Do you think there are any religious beliefs and/or practices that are psychological escapes from reality*? If so, what are those beliefs and/or practices? In what way(s) are they escapes from reality?
Do you think there are any religious beliefs and/or practices that compel, force, or at least encourage people to face reality? If so, what are those beliefs and/or practices? In what way(s) do they force, etc people to face reality?
I think it all has much more to do with the individual response to reality that determines whether religious beliefs are used to escape reality, or to help further ground them in it. One only has to look at how some people choose to approach religion to see this distinction. Religion is not the defining factor.
Here's a great list I pulled together from something I read in one of Ken Wilber's books years ago I think bears directly on this. It has to do with the many different ways in which religion is viewed and practiced with a brief description from me of each. You'll see escapism listed in there, as well a transformative:
1. Religion as non-rational engagement:
- Deals with the non-rational aspects of existence such as faith, grace, etc.
2. Religion as meaningful or integrative engagement:
- A functional activity of seeking meaning, truth, integration, stability, etc.
3. Religion as an immortality project:
- A wishful, defensive, compensatory belief in order to assuage anxiety and fear
4. Religion as evolutionary growth:
- A more sophisticated concept that views history and evolution as a process towards self-realization, finding not so much an integration of current levels, but higher structures of truth towards a God-Realized Adaptation.
5. Religion as fixation and regression:
- A standard primitivization theory: religion is childish, illusion, myth.
6. Exoteric religion
- The outward aspects, belief systems to support faith. A non-esoteric religion. A potential predecessor to esoteric religion.
7. Esoteric religion
- The inward aspects of religious practices, either culminating in, or having a goal of mystical experience.
8. Legitimate religion:
- A system which provides meaningful integration of any given worldview or level. A legitimate supporting structure which allows productive functionality on that level, horizontally. The myth systems of the past can be called "legitimate" for their abilities to integrate. A crisis of legitimacy occurs when the symbols fail to integrate. This describes the failure of a myth's legitimacy we saw occur with the emergence of a new level of our conscious minds in the Enlightenment. Civil religion is one example of an attempt to provide legitimacy to this level, following the failure of the old legitimate system.
9. Authentic religion
- The relative degree of actual transformation delivered by a religion or worldview. This is on a vertical scale providing a means of reaching a higher level, as opposed to integrating the present level on a horizontal scale. It provides a means to transformation to higher levels, as opposed to integration of a present one.
BONUS QUESTIONS: Should a religion, among other things, help people to cope with reality?
Yes, most certainly.
Does helping people to cope with reality necessarily mean helping people to face reality?
I'd say most certainly again. The ultimate goal is to accept and integrate reality, not merely find temporary coping mechanisms to get you by.
Can a religion help people to cope with reality by facilitating their psychological escape from reality? Why or why not?
I don't think escapism helps in the long term. Sometimes, if it's too much to bear, a little temporary relief might be in order to quiet the storm. But the goal should be to rooted and grounded in your life, not detached from it.
