological experiences which mundane existence has not equipped us to comprehend.

 

[SalixIncendium]

Non-religious research will offer the best explanation. The history of human and cultural evolution is well documented and how religion emerged is explained here.

History of religion - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

This explains how, not why.

 

[IndigoChild5559]

Here are a few reasons you may or may not agree with.

1-Religion is a holdover of superstition from a time with limited scientific knowledge that we have since grow out of so it no longer has any value in our lives.

2-Religion is a tool is a tool that was and can be used to control the masses.

3-Religion contains valuable lessons like fables to aid people in their journey through life.

4-Religion is a profound truth that if understood leads one to a correct understanding of reality/the universe.

5-Other. A different reason for why religion exists which doesn't fit into any of the above. Please explain.

I went for #5--other.

Today, evolutionary biologists make it very simple to understand: the human instinct for religion exists because it is adaptive and was selected for.

 

[Yerda]

Mostly because people indoctrinate their children.

 

[paarsurrey]

Mostly because people indoctrinate their children.

It is good to educate the children instead of leaving them blank and untrained, please, right?

Regards

 

[SalixIncendium]

It is good to educate the children instead of leaving them blank and untrained, please, right?

Regards

You do understand the difference between ‘educate’ and ‘indoctrinate,’ yes?

 

[Nakosis]

I went for #5--other.

Today, evolutionary biologists make it very simple to understand: the human instinct for religion exists because it is adaptive and was selected for.

Do you have a reference?
Out of curiosity.

 

[Nakosis]

This.
That aspect of religion that "explains" physical phenomena with creative stories is completely obsolete.


And this.
And I include self-control into this. While the control from outside is dangerous and should be rejected, community building is still a useful aspect of religions.

So then, nothing otherwise usable?

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Well something created the elements that created the Big Bang that created the universe that created us.

Sounds like something scientists should be interested in.

Causality gets tricky "before time," but sure - these questions are all things that scientists would want to figure out.

... but what does any of that have to do with any gods? What testable hypothesis did you have in mind that would point to God - as opposed to anything else - as the cause of the universe?

 

[Quintessence]

Religion exists because for as long as there have been humans, some of those humans have had religious experiences; by which I mean, profound phenomenological experiences which mundane existence has not equipped us to comprehend.

It is troubling how routinely this is overlooked. Not surprising in contemporary culture that generally fails to understand what religion is about in the first place, but still troubling.

 

[PureX]

Why does religion exist?​

It's mostly a way for us to create the illusion that our ability to control fate extends further than it actually does.

 

[Tinkerpeach]

Causality gets tricky "before time," but sure - these questions are all things that scientists would want to figure out.

... but what does any of that have to do with any gods? What testable hypothesis did you have in mind that would point to God - as opposed to anything else - as the cause of the universe?

I don’t, I was curious why science doesn’t have one.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

I don’t, I was curious why science doesn’t have one.

Why would science have a testable hypothesis that points to God? Science follows the evidence.

 

[F1fan]

This explains how, not why.

I'm not sure what "why" question can be asked if HOW isn't relevant. The poll asks about opinions that result from the existing influence of religion, so will have built in bias right there. In essence it's asking for a set of explanations that inform us about how religion can distort the factual development and evolution of religion in history. There is a contrast between how religion actually came about to what the believer is told. Oddly any religion is disinformation aboit itself.

To my mind most religion topics already invite the opinions of believers why their religion and belief exists. It's rare that we see threads about how religion actually happened as a result of the evolution of the human brain, and how this brain created meaning and rituals that became more complex as communities grew and became more complex.

 

[F1fan]

Why does religion exist?​

It's mostly a way for us to create the illusion that our ability to control fate extends further than it actually does.

This is an unusually accurate statement about religion by you. I will add that most believers don't willfully create the illusion or dogma, believers are created by the existing influence of others in society, especially parents and other family members. Children learn these ideas, and conform to the beliefs of those around them without asking if they are true or even plausible. By the time a teenager could question these ideas it is too well ingrained in their cultural operating system, much in the way language is. Some do manage to question religious ideas, but most just accept them to some degree.

 

[Nakosis]

Religion exists because for as long as there have been humans, some of those humans have had religious experiences; by which I mean, profound phenomenological experiences which mundane existence has not equipped us to comprehend.

I'd still put that under superstition. I agree that these experiences happen.
Without a scientific mindset, we created supernatural explanations for them.

I expect that as we learn more about how the brain works we will eventually come to understand the physiological process behind them.

 

[SalixIncendium]

I'm not sure what "why" question can be asked if HOW isn't relevant.

I never said it wasn’t relevant. I pointed out that it does not answer ‘why.’

The poll asks about opinions that result from the existing influence of religion, so will have built in bias right there.

I’m not seeing that at all. Can you please expand how how the poll does this? How does ‘other,’ which was my selection, result from the existing influence of religion?

 

[F1fan]

I never said it wasn’t relevant. I pointed out that it does not answer ‘why.’

I'm curious why "why" is relevant since it will tend to reflect belief, not understanding and knowledge. We get plenty of that already.

I’m not seeing that at all. Can you please expand how how the poll does this?

Well 1 and 2 will appeal to critics. And it could be a believer in the "truth" of their personal religion but sees other religions as wrong. And 3 and 4 will appeal more to believers. So there's a mix or how and why in the poll. I think it's too vague and broad. It will be folks like me who provide an answer that follows facts, and others who may opt for answers that assume their religion is true. It appears some voted multiple times, so can add to the murkiness of the results.

How does ‘other,’ which was my selection, result from the existing influence of religion?

I voted other as well, and it's the biggest margin. I think there are two different questions under this topic and being mixed it's a sort of free for all.