Is Religion a basic human need ?

[Heyo]

I can't play the video I'm afraid.

Is it blocked in your country or are you at work or something else on your side?

What's going to happen to the rest of us, when you more highly evolved specimens take over?

Nothing. It will be a very slow and gradual process like all gene shifts. You may be excluded from jobs were seeing patterns that aren't there is disadvantageous, though.

 

[RestlessSoul]

Is it blocked in your country or are you at work or something else on your side?

Nothing. It will be a very slow and gradual process like all gene shifts. You may be excluded from jobs were seeing patterns that aren't there is disadvantageous, though.

I’m at work so it could be that. I often can’t access videos people post on this site though.

Maybe they exist in an abstract dimension only the devoted can access.

 

[Mock Turtle]

John B. Noss suggest that man does not and cannot stand alone. He is vitally related to and even dependent on powers in nature and Society external to himself. Man's Religions

It seems that this premise could explain the reason for the proliferation of religions in the world, and is evidence of a deep seated requirement of human to worship a higher power.

Could it be said then, that religion satisfies a basic human need? That it is comparable to food and water in that it is subject to a similar drive to be fulfilled ?

Assigning agency to all the things that our ancestors could not understand, because they lived in ignorance for the most part, could account for why such beliefs arose and evolved, such that this alone could explain it all. Such doesn't necessarily then say we had needs as to such, other than understanding.

Possibly, Jesus words are a good reason to view this premise as valid:
"My food is for me to do the will of him that send me..." John 4:34
The Apostle Paul compared spiritual knowledge as food:" ...solid food belongs to mature people..." Heb 5:14

Even those that reject a divinity have some type of belief.
Although vehemently rejected by followers, Evolution is aptly demonstrated to be a belief with all the hallmark of a religion. (Evolution Is Religion--Not Science).

Everyone has beliefs, since it is part of maturing from a child into an adult. Scientific explanations seem the best explanations for much phenomena but that doesn't then translate into a belief in science or evolution as a 'belief system'.

It's interesting that there are words for a person with no affiliation to a religion or for a person that does not believe in God, but there are no words for a person without a belief.(to my knowledge)
Additionally, even a furtive glance at the definition of "belief" shows that it has all the signs of being closely related to religion.

Because that is the nature of a thinking animal - and one that hopes to survive the next day - since if we had no beliefs, as to what were required to survive, we would not survive. We, like many species, are not just instinctive in most things we do.

Contrary to animals, everybody has an inbuilt requirement to believe in something higher than themselves.
Of course there is always someone declaring that he believes only in himself. At best that belief is ephemeral and subject to a rude awakening to reality.

Is it possible that our creator made us with a need to believe in him ?

That is not true either, that all require a belief in something higher than themselves, and seemingly you are unable to place yourself in the position of those, like myself, who have never felt such a need. I have always had some curiosity as to such but never felt any needs. I also have suspicions as to those who claim we ache to have leaders above us, since it is often the way of slavery and dictatorship, besides just being lazy and perhaps abnegating the need to do any thinking for oneself. But then laziness is a large factor in our lives all too often - a tendency to take the easier roads or find the easiest solutions.

And to answer the question - for some, religion might be a necessity but it isn't for many others, and these others might have some sort of belief system or they might not have any such.

 

[SalixIncendium]

Is it possible that our creator made us with a need to believe in him ?

Given I don't believe in a creator god, I'm going to go with no.

Religion isn't a human need. Understanding one's existence is.

 

[SalixIncendium]

Religion is the devils tool .

I thought idle hands were.

 

[Spirit of Light]

John B. Noss suggest that man does not and cannot stand alone. He is vitally related to and even dependent on powers in nature and Society external to himself. Man's Religions

It seems that this premise could explain the reason for the proliferation of religions in the world, and is evidence of a deep seated requirement of human to worship a higher power.

Could it be said then, that religion satisfies a basic human need? That it is comparable to food and water in that it is subject to a similar drive to be fulfilled ?

