RELIGION: Its Character, Causes and Cure

Anpere: Anthropological Perspectives on Religion, 2007

Religion is a collection of behavior that is only unified in our Western conception of it. It need not have a natural unity. There is no reason to assume, and good reason not to assume, that all religious behavior evolved together at the same time in response to a single shift in the environment. This article does not look at the religion as a unified entity and seek a definition of its essence. Instead, it looks at what science needs to know in order to discover how and why religion came into existence as a human behavior. What does science need to know about religion, or how should religion be defined so that science can look at it? A definition that refers to observable behavior is required. Then, a preliminary hypothesis to orient observations is proposed. I suggest a preliminary hypothesis consisting of three stages in the evolution of religion:(1) a cognizer of unobservable agents, (2) a sacred category classifier, and (3) a motivator for public sacrifice. Each one of these stages is a nucleus of modern anthropological theorizing. Although they all come together in the Western folk concept of religion, this article proposes that they are independent evolutionary complexes that should not be lumped together, but should be investigated as separate types of religious behavior

distinguishes man from the other a n i r n a l~.~ The study of man cannot be complete unless it includes the study of his religion, for it is a very important and outstanding feature of human life. The religious faith and practices are intimately connected with human nature and life in general. However unrefined a religion might have been in its origin, and however gross the superstitions with which it has often been associated, its omnipresence and centrality in the history of humanity are facts to be reckoned with.3 The religious perceptions and sensitivity helped man a lot to keep alive and hopeful in his hazardous journey through history.4 In many cases the bonds of religion have proved stronger than the bonds of race or climate or even descent.

Consensus, 2018

This article looks at the two faces of religion: one potentially divisive and the other holistic and nothing but unifying.

Critic – Te Arohi, 2010

Choice Reviews Online, 2013

Open Journal of Philosophy, vol. 10(3), pp. 346-367, 2020

Religion emerged among early humans because both purposive and non-purposive explanations were being employed but understanding was lacking of their precise scope and limits. Given also a context of very limited human power, the resultant foregrounding of agency and purposive explanation expressed itself in religion's marked tendency towards anthropomorphism and its key role in legitimizing behaviour. The inevitability of death also structures the religious outlook; with ancestors sometimes assigned a role in relation to the living. Subjective elements such as the experience of dreams and the internalization of moral precepts also play their part. Two important sources of variation among religions concern the adoption of a dualist or non-dualist perspective, and whether or not the religion's early political experience is such as to generate a systematic doctrine subordinating politics to religion. The near ubiquity and endurance of religion are further illuminated by analysis of its functions and ideological role. Religion tends to be socially conservative but has the potential to be revolutionary.

As progressive beings we are endowed with faculties such as reasoning, discerning, probing, inquiring, critiquing and exploring. Nowadays we could proudly say that 'sky is not the limit' and human aspirations is such that to get to know and get into the unexplored terrains and conquer everything at one point of time termed as 'mysteries', now a reality. With the application of our critical and creative faculties and questioning and exploring capacities we keep moving on to greater heights. Inquiring and questioning mind and reasoning power are the greatest components endowed in human beings that enable and extend the urge in us to move forward and higher. Homo sapiens per se have been innovative, creative and ground breaking. Science and technology contributed to approximate these achievements. Parallel to these developments, side by side, religion co-exists. Organized religion from time to time instills or refills its adherent not to drift from the basic tenets, rituals, religious practices, traditions and belief system. The belief in God as the center of being continues and for this the organized religion sustains their belief in varied ways. In trials and tribulations and frustrations and hopelessness, the leverage of hope is extended only by religion apart from cementing the

Religious belief is one of the most pervasive and ubiquitous characteristics of human society. Religion has shadowed and illuminated human lives since the earliest times, shaping the worldviews of cultures from isolated tribes to vast empires. Starting from the premise that religion is a concept referring to human activities, which can be analysed and compared across time and cultures, What is Religion? brings the most up-to-date scholarship to bear on humankind's most enduring creation.

2021

Religion Reexamined is a concise introduction to world religions. It is designed to facilitate a comparative study of religions. It is divided into eight chapters that thoroughly examine the foundations of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, and Secularism. Following Clifford Geertz, it treats each religion as a cultural system composed of three parts: ethos (character), ethics (way of life), and ethnos (social entity). Using Stephen Prothero’s approach, it identifies each religions’ problem, solutions to the problem, techniques for moving from problem to solution, and exemplars who chart the path from problem to solution. It includes critical reviews of religion by psychologists, sociologists, anthropologists, and philosophers from Aristotle to Karen Armstrong.

Religion is in disrepute in our times. It is variably seen as a cause of conflicts and wars, as a body of illogical and superstitious beliefs and practices, as a refuge for the weak and the unaccomplished, as a bastion of male supremacy and control of the masses, as a repository of unscientific and superstitions beliefs and practices, and as a relic of the past. From one perspective, all these critical views of religion are accurate. However, a dispassionate, objective review of the origins, teachings, and accomplishments of the main religions of the world reveals that every race and group of people has a religious and spiritual orientation and history. All religions address physical, psychological, social, and spiritual aspects of human nature and prescribe moral and ethical principles that govern human relationships and conduct. All the universal codes of moral and ethical conduct, as put forward by the main religions of the world, are in fundamental agreement. All religions concur that life is sacred; that human life is a process of actualization of our inherent potential qualities of body, mind, and spirit; and that the main purpose of religion is to bring meaning, direction, harmony, cooperation, beauty, and civility to the life of the individual and society alike. The examples of the lives of the Founders of the major religions of the world are outstanding unique testimonies to the fundamental nobility, integrity, universality, and unity of their teachings. This paper offers an integrative perspective on the phenomenon of religion, its progressive nature commensurate with the ever-evolving collective development of humanity, and its fundamental harmony with science. The paper also analyses the main reasons for the decline of religion and its misguided applications. In its analysis of the nature and purpose of religion, the paper draws heavily from the teachings of the Baha’i Faith.