What practical function does religion hold?

[Quintessence]

Well, of course, I have relationships with other humans. I'm not a shut-in, but when we're talking about something "not of this world," then it's not really part of our physical reality, is it? I'm dependent upon other humans and the basic forces of nature, but does it really require any kind of religious worship of something unseen?

Setting aside that many if not most of the gods are "of this world" . . .

. . . something having a "physical reality" is not necessary for existence or influence. I mean, law is hardly a physical thing you can put in a jar or point a stick at. In spite of that, any human in a nation that believes in these things called "laws" must navigate their relationship with said laws (or not, at their own peril). Does one have to worship the law? Consider it sacred, worthy of reverence? Reserve a holiday to celebrate it? Deeply ponder it and study it? Read daily or weekly devotions from the book of laws?

Of course not.

But one would be an idiot not to pay it mind and due respect if one lives in a nation under laws.

 

[Quintessence]

If your religion helps you search for meaning, that's great. I don't see much search for meaning in the religion I see around me.

I mostly see tribalism and organizations trying to propagate themselves.

That's pretty cynical, but I guess we can reduce the human species down to tribalism and breeding machines. You need to add destroyers of worlds in there somewhere, though.

 

[Regiomontanus]

How is this, in your own words, relevant to the OP?

This is a discussion forum, not a C/P scripture forum.

I sense some hostility on your part. Am I wrong?

OP, in part:

"...let's just assume for the sake of argument that there really is some sort of intelligent higher power which created this place we live in - and created us to live here. My question would be: So what?"

Hence my reply. Ok, maybe I should have said "So what?" Instead of "Why?"


What is your problem? I literally answered his question, IMHO.

 

[Kathryn]

My faith makes me a better person to other people, to myself, to my God.

 

[SalixIncendium]

I sense some hostility and intolerance in your post. Am I wrong?

Yes.

OP, in part:

"...let's just assume for the sake of argument that there really is some sort of intelligent higher power which created this place we live in - and created us to live here. My question would be: So what?"

Hence my reply.

What is your problem?

You put more effort in your reply to me than you did in your reply to the OP.

 

[Regiomontanus]

Yes.


You put more effort in your reply to me than you did in your reply to the OP.

I thought the justification of my response to the OP was obvious.

 

[SalixIncendium]

I thought the justification of my response to the OP was obvious.

As I said, this forum is for discussion, not to just copy and paste scripture in response to a post.

I see what you did here as the real life equivalent to shoving a Bible in someone's face when they ask you a question. Wouldn't you consider that rude?

 

[Bear Wild]

If your religion helps you search for meaning, that's great. I don't see much search for meaning in the religion I see around me.

I mostly see tribalism and organizations trying to propagate themselves.

Why do you think you do not have a religion? Many religions are not tribal or organized and do not intentionally propagate themselves.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Why do you think you do not have a religion? Many religions are not tribal or organized and do not intentionally propagate themselves.

One reason: because people who do generally everything I do and also have a religion don't say that they have two religions.

Edit: less flippantly, IMO, I see a religion as a community of shared belief and practice, though there's more to it than that (e.g. a political party isn't a religion). None of the communities that I participate in would normally be considered religious in nature. I personally don't consider them religious.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Many religions are not tribal or organized and do not intentionally propagate themselves.

Which ones?

 

[Bear Wild]

Which ones?

Most of the pagan and animistic ones.

 

[PearlSeeker]

Even if that were true, why would that require us, as humans, to create a religion around it and worship whatever it is we think created us?

If you see something as a gift you are grateful and want to thank the giver.

I'm not completely dismissing some of the more positive aspects, at least in terms of charitable work, giving a helping hand to people in need or people going through various trials and tribulations in life. These are good things which do have beneficial aspects for society. But this is just people helping people - no higher power is really needed or required.

Not just people helping people but also people helping (comforting and giving meaning) themselves.

