Monday, 12 February 2007
Sunday, 11 February 2007
The Validity of Religion
I realise this is going to annoy a lot of people but I think it's about time the world started to seriously debate the validity of religion. I feel in a world where so many people create divisions due to race, sex, social class or any number of other personal differences, religion is an unnecessary divisive barrier for many people which needn't exist. I do not wish to impose my views on those with religious beliefs but question whether from within a religious viewpoint many have seriously considered what religion as a concept is and why it may exist.
In the world today many people believe in religion and in a greater being or power. I, personally, find it strange that so many people still hold on to (as I see it) irrational and illogical beliefs and I shall explain why. I feel the creation of religions many hundreds or thousands of years ago is understandable but we should now as a society be advanced enough to overcome the need to hold religious belief.
Religion and religious beliefs are human concepts, created to rationalise the world. In a time where science was limited and much of the world was unknown, the development of a belief system to explain creation and the world's events based on a greater power was far more comfortable than the reality of the unknown. The unknown is an uncomfortable concept for the human mind so the creation of a greater power, explaining all creates a more satisfying mental state than constant questioning of the world around oneself. In times where uncertainties were great and survival was difficult the proliferation of movements led by charismatic, individuals or groups who claimed to offer explanations, value systems and crucially give individuals a sense of self worth and meaning to an individuals life is unsurprising. An uncomfortable aspect of the human mind is that it cannot offer explanation for every question it can pose. We are now, thanks to the rationalising nature of learning, largely through science, able to answer a far greater proportion of the questions the human mind poses. However in times where very little scientific development had taken place, a 'One explanation, explains all' solution must have been irresistible. We are now able to appreciate the deficiency of the human mind but in earlier times, it would have been nigh on impossible to turn down the concept of religion with no other possible explanations for the world and it's many unexplainable facets. Religion and belief systems were adopted and exploited by individuals and factions in the various societies around the world as a tool to gain power and were proliferated for personal gain. The ability to control and develop populations for personal gain was extremely successful when religious ideology was
The creation of religion occurred independently in almost all societies. The fact that the concept of a greater power and with that, a religious belief system was replicated independently at so many different times and at so many different locations all across the world suggests that this was a social phenomena and a natural rationalising process for societies. Therefore, I argue, religion is a human concept, one I would suggest societies created due to the a number of intrinsic human needs including as previously mentioned, the need for meaning for the self and also the need for understanding. Religion was a means of explanation of the unexplainable and ultimately has nothing at all to do with an outside power but an internal need.
The very fact that so many different religions exist or existed should show that religion is a human creation. To demonstrate this point from within a religious perspective, in a theoretical situation, if one religion could be proven tomorrow (and most modern religions assert that their religion is the correct religion and others are incorrect), this would in turn disprove all other religions, leading to the questions of how and why all these disproved religions started and why they erroneously believed what they did. The only explanation in this scenario would be human error. Judgements were made to believe in what could not be proven.
However looking at this from a non-religious perspective and more of a sociological viewpoint, it is logical to group the creation of all religions in the same cause. If belief in some religions is obviously the result of human error and misjudgement, it follows that if they all have the same cause, belief in all religions this is human error and misjudgement.
If I were to create a religion today, produce a god, a system of values and build up rhetoric to re-enforce the religion's existence, it is unlikely I would be able to develop a large following. Most people would ignore it as make believe or farce and would dismiss it quite rightly as my own fabrication. However, millions of people around the world are willing to believe in long established religions without questioning of the creation of their own religion and questioning the concept of religion itself. The rhetoric built up around a religion, the value attached to it, the time and energy an individual invests in it and the passing of these values from generation to generation perpetuates belief without questioning. Many religious individuals when questioned about aspects of religion will respond with statements about belief and faith. This is a way avoiding analysis of a religion and holding it up to the rigours of rational analysis.
I believe those who believe in religion owe it to themselves to analyse what religion is and why it exists and would encourage all to do so. From a personal point of view, I was brought up going to a Methodist Christian church however, from an early age I began to question the validity of the concept of a God. I went on to study aspects of sociology and psychology, in particular the movements of western society developing from being focused on Christianity to becoming a capitalist society. Thanks to a rational analysis of religion, I now realise it is a falsehood. Although the transition from believing in a god to not believing is uncomfortable as one has to re-assess the world and ones' self, I think it is something that society has to face up to.