Possibly, Jesus words are a good reason to view this premise as valid:
"My food is for me to do the will of him that send me..." John 4:34
The Apostle Paul compared spiritual knowledge as food:" ...solid food belongs to mature people..." Heb 5:14

Even those that reject a divinity have some type of belief.
Although vehemently rejected by followers, Evolution is aptly demonstrated to be a belief with all the hallmark of a religion. (Evolution Is Religion--Not Science).

It's interesting that there are words for a person with no affiliation to a religion or for a person that does not believe in God, but there are no words for a person without a belief.(to my knowledge)
Additionally, even a furtive glance at the definition of "belief" shows that it has all the signs of being closely related to religion.

Contrary to animals, everybody has an inbuilt requirement to believe in something higher than themselves.
Of course there is always someone declaring that he believes only in himself. At best that belief is ephemeral and subject to a rude awakening to reality.

Is it possible that our creator made us with a need to believe in him ?

I can not say if God made humans with a need, but maybe a curiousity toward the unknown or divine.

 

[It Aint Necessarily So]

Could it be said then, that religion satisfies a basic human need? That it is comparable to food and water in that it is subject to a similar drive to be fulfilled ?

How do you account for the people that don't seem to need religion and live outside of it? The atheist needs food and water, but not religion.

Dawkins proposed an explanation for the widespread appearance of religious beliefs and practices among human societies despite the societal cost of these beliefs (sacrificing virgins, refusing to eat swine, time away from the herds and crops to attend services, clergy not otherwise productive).

He suggested that the priesthood has coopted a human instinct that evolved to serve a different purpose, but can be used by tribal elders for a different purpose. Dawkins likens it to the moth that spirals into the flame or light bulb, because it evolved to use celestial lights to navigate. To fly in a straight line, it's nervous system uses a celestial object as a fixed reference point. This only works because the object is so far away that it is essentially at infinity (no focal point), making the 'radius' of flight nearly infinite (no curvature).

But along comes man and his flames, and then bulbs, which the same navigational system causes it to spiral into the light source. It's not a choice by the moth.

Likewise with humanity, where instincts to obey parents and other elders generated positive survival benefits. Children are well served obeying the elders such as parents. Then religion arises in human history, and man is predisposed to be captivated by the paternal images of priest and god like the moth was to the flame. From Do We Need Religion to Survive? Is That Even the Right Question?

"What is the Darwinian survival value of religion? That's not the right question, says Richard Dawkins. To find the right question, he relies on an evolutionary analogy: Why do moths fly into flames? It means instant death, so what's the evolutionary value of this kamikaze behavior? Dawkins delivers a crash course in proximate and ultimate causality, two very important distinctions in biology. Moths evolved to navigate using celestial objects as compasses. The moon and the stars emit parallel light, a very reliable and consistent beam, meaning a moth can fly in a straight line guided by that light. Candle light is an entirely different source that emits light in a spiral... leading straight to the hottest part of the flame. These moths aren't suicidal, says Dawkins, it's a misfiring of an evolutionary trait because of a modern technology in their environment. "The right question is not, 'What’s the survival value of a suicidal behavior in moths?'" he says, "The right question is, 'What is the survival value of having the kind of physiology which, under some circumstances, leads you to fly into a flames?'"

This kind of thinking undermines the claim that if religion is omnipresent, it must reflect something true or at least helpful to participants. But how does that argument work with the moth? Just because they all follow a path instinctively doesn't make it a good one.

 

[Link]

Humans and God's guidance go together such that we lose focus and go towards darkness without guidance. We need God's guidance and even if we didn't need it desperately, it's God's grace to establish a guidance and even if we can obey God without his anointed kings, it would be a grace to manifest his chosen kings.

 

[KerimF]

John B. Noss suggest that man does not and cannot stand alone. He is vitally related to and even dependent on powers in nature and Society external to himself. Man's Religions.

It seems John B Noss missed to mention Man's Politics

A formal ruling system (having a certain law imposed on people) could be religious or political.
Speaking practically, both are two faces of the same penny (driving and controlling the multitudes). Naturally, each of them has its own believers. And let us recall that also Politics (as religions) is different from one region to another (hence the plural name )

Is it possible that our creator made us with a need to believe in him ?

