Where does religion come from and what is its function? This simple question has been studied, defined, and debated by a variety of individuals with differing schools of thought throughout history. Although the conjunction of different ideologies from many of these theorists would provide the most comprehensive solution to this question, Mircea Eliade’s theory as a whole most convincingly addresses this question compared other separate theories as a whole. In particular, Eliade’s emphasis of studying religion via a cross-cultural comparison method and his notion of “the sacred and the profane” results in a deeper understanding of a given religion and the function it provides to human society as a whole. In contrast to many of the earlier theorists such as Tylor, Frazer, and Freud; Eliade suggests that to truly understand the function of a particular religion or religious practice, one must compare it to other religions across the world. For instance, the study and comparison of ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian religious stories and practices led to the key generalization of the human need for religion to cope with and explain the chaotic disturbances in life. In particular, Egyptians believed that the forces of nature were deities. One particular god, Horus, was needed to maintain order against chaos, the god Set. Therefore, a complex set of rituals were required to be performed by humans to sustain Horus in his battle against chaos (Ludwig, p326-327). Likewise, a variety of rituals common in ancient Mesopotamia were vial to harmonize the gods and goddesses to better ensure a stable cosmos (Ludwig, p329). Additionally, The Great Flood Story further validates to importance of harmony not only between the gods but also between the... ... middle of paper ... ...eation” of the soul, in which the soul ascends to the realm of the divine through seven gates (Meyer, p200). This experience exemplifies a sacred “path of transformation” where the soul is to experience an ideal state, to give a source of life and meaning (Ludwig, p16). Overall, the importance of the experience of the sacred is evident in many different religious traditions and is integrated in main, everyday life activities suggesting that religion serves to fulfill this desire. Overall, I believe that Eliade’s theory provides the most comprehensive solution to study and understand the function of religion in comparison to the other theories as a whole. The comparison of intentions behind different religious practices and the importance of religion for experiencing the sacred have begun to shed some light on the important function religion serves in human life.
Religion is considered as a pervasive force in this world. It shapes people as to how they behave and interact with almost everything present in the society. Influencing behavior, character formations, ideals, policies, standards are just among the dimensions and societal perspectives affected and impacted by religion. Because of these applications and implications in human lives and existence, religion should be understood deeply, particularly, on how it affects the world. Looking at the American perspective of the term "religion," it could be simply
Throughout this essay I will demonstrate how religion has played a role in the lives of humans as well as explicate the reasoning behind the true nature of the creation of religion by a psychopath.
Smart, Ninian. "Blackboard, Religion 100." 6 March 2014. Seven Dimensions of Religion. Electronic Document. 6 March 2014.
People of the ancient world often had questions about their existence and how life and people came to be on earth. Most ancient people answered these questions through religion. The Sumerians were the first important group of people to inhabit Mesopotamia and they were known to practice a form of worship called polytheism, which is the worship of several gods. Mesopotamians associated different gods with natural events, emotions, and other occurrences. Their main deities included An (the god of the heavens), Enlil (Lord Storm), Enki (god of wisdom), and Nihursaga (the mother of all living things)(p.22). The Mesopotamians believed that the gods controlled all of the events and occurrences in life. An ancient text called “Creation of Man by the Mother Goddess” (p.34) helps us understand how the M...
Religions of the ancient world were in a state of constant flux. Karl Jaspers states that between the eighth and fourth centuries B.C.E, “great changes took place in all the civilized world” (qtd. in Basham 36), and the great thinkers of these times began thinking independently and individually. Moreover, “after these great thinkers the world was never the same again” (qtd. in Basham 36-37). These times were dubbed the “axial period” (qtd. in Basham 37). The axial religions that emerged during this period were profound and lasting. In fact, the religions discussed in this paper—Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Christianity—are considered the most practiced religions to do this day. Although these religions have changed over time, their underlying structure remains intact.
Religion can be seen as an overarching controlling force in the universe that sustains the moral and social order of the people, serving to validate people’s lives. The main purposes of religion function to set a moral code and sense of community and security, to explain misfortunes in life and most importantly, to help people through crisis and problems, providing hope and faith. There is some evidence of hostility in Western belief systems toward magic, with magic tending to be understood as an erroneous and unreliable belief knowledge system. Some anthropologists believe it is necessary to distinguish between religion and magic, seeing religion as a rational belief system and magic as irrational. Many evolutionist anthropologists maintain the belief that magic and religion equate to different stages of social evolution, holding that ‘the deeper minds may be conceived to have made the great transition from magic to religion’ (Frazer, J 1890). This phrase is misleading because it suggests that some societies are less complex, rational or primitive than other ‘advanced’ societies, enhancing the common misconception that religion is a more rational way of dealing with problems than magic is. Religion is generally associated with developed cultures and magic is associated with undeveloped, so-called primitive cultures, hence encouraging the idea that magic belongs to superstitious, irrational individuals with limited intellectual abilities.
