Your theories for the origin of religion…?

Question

Mine is; at the beginning of sapience, some knowledge soon bought about the realization that there was so much that we didn’t know. We had only just perceived exactly how ignorant we were and at that stage, there was no way we could improve that ignorance. This must have been quite scary, to say the least, so it was necessary that we invent a concept of an alternative to knowledge – belief.

Answer 1

at the beginning people tend to worship elemental forces that went beyond their control and caused them fear, i suppose maybe some millions of years ago a man (or whatever at that time) began to sing or dance in the middle of a heavy rain that threatened to destroy his whole village and suddenly the rain stopped...or something like that.
Then some of them realized that by controlling people´s believes they could control their fears and everything in between so they started to create rules and rules, ways of dancing to the rain, things to do to applacate the rain spirit rage, i.e religion dogma. They asked for tributes, they realized how easily they could get profit of the situation and from here till today.

Answer 2

Some guy in a primative group way back when was known as being just a little more perceptive about things and was continually badgered for answers by the more simple folk. So instead of trying to explain to everybody all the particulars he came up with an entertaining methaphorical tale which was expanded with each successive generation. So all at once entertainment and religion were born.

Answer 3

That is a very good theory! I agree, but also if you could date back so far when, people made idols, such as the golden calf. Please, do not take this as sacrilegious! People have a tendency to be afraid of which they do not understand or see, because of that, people of that time decided to make a deity, or deities that seemed to fit the question of 'Why are we here?'
Also, people needed something to back on and give hope. If something bad were to happen, they would want to believe that someone, or something, was angry at them. Although religion spans with different cultures, there are two things that can really be said true about the goodness of such beliefs -- unity AND hope. Humans need those to survive, to live and share life with others and something to believe in for us to go about our day to day.

I hope this helps you! ^.^

Answer 4

Not bad. Not an alternative to knowledge, but a realistic explanation given the world you lived in.

Consider you are a "caveman"

Looking at the sun. Is it:
a) Trillions of tons of exploding hydrogen 93 million miles away?
b) A god?

Your friend collapses and dies. There are no wounds, and he has not been ill. Is it
a) A myocardial infarction?
b) God's will?

Answer 5

As part of our evolutionary 'toolkit' of survival strategies, we have a highly developed awareness of other entities in our environment - We often notice human faces in carpet patterns, rabbit-shaped clouds and so on. There is more survival value in seeing what really *is* there, and also seeing some things that *aren't* really there, than in missing things that really are there and going hungry, or worse, ending up as someone else's lunch.

The consequence of this undeniably true aspect of human nature is that we have a natural tendency to imagine 'agents' (intelligent entities) behind natural phenomena and events in our own lives that aren't really there - i.e. gods and goddesses, demons, angels, spirits - a whole menagerie of supernatural characters. Society and culture binds up these characters with our wishes and fears, our desires for dominance and submission and shared identity, and we end up with religious belief and ritual and dogma, in thousands of different flavours throughout the world and throughout history. Religion is formalised superstition - It's just a common flaw in human nature, rather like the way we see optical illusions. We can account for the existence of religious belief perfectly well with this fact-based, rational explanation, rather than believing that there really is a supernatural realm of existence.

Answer 6

I disagree. It is true that mankind seeks someone more powerful than himself to which we can attribute our existance. However, I do not think that this has anything to do with fear. It is far easier to believe in nothing than to believe in someone who is smarter, more powerful and righteously judgemental. I believe that our desire to at least "hope" that there is someone out there stems from a built in desire to know our creator. Every person has or will eventually ask...why am I here? For me, God has been the answer I was seeking but it wasn't until I accepted Him as a reality that I truly learned how great He is. This has nothing to do with a "religion" but instead is the result of a personal relationship with Him. It is no longer a matter of faith, or believing...it is a matter of total knowledge that He is there. Comes with the territory.

Answer 7

For Indo-European peoples, religion was first. For the Greeks, for example, the religion of the Titans was first. Later came the more evolved Olympian gods, together with the emergence of science.

Religion and science are two ways to understand the nature of the world. Both are quite useful and quite valid. Both are highly flawed. One major distinction between them is that followers of science recognize that their beliefs are flawed, and struggle with improving their understanding, whereas followers of religion believe that they already know all that needs to be known.

Answer 8

I'll add one more aspect to this... hope. I think thousands of years ago, people lived in total destitution. Things seemed hopeless. The "need" to believe in an afterlife (a better place than this) is what gave them hope and helped them to survive. You might say humans "evolved" the need to believe in something greater than themselves purely as a survival mechanism. This mechanism is no longer needed, but still hangs on as an evolutionary redundancy, rather like your appendix.

Answer 9

The FSM is in simple terms as valid because the christian delusion!! certainly likely more advantageous so in view that spaghetti should be proved to exist!! Now attempt the actuality on christians claims!! in simple terms academia states that in the absence of information of the life of something it can be deemed now to not exist till verifiable information is got here across - accordingly god is held now to not exist pending some form of verifiable information. there is no longer one unmarried aspect out of Jesus in the entire Roman record - it extremely is nice - no longer one!!! at the same time as he replaced into meant to were round there have been countless Jews claiming to be the messiah - all of whom are nicely recorded!! He replaced into meant to were an excellent difficulty to the Romans and produced spectacular miracles yet nonetheless no longer one present day record? Even the bible mentions of him like a number of different references were no longer written till many years after his meant lack of life!! Pilot is recorded in the Roman record as a fairly lack luster guy yet no aspect out of a Jesus, a tribulation or crucifixion that ought to surely were used to make him seem brighter!! At magnificent he replaced into an amalgam of those others!! The Roman Emperor Constantine produced the bible and he replaced right into a pagan no longer god!!! He also prepared Christianity into the Holly Roman Catholic Church!! no longer in Israel or any of the international locations of meant starting place yet fullyyt Italian!! no longer one be conscious of it really is present day with the era and replaced into no longer written till many years after the era the tale is determined in!! How did the apostles write their books lengthy once they were useless? What a ask your self finished disinformation and deception campaign he waged adverse to his Christian enemies - so strong in shown actuality that Christians are nonetheless following the deception to promptly!!! the first individual to grant a shred of verifiable information for God will develop into international commonly used and mega wealthy!! Ain't occurred yet and it under no circumstances will!! yet spaghetti makers are incomes a first rate volume of money are they no longer?!!

Answer 10

Dude, religion was just a way to explain the universe at first. We saw something and made a deduction. We had no method of documentation and reasoning back then. Hence, religion...then it diverged into a monster who hungers for power.