Well, Jesus I know (on the today's Gospel) doesn't tell me to worship Him... or my Father in Heaven since both are unified, since before Creation, by the Divine Spirit of Love, the Holy Spirit; therefore, they have One Will towards any outsider who sees them as if they were One Entity/Being.

Jesus reminds me that if I can't trust my Creator, the One Will (God), behind my existence, of both my Father in Heaven and Jesus, I can't trust myself as well. This is why Jesus tells to love/trust God to no limit, not to worship and praise God or obey any Law said of God.

By the way, I know it is rather hard for a typical believer in any religion/belief around the world to get what I said

Back to the topic, in reality, it is the privileged powerful rich representatives of a god or of a political system who need indeed their followers to believe in their god or their system; otherwise how could they convince (or expect) them to obey their rules and observe their rituals/holidays?

 

[Dan From Smithville]

John B. Noss suggest that man does not and cannot stand alone. He is vitally related to and even dependent on powers in nature and Society external to himself. Man's Religions

It seems that this premise could explain the reason for the proliferation of religions in the world, and is evidence of a deep seated requirement of human to worship a higher power.

Could it be said then, that religion satisfies a basic human need? That it is comparable to food and water in that it is subject to a similar drive to be fulfilled ?

Possibly, Jesus words are a good reason to view this premise as valid:
"My food is for me to do the will of him that send me..." John 4:34
The Apostle Paul compared spiritual knowledge as food:" ...solid food belongs to mature people..." Heb 5:14

Even those that reject a divinity have some type of belief.
Although vehemently rejected by followers, Evolution is aptly demonstrated to be a belief with all the hallmark of a religion. (Evolution Is Religion--Not Science).

It's interesting that there are words for a person with no affiliation to a religion or for a person that does not believe in God, but there are no words for a person without a belief.(to my knowledge)
Additionally, even a furtive glance at the definition of "belief" shows that it has all the signs of being closely related to religion.

Contrary to animals, everybody has an inbuilt requirement to believe in something higher than themselves.
Of course there is always someone declaring that he believes only in himself. At best that belief is ephemeral and subject to a rude awakening to reality.

Is it possible that our creator made us with a need to believe in him ?

It is always amusing how you all have to get that jab in at science even though you still have nothing. Well, propaganda papers long on opinion and wishful thinking but absent of hallmarks and anything aptly demonstrated.

 

[Left Coast]

Religion is the devils tool .

Except for yours, of course.

"I don't have one" in 3...2...

 

[lewisnotmiller]

John B. Noss suggest that man does not and cannot stand alone. He is vitally related to and even dependent on powers in nature and Society external to himself. Man's Religions

It seems that this premise could explain the reason for the proliferation of religions in the world, and is evidence of a deep seated requirement of human to worship a higher power.

Could it be said then, that religion satisfies a basic human need? That it is comparable to food and water in that it is subject to a similar drive to be fulfilled ?

Possibly, Jesus words are a good reason to view this premise as valid:
"My food is for me to do the will of him that send me..." John 4:34
The Apostle Paul compared spiritual knowledge as food:" ...solid food belongs to mature people..." Heb 5:14

Even those that reject a divinity have some type of belief.
Although vehemently rejected by followers, Evolution is aptly demonstrated to be a belief with all the hallmark of a religion. (Evolution Is Religion--Not Science).

It's interesting that there are words for a person with no affiliation to a religion or for a person that does not believe in God, but there are no words for a person without a belief.(to my knowledge)
Additionally, even a furtive glance at the definition of "belief" shows that it has all the signs of being closely related to religion.

Contrary to animals, everybody has an inbuilt requirement to believe in something higher than themselves.
Of course there is always someone declaring that he believes only in himself. At best that belief is ephemeral and subject to a rude awakening to reality.

Is it possible that our creator made us with a need to believe in him ?

It's demonstrably NOT a need in the way that food and water are.
People can...and do...live without religion. You wouldn't last a week without water.

But you already knew that.