Religion is an ever-growing idea that has no set date of origin. Throughout history religion has served as an answer to the questions that man could not resolve. The word religion is derived from the Latin word “religio” meaning restraint in collaboration with the Greek word “relegere” which means to repeat or to read again. Religion is currently defined as an organized system of beliefs and practices revolving around, or leading to, a transcendent spiritual experience. Throughout time, there has yet to be a culture that lacks a religion of some form, whether it is a branch of paganism, a mythological based religion or mono/polytheistic religion. Many religions have been forgotten due to the fact that they were ethnic religions and globalizing religions were fighting to be recognized, annihilating these ancient and ethnic religions. Some of these faiths include: Finnish Paganism, Atenism, Minoan Religion, Mithraism, Manichaeism, Vedism, Zoroastrianism, Asatru, and the Olmec Religion. Religion is an imperative part of our contemporary world but mod...
As civilization has progressed through the ages, many religions have arisen and taken hold around the world, two if the most interesting, being the religious beliefs of the ancient Mesopotamian and the Greeks. These two religions were practiced in different areas and at different times and, therefore, show that religion has played a critical role in every society and civilization. No matter how it is organized or what type of god is worshiped, a society would be nothing without some kind of deity to organize it. In comparing the religious beliefs of the Mesopotamian and the Ancient Greeks religious components highlighted including the style of worship, the temples or places of worship, and the nature of the god or gods.
How did people revere their gods differently among three civilizations? Did they worship with the same general intent? What were gods’ role(s) in people’s lives? A brief exploration into the religions of Egypt, Greece, and the Hebrew people may bring insight to these questions. Although the main idea of higher beings remains constant throughout societies’ religion, their form of presence in people’s lives varies. I will present the relationship between the leaders and the gods, as well as resemblance to monotheism and systems of government.
The role of religion in ancient civilizations was one of primary importance. There was no idea of a separation of church and state. Rather, religious and political authorities were inseparable, with political and royal authority seen as coming directly from the gods. While various ancient civilizations had different religions and different interpretations of how those religions interacted with society, all believed that the supernatural was a part of the everyday life. At times, as in the case of Ancient Egypt, rulers were considered to actually be gods and worshiped as such. Thus, early systems of laws, such as Hebrew laws regarding preparation of food, were extensions of religious belief. This idea that the influence of the supernatural was present in everyday life was also shared by the Greeks. The Ancient Greeks believed the gods mettled in mortals' everyday lives, often appearing as mortal humans or animals to interact with people. The Sumerians likewise believed in every day impact of the gods in life, believing the gods to be vengeful and angry, and the explanation for natural disasters. Ancient Rome also held a belief in the gods as being present in everyday life, with some differences, as we shall see later. In this essay, I will examine how each of these civilization’s religions played roles in their societies.
Throughout the ancient world, religions and ideologies have developed into forms and practices that influence the very essence of civilizations. Religions could pose as a form of foundation for the beliefs, ideas, social organizations, and economic structures of a certain group of people. They provided a means of justification and form of unity between people and they helped establish and infuse new ideas into a culture. Religions were used as source to explain the misconcepted beliefs in nature and science as well as natural phenomina and it was also used to provide a source of motivation, control, and stability in a civilization.
Religion is an organized collection of beliefs and cultural systems that entail the worship of a supernatural and metaphysical being. “Religion just like other belief systems, when held onto so much, can stop one from making significant progress in life”. Together with religion come traditions that provide the people with ways to tackle life’s complexities. A subscription to the school of thought of great scholars
Through his studies he looked at a historical and phenomenological study of religion and observed patterns throughout the world, finding commonalities between religions and ideas within religions that are universally recognized. Much like Emile Durkheim, Eliades looks at the difference between the sacred and the profane. The sacred refers to something within a religion that is supernatural, beyond individuals in ordinary life. Where as the profane alludes to the ordinary life that individuals live. Therefore, the sacred and the profane are not related in the slightest, which differs from Durkheim’s perspective that the sacred and the profane are
There are probably as many definitions of religion as there are religions themselves. Behind the definitions lie differing intentions and originate from various sources. Everyone from scholars, to religious leaders, to scientists has weighed in his or her opinion. Even an entire field of academic study arose to help define religion. This academic study of religion has proven useful in facilitating a better definition of religion, as it has identified six key aspects to create a decent definition of religion (Shulman, Definitions of Religion Quiz). The six points are not being bias, not being too narrow, not being too broad, being substantive, being functional, and being comprehensive. Three definitions of religion—one acceptable, one lacking, and this author’s own—go through a compare-and-contrast analysis using these six points as the basis of critique in order to illustrate what makes a definition of religion either acceptable or lacking.
Religion can be described as a social institution built up around the idea of a supernatural being or beings, and the relation of human beings to them. In addition, religion provides individuals a belief to which they understand their existence as well network of emotional support during times of distress. Moreover, religious institutions provide individuals a proper perspective of life and establish values. Religion involves three major aspects: A conception of the nature and character of divinity (2) A set of principles concerning the duties and obligations between divinity and humanity. (3) A set of behavior patterns designed to conform to God’s will (Thorman, 154). The theme of panopticisim is to assert and maintain power by being unseen. In Christianity, God, unable to be to seen, is a supernatural being with infinite power. In addition, the Holy Bible reaffirms this power and establishes accordance among civilians. The social institution of religion is a form of a panoptic system where individuals are compelled to act accordingly.