Socrates and religion?

Question

the writings of Socrates seemed very ahead of his times in regards to religion and spirituality ( especially regarding reincarnation )
does anyone know which religion if any he belonged to and perhaps some information about other similar philosophers ?

Answer 1

(I have written this whole uberhuge thing myself, it's not some wikipedia quote; but I promise, its way huger than I'd thought it would be :D)

Socrates was a great philosopher and a great teacher, but he did not write anything himself, those known as "his words" are usually quotes from Plato's Dialogues, and it is still a matter of uncertainty - to which degree the Socrates character from Plato's writings was a true reproduction of the actual Socrates, and not rather a character speaking Plato's own ideas.

Socrates did not really have a religion. He was a philosopher, and his main business was to question pretty much everything he saw and heard - the Greek religion included. The "demon" or "muse" thing was not necessarily an actual spiritual creature that talked to him (and anyway, it was daemon, not demon, and was definitely NOT supposed to be evil); it was rather simply his own conscience, that would "raise its voice" if he did or thought something wrong - for instance, if, while analysing some idea, he came up with the wrong conclusion. So, this and everything else regarding his teachings, as Plato has transmitted them to us, was not really a religious thing - it was about logic and rationality above anything else.

His main faults had been that he did not really believe in the Greek gods, and that he was corrupting young people (therefore, was distorting the order of the City). At least, that's what his accusers had understood from his teachings.

The corruption thing was not about pedophilia, though. It was more about keeping people interested in philosophical matters, instead of "delivering" them to the normal life of the City. Until a certain age, men were allowed to be the disciples of some older wise guy, and this master-disciple relationship *could* imply some sort of love and sexual relations as well (though, Socrates is being described as refusing such relations, at least in one dialogue - I think it was Lysis or The Banquet).. These weird relationships were generally tolerated, as long as they stopped (completely) at maturity, when men were supposed to stop the childish games with philosophical ideas and love towards the teacher, and instead take wifes, make children and become serious members of City's community. It was another world, with different social rules, what do you want! :D

Now, leaving the sex thing apart, Socrates thought however that philosophical reasoning was much more important than the others believed, much more than a teenager's game, since it meant building a conception of the world, of the human mind, of ethics and even of the laws of the City on RATIONAL THINKING, rather than tradition, blind belief in gods and so on (and yes, in this he was indeed ahead of his times). And this was the thing that had disturbed some big shots of the City and that had led eventually to his conviction to death - which decision Socrates had accepted, after the trial, even though a disciple had made it possible for him to run away from prison and execution. To him, being alive was less important than obeying the Law of the City, even if this Law was not perfect (not to mention that escaping from prison would have meant leaving Athens for good and becoming an outcast, which was totally unacceptable for a guy like Socrates).

So, as far as I remember, the only thing he truly and fully followed and believed in was rational thinking - and so did his most famous disciple Plato, and his famous disciple Aristotle, in his turn.

Answer 2

If I recall, Socrates was accused of NOT believing in the gods. He was also accused of "corruptiing the minds" of youth. Gotta love that one. In Plato's dialogs, Socrates seems to be a witty curmudgeon who loved to challenge authority (one reason I love the man!). Remember that Socrates arrives in the Greek/Hellenic world at least 400 years after the "birth" of Greek intellectual culture. Others, like Thales, had already used rational thinking to explore the world around them (instead of relying on supernatural explanations). Socrates emerges within that milieu, and introduces ethics (moral principles) to the notion of what is good to study. A very great philosopher, he was! My guess is that Socrates was at least an agnostic, and possibly an atheist.

Answer 3

Socrates did not have any religious convictions. In fact, he was executed because he refused to acknowledge the Greek deities (although most historians believe it was because he pissed off someone powerful and this was just an excuse). It's a strange fact that he didn't even try to defend himself, and his cryptic last words about owing a chicken to someone who had the same name as a healing deity make some historians think he had some kind of painful disease and welcomed a way to die quickly instead of long and painfully.

Socrates was consumed with doubt and that was why he asked so many questions and explored so many thoughts of philosophy. He had a 'muse' who he said always made him question things, which his detractors said was a demon or evil spirit. And yet, the Oracle at Delphi, who never gave a straight answer about anything, gave one about him. When asked if he was the wisest person in the world, she answered simply, "Yes."

I have a quote from him:
To fear death is nothing other than to think oneself wise when one is not. For it is to think one knows what one does not know. No one knows whether death may not even turn out to be the greatest blessings of human beings. And yet people fear it as if they knew for certain it is the greatest evil.
Socrates


And one from Aristotle, who was the student of Plato, who was a student of Socrates:

Men create gods after their own image, not only with regard to their form but with regard to their mode of life.

Aristotle (ca. 384-322 B.C.E.)
Greek philosopher

Answer 4

If there is reincarnation, how does the population keep growing? The only way Socrates was ahead of His time
was He was "out of the closet"

Answer 5

"Socrates says in Plato's Apology, for example, that the jurors hearing his case will not accept the reason he offers for being unable to stop his philosophizing in the marketplace—that to do so would be to disobey the god who presides at Delphi. (Socrates' audience understood him to be referring to Apollo, though he does not himself use this name. Throughout his speech, he affirms his obedience to the god or to the gods but not specifically to one or more of the familiar gods or goddesses of the Greek pantheon). The cause of their incredulity, he adds, will be their assumption that he is engaging in eirôneia. In effect, Socrates is admitting that he has acquired a reputation for insincerity—for giving people to understand that his words mean what they are ordinarily taken to mean when in fact they do not."

Namaste

Peace and Love

Answer 6

He was the first great "reformer"' of the Greek mystery religions....basically forming his own Socratic School of Philosophy.

Here is a great book, I recommend it highly - but it's heavy, and I recommend a course in "Intro to Philosophy" before tackling it.

http://www.amazon.com/Religion-Socrates-Mark-L-McPherran/dp/0271018291

Answer 7

Socrates dint have no religion, his one of the guys that made fun of other gods, his teacher was an oracle, seeking adivice from her,

Answer 8

There are no writings of Socrates, you've probably been reading Plato.

Answer 9

Why the religion of the Greeks of course! Greek gods and such....

Also, bear in mind that there is no evidence that Socrates wrote anything himself...

And he also liked to have sex w/ young boys...
And I don't trust men who have sex w/ boys...

Answer 10

I am not sure. But I imagine someone will figure that out later. (Later) When we have improved our computer storage system to the speed of thought waves. (We don't know the speed of thought waves, but scientists have guessed they are in excess of a 1000 times faster than light waves.)