 

[RestlessSoul]

It's demonstrably NOT a need in the way that food and water are.
People can...and do...live without religion. You wouldn't last a week without water.

But you already knew that.

People can, and do, live without love, too. And some people live a very long time without hope.

I wouldn't want that though, for myself or anybody else..

 

[Valjean]

But what if we didn't?

If we didn't, and a god exists, he certainly doesn't seem particularly interested in making either himself and his interests known.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Is it possible that our creator made us with a need to believe in him ?

If it were so we'd expect there to be virtually no atheists. Instead their numbers are on the rise.

 

[Heyo]

If it were so we'd expect there to be virtually no atheists. Instead their numbers are on the rise.

... in wealthy, secular and socially secure societies. It seems that people living in fear or misery are more attracted to religion. (That's why many religious leaders like to have people in fear and misery. Many religions have that aspect built in.)

 

[Deidre]

I don't think so. If it's innate how would people define it if they were never introduced to the concept of a higher power?

Even when I was catholic briefly I never saw God as anything higher, grand, or authoritative. If it's inmate, what's the common denominator?

I don't believe I'm the only one out of the loop, but I'd think if it's innate we would all have some common thread.

Maybe not necessarily a higher power, but thinking on an existential level perhaps is inherent within us all? Asking the questions - why am I here, do I have a purpose, is there a creator, etc...

No right or wrong answers, just my point of view.

 

[Valjean]

Maybe not necessarily a higher power, but thinking on an existential level perhaps is inherent within us all? Asking the questions - why am I here, do I have a purpose, is there a creator, etc...

No right or wrong answers, just my point of view.

These are sophisticated questions asked by persons in complex societies. Not questions hunter-gatherers would worry about.

 

[Suave]

John B. Noss suggest that man does not and cannot stand alone. He is vitally related to and even dependent on powers in nature and Society external to himself. Man's Religions

It seems that this premise could explain the reason for the proliferation of religions in the world, and is evidence of a deep seated requirement of human to worship a higher power.

Could it be said then, that religion satisfies a basic human need? That it is comparable to food and water in that it is subject to a similar drive to be fulfilled ?

Possibly, Jesus words are a good reason to view this premise as valid:
"My food is for me to do the will of him that send me..." John 4:34
The Apostle Paul compared spiritual knowledge as food:" ...solid food belongs to mature people..." Heb 5:14

Even those that reject a divinity have some type of belief.
Although vehemently rejected by followers, Evolution is aptly demonstrated to be a belief with all the hallmark of a religion. (Evolution Is Religion--Not Science).

It's interesting that there are words for a person with no affiliation to a religion or for a person that does not believe in God, but there are no words for a person without a belief.(to my knowledge)
Additionally, even a furtive glance at the definition of "belief" shows that it has all the signs of being closely related to religion.

Contrary to animals, everybody has an inbuilt requirement to believe in something higher than themselves.
Of course there is always someone declaring that he believes only in himself. At best that belief is ephemeral and subject to a rude awakening to reality.

Is it possible that our creator made us with a need to believe in him ?

I am quite healthy and prosperous being irreligious.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

Maybe not necessarily a higher power, but thinking on an existential level perhaps is inherent within us all? Asking the questions - why am I here, do I have a purpose, is there a creator, etc...

No right or wrong answers, just my point of view.

I don't know. It could be age too or external factors. If I never heard of RF I wouldn't have entertained some of those questions. Higher power and creator I've never asked, and purpose was always in relation to myself and environment rather than an "higher" purpose, consciousness, or however named. Anything that makes something "great/divine/higher" doesn't attract me.

I think probably most people do to an extent-some within their community culture or maybe not at all because their community defines their purpose while others I think in teen age, midlife, and old age, there are different versions of those questions.

In all honesty, I've always wondered a bit why would we think we'd have a creator.

I mean, we don't "create" we recycle what already exists on earth. I guess the closest thing to creation is conception but the baby didn't come from midair, so I feel it's more of a circular creating, I guess. I'd ask more where is my place in the cycle of life that has always existed rather than what is my place as creation.

But, I honestly don't know.

Welcome back by the way.