What are the prime motives of religious people?

[osgart]

List:

The eternal hope of everlasting life.
The need for common good among all people.
Avoiding damnation.
The pursuit of justice.
The expression of what truly matters.
Love uncommon.
The need to belong.
Gotta make a living somehow.
Political power.
To learn wisdom.
The cause and effect of the heart and soul.
To repent.
To destroy evil.
A pursuit of a state of bliss.
Peace.
Judgment on those who are not like themselves.
To extend mercy to all.
To define morality for everybody.
To live in harmony with God for real.
They see no other truth that speaks to them.
Issues of personal nature.
Speaking for themselves.
Speaking for others.
On and on!

 

[Skwim]

To sooth their fears and concerns.

.

 

[Sir Doom]

So when you say 'prime' you mean... 'possible'

 

[osgart]

So when you say 'prime' you mean... 'possible'

Yes.

 

[Sir Doom]

Yes.

In which case you have left out tacos. Tacos are a possible motivation for anyone.

 

[osgart]

In which case you have left out tacos. Tacos are a possible motivation for anyone.

True but is it relevant. And is it a driving factor in society.

 

[Sir Doom]

True but is it relevant. And is it a driving factor in society.

Not to sound too smug, but I would say it motivates more people than anything you have listed. By a long shot.

 

[osgart]

Not to sound too smug, but I would say it motivates more people than anything you have listed. By a long shot.

People take their religion very seriously.
People take their secular movement very seriously too.

But i suppose it can all come down to their bellies and what feeds them.

 

[Twilight Hue]

It has to be a type of crutch. An appeal to something bigger than oneself where a sense of security, safety, and fraternity can be perceived in face of uncertainty and the unknown.

 

[osgart]

It has to be a type of crutch. An appeal to something bigger than oneself where a sense of security, safety, and fraternity can be perceived in face of uncertainty and the unknown.

For me, i dont want to lose the people i love dearly. Also it seems possible though not likely there is something special about being human, or animal that transcends nature.

 

[osgart]

People take their religion very seriously.
People take their secular movement very seriously too.

But i suppose it can all come down to their bellies and what feeds them.

You dont seem to think people take their own religion seriously. They do have many of these motives.

 

[godnotgod]

Freedom from anxiety.

"The fundamental difference between Buddhism and other religions is that Buddhism has no God or gods before whom people bow down in return for peace of mind. The spirit enmeshed in the Buddha’s teachings refuses to offer a god in exchange for freedom from anxiety. Instead, freedom from anxiety can only be found at the point where the Self settles naturally upon itself."

Excerpted from “From the Zen Kitchen to Enlightenment” by Dogen and Uchiyama

 

[Sir Doom]

You dont seem to think people take their own religion seriously. They do have many of these motives.

I don't really know what 'taking it seriously' actually means unless we're talking about extremists. This topic that we all love to discuss seems (in my experience) to be mostly confined to the internet. The average human being I encounter would much rather avoid the subject. This includes numerous occasions of people prohibiting the topic altogether.

Motivation seems to work like this:
Survival>security>comfort>power

 

[osgart]

I don't really know what 'taking it seriously' actually means unless we're talking about extremists. This topic that we all love to discuss seems (in my experience) to be mostly confined to the internet. The average human being I encounter would much rather avoid the subject. This includes numerous occasions of people prohibiting the topic altogether.

Motivation seems to work like this:
Survival>security>comfort>power

What comes after power?

 

[Sir Doom]

What comes after power?

Survival

 

[Valjean]

Fear. Insecurity. Tribalism.

 

[osgart]

Survival

https://www.google.com/amp/www.pewr...group-but-they-are-declining-in-europe/?amp=1

Power can be taken to extremes as well. Power needs a moral compass. Perhaps morals and ethics come up in your encounters?

 

[Valjean]

https://www.google.com/amp/www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/04/05/christians-remain-worlds-largest-religious-group-but-they-are-declining-in-europe/?amp=1

Power can be taken to extremes as well. Power needs a moral compass. Perhaps morals and ethics come up in your encounters?

People are generally eager to abdicate moral responsibility for simplistic solutions and authoritarian strong men.

 

[Sir Doom]

Power can be taken to extremes as well. Power needs a moral compass. Perhaps morals and ethics come up in your encounters?

Certainly, it would be nice if power came with a compass if any kind. But it doesn't.

Naturally, I have encountered plenty of morals and ethics. It's a good thing that power comes to us all. I'm not really saying we're all motivated by power, I'd say most people rarely get to the comfort level for very long.

Essentially, survival is sort of a base motivation for any life. Humans can and frequently do achieve a state where survival isn't really an active goal. It's more or less handled. At this point I see us striving to maintain that state, AKA security. Of course a fair few of us can achieve a state where security is more or less handled as well. I would say a lot of us get to experience relatively brief moments of a secure state where we shift into seeking comfort. I don't think very many of us achieve a state of comfort such that power becomes the primary focus.

As to shifting back to survival, when you play the game of thrones...

 

[osgart]

People are generally eager to abdicate moral responsibility for simplistic solutions and authoritarian strong men.

Let the chaos begin then.