Why do people need religion?

Question

Why do people need faith in a dogma.

Answer 1

People need HOPE more than anything. Religion gives people that hope that everything will be ok. It also gives people a sense of belonging and a set of moral rules to live by. I think that draws people to their particular faith.

Answer 2

Because humans are still a largely emotion-based, irrational species. For many, religion fills one or more emotional niches:
* Attending church provides a sense of community and social networking.
* Believing in a greater power also entails belief that one is a part of that greater power.
* Religion provides a method of moral enforcement.
* Religion provides easy, "warm-fuzzy" answers to hard questions about our origins, purpose in life, and death.
* Humans are still pretty territorial creatures, not just geographically, but ideologically as well. Religion and faith in a dogma expresses that "us vs. them" distinction that many humans innately have.

My view on religion is that it is a mental crutch. If your leg is broken then a crutch is just the thing you need. But if your legs are fine, then a crutch is a hindrance. Although I don't like religion and believe it does the world far more harm than good, I don't think I would take it away from those who truly need it and have no better alternatives. But I do have a gripe with religion when it's depended upon by people who should or would be better off without it.

At the small risk of losing 10 points for best answer, I will also say that Mark's answer above is also very good.

Answer 3

Nobody needs religion, a man made dogma that brainwashes peoples. No one needs this.. Get a spiritual contact with the god of your understanding and go from there.

Answer 4

Following a particular religion or a sect is wise till such time we can find our own spiritual path through it or within it. It keep us grounded and stops us from straying off too far from our own spirit.

Though following a particular religion is not without its own dangers, we might get trapped in its rituals, customs and terminologies and refuse to work on ourselves and find our personal spiritual calling. Sometimes religious hierarchy might even confuse us as spiritual development, as we tend to see people with religious positions as people with spiritual hierarchy which is the depth of a soul, its spiritual wisdom and insights into the nature of the God and the Self.

At best, religion can be a temporary station before we depart on our own on our journey towards our own spirit, our divinity using religious sentiments as a guide or shining light. Religion is not a path, our inner spiritual journey is and that takes a lot if effort and dedication to our spirit itself, that is why so many people rather have the comfort of religion, which group or tribal support. In organized religions, the temptation for getting caught up in religious and personal dogma created thereof is too great to be tempted by it for too long.

Though a true seeker will never look for crutches in his life long journey he knows only God can do that for him, so he goes on a single limb if need be, hoping and trusting God would be second one.

Answer 5

Let me begin by pointing out that most of the classical religions beliefs emerged in a pre-scientific era, before the application of the methods of science. And that although some have attempted (and still do) to reconstruct and therefore legitimize the foundations of their religions using the best scholarly and scientific methods available to them, the origins of these religions remains a mystery.

Therefore, in answer to the question ''Why do people need religion?" the explanation is that believers have not been exposed to or either deny the factual critiques of their faith. In other words, since these believers either have deep roots of religious belief stemming from cultural origin, a lack of education or simply a lack of inquisitive state to search for logical reasoning: they know no other explanation to some of life's greatest questions other than those provided to them by a certain religion.

Transcendental temptation also comes in to play, which is when a person believes in things unseen, because they satisfy felt needs and desires. Unable to cope with certain aspects of nature, unmitigated disasters, unbearable pain or sorrow, the fear of death and not knowing what comes afterwards; the emotive and intellectual desire to submit to a belief in a transcendental realm is alluring because is offers relief from these.

Our world is a complex tapestry of joy and suffering. Religion thus can provide a powerful palliative enabling humans to cope with the unbearable, overcome mortality, and finitude; and it does so by creating fanciful systems of religious overbelief in which priests and prophets propitiate the unseen sources of power and thus shield us from the vicissitudes of fortune.

Answer 6

If "dogma" is constitution then religion should be left out unless all other religion are contained properly studied. But wait, america is a republic not a democratic nation so i dont know....

Answer 7

religion is a means by which to learn faith......you are tought to have faith in that which you can not see....it is a step in the right direction toward god...but religion is not an end, it is only a means to a beginning....once you experience the things tought in the religion, and gain enough faith to hear god and to beleive that what you hear is him, then you are taken on to the journey with christ to deepen that faith, and to peerfect the love within you, and the love that comes out of you.........at this point religions are only used to help understand what god is doing.......the books are writtings by men who have traveled the road, this text here that i write, they help to give you insight on what is going on, and they are great help as long as you do not get stuck into their dogma, but just allow god to show you through these things, the road to god is very confussing, very difficult, and very painfull, and these things, these different travels that different people have taken are very helpfull, but they are not god, they do not know everything, they are only human,tell me who speaks of the end of the journey.....and what do they speak abought......only that which god has relayed to them, they do not speak of experiencing the end.........there are those here on earth now, beleive it or not, that have found the as it at the moment.......so why is it not spoken of from there experience exactly what it is, but only how it is, lovely, wonderfull omniepresent, etc............one reason for that is because it would ruin the ending, you would not have that great surprise that awaits you,you would already know, it would be robbing your parents the joy of seeing you so delightfully surprised, so much that all there would cry, .... onother reason is that how can you understand what is over your head, you have to understand things in stages, as in math, and science.........another reason is the devil, the evil one, he must be put into check, if he knows what gods next move is, can he not interfear in greater ways.....the devil or anyone evil can not nbe allowed to know the full true.....that is a major pupose for......MYSTERY.......the devil knows the works of the religions and he know things of god, but if he knew all the things of god he would no longer be a devil.........bla....bla ....blaah.....bored....can not sleep......hope many people comprehend this....see ya on the other side.......which by the way...is right here on earth..,....you just can't see it yet......

Answer 8

Religion is not made by god but by people of earth becoz they belive in god & the religion is the source of to pray, to respect that power who are present in heaven and organise the world. The religion is the faith that some one is present who create & distroy the world & that power is calles god.

And also religion is a class in which the whole society is devided in to different catagories & the method to pray the god according to his way that all.

Answer 9

All people want to believe in absolute truths, regardless of what those truths are, because knowledge gives them security and a sense of control.

Atheists know there is no God as fervently as Christians feel His presence. Both cling to an unprovable "truth," and each feels the other is simply misguided.

Religion provides answers for those questions that science cannot. "Why are we here?"

An explanation of how we got here (which is all that is possible with science) is not a reason, and people want to feel as though life has a reason.

Some will tell you there is no reason to life, the universe, or everything.

To those people I simply say "42."

Answer 10

Religion is created by people who cannot accept that their life ends with their death. Eversince, death is being feared by most people. And in creating religion, by believing a certian dogma or by having faith by a supranatural being, their fear of deat is alleviated.

Why do we need religion, because we also have a need to security. Security, that life continue after death.