Yes. No extrinsic power required. But it can help to believe in one - as something that pushes you forward, maximizes your ethical virtue potential, inspires your art, heals your despair and fears ... Even if it's like a placebo (self-deception), it's better than nothing.

 

[anotherneil]

It's simple - the practical function that religion holds is control over people.

 

[Stevicus]

I don't get involved much in religion/atheism discussions, but thought I'd offer an idea on your OP. Is it possible you're looking at religion with a 20th/21st century lens, without considering that for thousands of years, various religions ordered societies around the globe? Humans are moving beyond them now, but maybe (I'm not a historian) it's only with the benefit of human and scientific advancement that atheism is now compatible with modern society?

In history, as has already been mentioned here in various ways, religion provided cultural and legal structure, community, purpose and security, and it fostered learning, invention and creativity, among other things. Modern humans can find all these things via the secular now, but it wasn't always so. Look at the amazing wonders created by people who believed that what they were building was pleasing to their deity. I'm glad they exist, whether I believe in their deity or not.

Well, yes, many early societies were religiously-based. I would suggest the possibility that the concepts of politics (social contract) and language would have had to have been developed before any kind of religion came into the picture. I perceive that these are concepts which evolved with humanity - and they could have developed without religion, per se. Religion has certainly been a powerful organizing influence, but not the only one.

 

[Stevicus]

Good idea. I think that religion and belief are two different things. One can exist without the other.

So, would you want a relationship with this power? Either to thank it, or to convince it that it should leave you alone?

Would I want a relationship with this power? Can it be presumed that a desire for such a relationship would be automatic, or is it possible that this power (whatever it may be) even wants a relationship with me? Whom or what would I thank, and why? I never asked to be put here on this earth, so why would I thank someone I never met for something I never asked for?

Depends on your concept of deity. Are they omnipotent or could they use our help? Are they interested or im interested in interacting with humans?
I worship gods that seem to be interested in me at least a bit.

Any concept of deity would suffice. How do you know, or how can one verify, that a god or gods may be interested in you? It could be that some deity planted a seed on earth millions of years ago - and we are the evolutionary result. But that deity could be long gone, dead, or totally disinterested in us now.

True, but shared cult practice and festivals help to keep a community connected with each other and the world.

That's actually a good point, at least in terms of human communities. Although that would put it in the realm of a "hobby," as @9-10ths_Penguin pointed out.

I agree. It's perfectly possible to organize charity and a caring community without involving any gods. Religion is an option here, not a requirement.

I am religious, but I am a bit ambiguous on the aspect of "belief" myself. My religion does not require it, neither in myself nor in others.
It's perfectly fine with me if other people live their lives in a peaceful and ethical way. Whether they want or have a relationship to any deity is up to them.

It's good that some religions are tolerant in that way and feel no compulsion to "burn the heretic." If all religions were like that, we'd have a much more tolerant and peaceful world.

 

[SalixIncendium]

It's simple - the practical function that religion holds is control over people.

Since you made a statement for all religion, please provide examples of this in the dharmic and contemporary Pagan paradigms.

 

[Stevicus]

What I read is that your question was about religion but your post is about God. To your question Religion is a great benefit to individuals allowing them to exist in a harsh world and has some benefit to society. Without religion Psychiatrists and Therapists would never get any rest and still fall behind.

There are those who might argue that, without religion, psychiatrists and therapists might have a lot less work to do.

It your post about God. God is not needed other than to head the religion. For religion to work it cannot be based in reality but must have a spiritual source. God is simply the spiritual source for some religions.

The question was about religion and whether it serves any practical function - either for human society or even for any possible deity or deities which may have created us. At least on some levels, religion seems to strongly imply that whoever created us did so just to create minions or "pets" to worship them, perhaps out of boredom, vanity, or ego gratification? Considering the age of the universe and comparing that with the number of years humans existed, it would seem that humans would not have been necessary for any deity to create the universe or set in motion the processes which govern it, so why would any god need us for anything? Just to worship? A form of entertainment?

