The Purpose of Religion/Faith/Prayer is.....? (*Multiple Choice Question*)?

Question

A) To please God and get into heaven/attain salvation
B) To gain personal happyness and/or inner peace
C) To give your life balance and/or greater apprecation of life
D) To try to answer the BIG questions in life ( after death) and believe there is an after-life (so basically coping with death)
E) To attain guidance in issues of morality and/or fairness to apply to the complexity of daily life.
I am personally an atheist, although I full respect people of religous beliefs and their beliefs as long as they respect me and my lack of beliefs

I am just asking this to gain a perspective of why people choose to be religous, so if you are religous in ANY faith please respond honestly, or possibly rank those in order of importance if they are all important to you.

For Atheists, please answer why you think people who are religous do so, and please be civil, no bashing on either side.

Thanks in advance for any responses :)

Answer 1

I personally think it's a mix of all of the above. People may find religion appealing for many different reasons but I think overall, the 5 answers you listed above are a commonality among all the religious. They find hope in life, and with it comes many other aspects such as balance, happiness, contentment, acceptance of mortality, a set of morals, and the satisfaction of pleasing a higher power.

I'm not religious, but I come from a religious family and this is what I have observed over the years.

Answer 2

For me, it's a sure C. I love existence, even when it's painful (and it has been-- I have bipolar disorder). I don't believe in salvation, and I am my own moral compass. And happiness and inner peace for me come with an understanding of the beauty and balance of Creation.

Answer 3

None of the above. God created us to have a fellowship with God.

"In the New Testament, the basis of fellowship begins with a mystical joining of Jesus Christ with each believer. This union is to be experienced in practical daily life. The same bonds that link the individual to Jesus also link him or her with other believers. The New Testament letters describe those bonds as so vital and genuine that a deep level of intimacy can be experienced among the members of a local church." (wikipedia)

This mystical fellowship transforms our normal "I - It relationship" to the "I-Thou relationship" (Martin Buber). It is no longer about me.

Answer 4

Yeah.. I agree with the first answer. I think it's a combination of all of those.