Aside from growing up being apart of a certain religion, why do people, in general, have religion? I'm convinced there are several reasons people have religion, and none of those reasons are necessarily that they whole-heartedly believe in it by faith. (Remember, I'm talking about the origin of religion. I'm not saying that people nowadays don't believe whole-heartedly by faith.)
1. They want to be loved unconditionally by someone. They want to always feel like someone loves them, no matter what, and that someone is always on their side. A being that they can't see and that doesn't talk to them could never argue with them, tell them they don't care about them, or reject them.
2. They want security that this life is not that only one out there, that they are going to go somewhere when they die. They want a reason to believe this isn't all there is, and they want to feel like whatever is out there waiting for them is pleasant. They want to feel like they're dead loved ones are not gone forever, that they're happy and "in a better place," and that they'll see them again someday.
3. Some people even like to feel dominated. They like to feel like there's someone in control of their lives, and they like to feel like someone is taking care of them and watching over them.
4. Some people even like to have someone to blame for things that are their own fault, or that was just something that happened and was nobody's fault. They like to blame bad things that happen on the devil, and sometimes they even blame their god for it.
5. Some people like to justify not having to put forth effort in making something happen, because they "put it in God's hands," and they say that if it doesn't work out, then it "wasn't apart of God's plan." Well, honestly, that is just a cop out for not making it happen yourself. (I'm not saying that people who "put things in God's hands" are automatically using that as an excuse not to try. That a situational thing. But some people do that.)
6. Some people even like to justify oppressing a certain group of people or doing something wrong with their religion. Tons of Christians justify oppressing the gay population with their religion. They say gay people shouldn't be allowed to marry, because it says in their religious book that it's wrong to be gay. There's actually a really funny video on this topic. It's hilarious, and it's short and sweet. It's what comedian Aziz Ansari has to say about people of different religions justifying their hatred with their religion. Here's the URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b92vAucJg2Y.
7. Some people don't think they have any morals to live by if they don't have a relgion to follow. They feel lost without religion and feel like they wouldn't know the difference between right and wrong without a religion telling them. But what is good to keep in mind is that "religion does not give you morals; morals give you relgion." That was something that a classmate of mine said in my current sociology class. I this reason for why people have religion is a particularly good one, because a lot of Christians, for example, think (whether subconsciously or not) that people who do not have a religion are heathens, for lack of a better word. Some Christians I've come across have thought badly of me for not claiming a the Christian religion. And some have even said they don't understand how I could possibly know the difference between right and wrong or have any kind of moral standards if I don't have a religion. To that, I say that I am a human being, and the difference between right and wrong is innate. When you're a child, your parents have to teach that to you. When you're an adult, you know if what you're doing is wrong - besides the fact that you're parents have taught you. And you want to be a good person, because you're a normal human being, and most human beings have a desire to be a good person, not because they fear drowning in a lake of fire after they die, but simply because they know it's right and want to do what's right. They don't need threats to do the right thing. They don't need the promise of a reward in heaven after they die to do the right thing. And my advice to anyone who needs threats or promises of rewards in order to do the right thing is that you should probably check yourself out and maybe re-work your views a bit. As some famous guy always says, "Check yourself."
According to Emma Goldman in her article, "Anarchism: What It Really Stands For," religion is the "dominion of the human mind." She states that "dominates man's mind...it humiliates and degrades his soul. God is everything, man is nothing, says religion. But out of that nothing, God has created a kingdom so despotic, so tyrannical, so cruel, so terribly exacting that naught but gloom and tears and blood have ruled the world since gods began." I thought that was an interesting view on religion, since most people say that religion is actually good for the mind, because it causes believers to calm down and not worry about things (such as death,) and to feel satisfied with everything due to the idea that it's all "apart of God's plan." Most people think religion is actually good for those who are the type of people who can believe through faith alone, since it gives those kinds of people peace of mind and hope. However, Goldman's view is completely different - the exact opposite, actually. So I thought that was interesting and thought-provoking.
Ok, so this note wasn't at all supposed to be about this, but I think this is interesting to bring up, so I'm going to offer a reason as to why religions were developed in the first place - or at least a reason as to why they may have been developed. People in power wanted social order. They wanted to give their citizens a reason to do what they wanted and believe what they wanted them to believe, so they said that some higher power came down and told the world that everyone would go to hell if they didn't comply with everything written down in a book, conviently in their hands. And they told their people that this higher power promised them an eternity of perfection in heaven with their loved ones if they obeyed the rules in the book. That is what I believe is quite possibly the beginning of religion. Because otherwise, why would there be so many religions? And why would all of these religions be vengeful and contain threats of damnation in a horrible place of eternal pain if people are not to comply with the rules set forth for them? Why else would these religions bribe their people with the idea of an eternity in heaven if they didn't have some secret agenda? Anyway, these are just thoughts. Don't take them too seriously. And please don't be offended that I don't believe in your religion, and that I believe it could have possibly all started with a complete lie, and with a tyrant who just wanted his people to comply with him. By the way, if you want a better understanding of what I'm trying to say, and in order to better see where I'm coming from, go watch the movie The Invention of Lying. It is exactly what I'm trying to explain here, but it's so much better at explaining it and making people understand, so they can see where people like me are coming from here. Plus, it's a really good movie.
This is some people's view of religion.
I thought this was a funny way of putting it, whether anyone thinks it's true or not.
This is the movie I was referring to.
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