 

[Stevicus]

Why?

16 “For God so loved the world,[i] that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

Well, this sounds like it could be good for the people who worship God or the Son of God, but what does God get out of it? Why would God create a world with humans in it, just to go through this process which God contrived and invented? And why would worship and belief be required in order to do good works? Some religious people might argue that "works" are unimportant and meaningless, that it's all about faith and belief. Even if one does good works, it ostensibly means nothing without the "belief," but why is that the case?

I would compare it to a manager at a company. As a manager, my primary concern would be that my subordinates and underlings carry out the tasks assigned to them - for the good of the organization as a whole, not for me personally. No one would need to worship me or kiss up to me, as I would judge them strictly by their job performance, not by how they feel about me. But the bottom line is that my own personal feelings or ego gratification are meaningless. What matters most is a favorable outcome for the collective whole, not for me personally. Worship, belief, and/or faith are unnecessary - just a practical mind and clarity of purpose.

 

[Koldo]

While reading some of the debates about religion and atheism, a lot of the focus seems to be on "belief" or "non-belief," which sometimes seems to go in circles. In this thread, I'm thinking of looking more in the sense of the practical function of religion in everyday life in modern society.

Even setting aside the question of "belief," let's just assume for the sake of argument that there really is some sort of intelligent higher power which created this place we live in - and created us to live here. My question would be: So what?

Even if that were true, why would that require us, as humans, to create a religion around it and worship whatever it is we think created us? What actual function does it serve for whatever deity or deities built this place? What practical use does it hold for humanity? Human minds have derived our own concepts of morality, so we didn't really need any god to tell us how to behave or what is good and what is evil.

I'm not completely dismissing some of the more positive aspects, at least in terms of charitable work, giving a helping hand to people in need or people going through various trials and tribulations in life. These are good things which do have beneficial aspects for society. But this is just people helping people - no higher power is really needed or required.

If we just live our lives and deal with the world as it is presented to us, then isn't that enough? Why can't we be atheists, even if there really is a god or gods or some other higher power? Why is a lack of belief such a horrible thing in the eyes of religious people? What's the worst thing that could happen?

One of the core parts about every socially relevant religion I know of is to tell the adherents how they are supposed to live their lives. Failing to do so has consequences that vary according to the religion.

In Abrahamic religions, you are either punished by God, or at the very least don't get to have an afterlife. In Buddhism, you don't reach nirvana. In Hinduism, you don't become free from samsara. In Spiritism, you reincarnate in crappy conditions.

 

[Tamino]

Would I want a relationship with this power? Can it be presumed that a desire for such a relationship would be automatic, or is it possible that this power (whatever it may be) even wants a relationship with me? Whom or what would I thank, and why? I never asked to be put here on this earth, so why would I thank someone I never met for something I never asked for?

Well, you don't need to. If you don't have an intrinsic motivation to seek out a relationship with the divine, then just don't do it.

Any concept of deity would suffice. How do you know, or how can one verify, that a god or gods may be interested in you? It could be that some deity planted a seed on earth millions of years ago - and we are the evolutionary result. But that deity could be long gone, dead, or totally disinterested in us now.

Personal experience, and my interpretation of that experience. There's nothing else that convinces me of the existence and interest of any deity. There's no external or objective verification.

That's actually a good point, at least in terms of human communities. Although that would put it in the realm of a "hobby," as @9-10ths_Penguin pointed out.

Religion being an individual hobby or a cultural tradition is perfectly fine with me.

It's good that some religions are tolerant in that way and feel no compulsion to "burn the heretic." If all religions were like that, we'd have a much more tolerant and peaceful world.

I 'm not sure about that, actually. The bronze age Near Eastern religions were all fairly tolerant and non-dogmatic... But humans found plenty of reasons to wage war and kill each other.