In the world today many people believe in religion and in a greater being or power. I, personally, find it strange that so many people still hold on to (as I see it) irrational and illogical beliefs and I shall explain why. I feel the creation of religions many hundreds or thousands of years ago is understandable but we should now as a society be advanced enough to overcome the need to hold religious belief.
Religion and religious beliefs are human concepts, created to rationalise the world. In a time where science was limited and much of the world was unknown, the development of a belief system to explain creation and the world's events based on a greater power was far more comfortable than the reality of the unknown. The unknown is an uncomfortable concept for the human mind so the creation of a greater power, explaining all creates a more satisfying mental state than constant questioning of the world around oneself. In times where uncertainties were great and survival was difficult the proliferation of movements led by charismatic, individuals or groups who claimed to offer explanations, value systems and crucially give individuals a sense of self worth and meaning to an individuals life is unsurprising. An uncomfortable aspect of the human mind is that it cannot offer explanation for every question it can pose. We are now, thanks to the rationalising nature of learning, largely through science, able to answer a far greater proportion of the questions the human mind poses. However in times where very little scientific development had taken place, a 'One explanation, explains all' solution must have been irresistible. We are now able to appreciate the deficiency of the human mind but in earlier times, it would have been nigh on impossible to turn down the concept of religion with no other possible explanations for the world and it's many unexplainable facets. Religion and belief systems were adopted and exploited by individuals and factions in the various societies around the world as a tool to gain power and were proliferated for personal gain. The ability to control and develop populations for personal gain was extremely successful when religious ideology was
The creation of religion occurred independently in almost all societies. The fact that the concept of a greater power and with that, a religious belief system was replicated independently at so many different times and at so many different locations all across the world suggests that this was a social phenomena and a natural rationalising process for societies. Therefore, I argue, religion is a human concept, one I would suggest societies created due to the a number of intrinsic human needs including as previously mentioned, the need for meaning for the self and also the need for understanding. Religion was a means of explanation of the unexplainable and ultimately has nothing at all to do with an outside power but an internal need.
The very fact that so many different religions exist or existed should show that religion is a human creation. To demonstrate this point from within a religious perspective, in a theoretical situation, if one religion could be proven tomorrow (and most modern religions assert that their religion is the correct religion and others are incorrect), this would in turn disprove all other religions, leading to the questions of how and why all these disproved religions started and why they erroneously believed what they did. The only explanation in this scenario would be human error. Judgements were made to believe in what could not be proven.
However looking at this from a non-religious perspective and more of a sociological viewpoint, it is logical to group the creation of all religions in the same cause. If belief in some religions is obviously the result of human error and misjudgement, it follows that if they all have the same cause, belief in all religions this is human error and misjudgement.
If I were to create a religion today, produce a god, a system of values and build up rhetoric to re-enforce the religion's existence, it is unlikely I would be able to develop a large following. Most people would ignore it as make believe or farce and would dismiss it quite rightly as my own fabrication. However, millions of people around the world are willing to believe in long established religions without questioning of the creation of their own religion and questioning the concept of religion itself. The rhetoric built up around a religion, the value attached to it, the time and energy an individual invests in it and the passing of these values from generation to generation perpetuates belief without questioning. Many religious individuals when questioned about aspects of religion will respond with statements about belief and faith. This is a way avoiding analysis of a religion and holding it up to the rigours of rational analysis.
I believe those who believe in religion owe it to themselves to analyse what religion is and why it exists and would encourage all to do so. From a personal point of view, I was brought up going to a Methodist Christian church however, from an early age I began to question the validity of the concept of a God. I went on to study aspects of sociology and psychology, in particular the movements of western society developing from being focused on Christianity to becoming a capitalist society. Thanks to a rational analysis of religion, I now realise it is a falsehood. Although the transition from believing in a god to not believing is uncomfortable as one has to re-assess the world and ones' self, I think it is something that society has to face up to.
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