What are some of the historical reasons why people invented religion?

Question

Jared Diamond's Guns Germs and Steel outlines a few of the reasons why religion was invented, specifically to allow governments to motivate the population into suicide missions . . in wars, and to control the wealth through taxation and bringing the priest class into it, forming early kleptocracies. Are modern religious states essentially set up for the same purpose? Is George Bush's America a plutocracy - where Haliburton and the like have replaced the priestly class of old? Is it just me or do Republicans always run on the platform of eliminateing abortion . . . only to control all branches of government . . and not make it illegal . . . and then to in the next election cycle . . rale the religious theists into a frenzy that if not elected some democrat will kill babies?

Answer 1

I think it's more personal than that. When a loved one dies, the mourners don't want to believe that that person doesn't exist any more. They want them to continue living, just like they hope it will happen for them when they die. Governments play on that to further their causes.

Answer 2

Greed, power, fame, delusion (sometimes with perfectly good intentions), disgust (Luther). Rather than invention, it's easiest to see this in the ways that the priests and religious leaders modify the doctrine. Add up all the modifications, though, and it can equate to invention.

All through history priests have tweeked the religious doctrine to better serve themselves. The catholics like to do this so slowly that people won't notice. But all scholars of early christianity agree that there were significant differences between Paul and the apostles, for example, in their early teachings and interpretations. And we continue to discover more fundamental differences in early christian forms. For example, the gnostic gospels were rejected by the church in favor of the gospels that were more tolerant of a powerful church.

Another example, before the Inquisition, catholic priests could marry and have children. But this was causing the church to lose its property, as the laws in some countries favored family relations even more strongly than the church. So when a priest died, his wife and children would get half of the church property. Therefore, the pope made it a rule that priests could no longer marry. Today, the church would say that it is god's directive that priests are not to marry. They might even rationalize it by saying that the biblical jesus did not marry and he asked his disciples to leave their families and follow him. The church does not like to discuss the fact that most of its doctrine is the result of decisions such as these.

Likewise, most religions continue to backpedal to keep consistent with scientific findings. You see this today with the struggle between evolution and creation. Some choose to avoid the problem by conceding that the bible is not all literal truth - while others (the absurd ones) try to deny the truth of new scientific discoveries. Their webs of delusion and rationalization get more and more elaborate as science marches on.

Answer 3

Religion was created to control the weak-minded and to prop men up while holding women down.

Ever wonder why before organized religion, women seemed to be more important and actually played an important role in society. (Look at Egypt for an example) Then all of a sudden we became subserviant.

Religion is a truly scary thing. Nowhere else in society would someone be able to peform a heinous crime and then be forgiven for doing it by their religious peers. (born-again) The scariest part is that these people act as though it doesn't matter what horrible thing they do, they'll be "washed of their sins" so that makes it ok.

Bush and his ilk are perfect examples: mislead the people, put American lives at risk, lose quite a number of American lives, continue lying and putting them at risk, all the while at the same time draining the American taxpayers of their hard-earned money. It's these religious zealots that continue to prop this administration up and allow them to kill our economy and our democracy.

Why? Well because Bush is a 'born-again Christian'! He couldn't do anything wrong...

Answer 4

Many religions exist as mechanisms for promoting the self -- ensuring that its thought systems are maintained (strive and get reward) and its actual existence (psychological self with an individual, human consciousness) lasts forever. Therefore, when the psychological self is faced with a perception of its end, this fear and existential condition naturally results in the projection of deities and beliefs that will protect the self (this happens of course in non-death situations, too). However, there are those (very very very very few) who have gone past all this garbage -- god and no god, self and no self -- and have seen the nature of the psychological self (and what we call consciousness) and have experienced themselves as related to the very Suchness that has always been (whatever we call it --- forget about god, it's whatever we call whatever's always been) and they see themselves as not different from it. It can't be explained and no theology can be used to help us out here; it needs to be experienced -- an experience that results in the dropping of the normal, individual psychological self that we think we are.

Answer 5

None of the above!

When "Man" invented religion hundreds of thousands of years ago they did not have any kind of TV, Radio or any "Organized Public" relations firms to give them the news and other information they needed to exist - like when to plant the seeds and when to harvest their fruit and veggies!

Some one thought that in order to talk to the folks and be able to be seen at the same time - that they would build a platform that rose above the people so that all of the people could see and hear them when they were giving them this information. - and they did!

Naturally this person automatically became a very "important" person in their life because of the information they were getting and some referred to him as a "God" while others referred to him as a "Priest". - and - He was "above" the people since he was standing on this platform!

Hence "Religion" was founded!

And people have been making and interpreting it any way they saw fit ever since!

Answer 6

I think religion was created to honor the kings of the times.Now what ever we have turned it into is a differant story.I must confess has turned into a game for the people listening to judge the person who is speaking.Just my opinion.

Answer 7

Well the main reason religions were created was to answer etiological questions and ultimate ones such as "Where do we go after death?"

I think the US is much like what you are saying, Christianity is overtaking so much. The laws should be formulated for what is just, not what fits for one's religion.

Answer 8

in simple terms devoid of those that attempt to trump technology with superstitious perception. those that don't (that enable technology to fill interior the holes approximately how issues have been executed) can stick around, as they are quite benign interior the grand scheme of issues.

Answer 9

Religion IS a Farce!

Originally, it's purpose was to explain worldly happenings....now, they just use it to control and extort the masses of sheeple.

Answer 10

Early polytheistic religion was created to explain natural phenomena.