what do you think was the original purpose for creating religion?

Question

- to explain unexplainable natural phenomena.
- to control people's behaviour, birth control, other...
- to make money.
- other, elaborate.

only intelligent reasonable people please. no fundies, no bible quoting or things like"God created us" or similar.

- to fight fear of death.

how could i skip that one. thanks for pointing that out.

Answer 1

To keep the average idiot in line, as most people can't seem to be moral without a religion.

Answer 2

I would have to say the main reasons for the creating of religion was to explain the unexplainable and to allow people to feel that they had some control over their own life’s. I mean if you get sick, have money problems, issues in your marriage and so on well lets face it you have limited control. If your country was going to war with another nation you have very little control of the outcome. Religion allows you to feel that you have some control over events that you have no control over. You pray to a god and ask for help and security, you feel more like you have some input and control over an issue. Religion was also established to help keep the rulers in power. This is seen threw the idea of divine right. A king is a king by divine right. He was born in that position, chosen by god to rule over the people. Thus if you attempted to over throw the king you were trying to overthrow gods will. It was also used by the catholic church for hundreds of years as a way to keep the peasants under their control. Most all of the poor and peasant class were not able to read or write. So the only way they could learn about what god wanted was threw the priests and clergy of the day. Then they (the Poor and the nobles) were ordered to give money and power to Rome and the pope. This is how religion was created. The funny thing is to this answer is that I believe that God does exist. I am a Christian, and proud of it. I am not proud of how others in the past and some today use it. I think it is shameless. I do believe that God does exist and is a loving and just God. Yet I am a very intelligent person. I have a high IQ 145, I hold 2 degrees one of which is in history, so I have seem how in the name of God and religion many bad things have happened in the past. This is what happens when you get evil smart people. They will use any and all means they can in order to control and rule over others, and explain what they can not.

Answer 3

Religion is created because people feel the need to have a way to explain everything. As time goes on we learn new things through science and observation so we dont need religion to explain that aspect of life for us. Look at the bible for instance and relate it to real life like say when a kid loses a relative and asks why did they die the obvious answer is because it was their time and the kid would ask but why do people die and you would probably say well because they got old or sick or something, but in many places people want the reason as to why we get old, sick, injured, etc. and the religions help with that. Such as people die because of original sin, we used to be perfect and could live forever but one day we messed up did something bad and now we have a short life time. I personally dont believe in original sin, but religion as you can see started as a way to guide people in life and explain things that at the time couldnt be explained. The very first laws were molded from religious laws, ways to be a good person or a bad person were spelled out through religion. Eventually people in charge of the religion began to realise if they made the idea to start charging people to support the religion they could make money. But yes the original purpose for religion was to bring understanding and hope to peoples lives when they couldnt think of anything else and to bring a sense of unity to a tribe while giving a basis for the people to know what was right and what was wrong basing it on common values held by the people of that area.

Answer 4

What would become known as religious beliefs, i.e. the belief in higher powers that created the natural world, were developed to explain the world around man before the capacity to truly examine and understand developed. The transformation into organized religion came about as a means to control people, and eventually to keep the less fortunate from complaining or questioning. This, of course, had the natural by-product of power and money for those in charge.

Answer 5

InvisibleSkyPixies were manufactured by TheMcScammers to control and extract money from TheMcGullibles.
TheMcScammers told TheMcGullibles that ThePixie watched and knew EVERYTHING they said, thought and did, 24/7 and, even if they couldn't REALLY hear it, ThePixie was telling them alla time: If you don't Love me, and Suck up to me and be MyBïtch 24/7, I’m gonna send you to burn in hell for all of eternity.

Obviously TheMcGullibles couldn’t risk going to hell and enduring all that pain (never stopping to think that the body goes in the ground or is cremated at death) so they acquiesced to TheMcScammers demands for money in the shape of Tithes or Alms or just plain old everyday Psychological CarrotStick Manipulation in the form of ‘gimme, gimme’..
TheMcScammers also conned TheMcGullibles into believing that if they talked in a special way (talking in tongues is a recent USian addition) ThePixie might, if he thinks you’ve been really, really good, give you what you asked for.
TheMcScammers knew that by natural law enough of these ‘wishes’ were granted whether they were preyed (woops) prayed for or not.

Seneca: Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful.
.

Answer 6

Actually, you pretty much covered it all in the choices you gave. Think of it in terms of the "Evolution of Religion", starting from one man's curiosity (#1), to a group of men who became greedy (#2-3-4).

Here they are in the same order:

1. To explain the unexplainable, natural phenomena; then
2. To control people's behavior and traditions; then
3. To make money out of people; and then
4. To instill the fear of death.

That sounds about right.

Peace be with you.

Answer 7

It was created by man for one... It was a mans idea of pleasing a "God" head... religion is a man made IDEA of a God "figure" Its a deception of truth.. it has no substance no "truth" in its structure... A lot of "good" people are doing some pretty unmoral crap in the name of there concept of "God"... most dont see the wrong in what they do.. Its lack of moral education to blame Not devils monsters and rabbed man eating easter bunnys lol


Sum it all up.. religion was created for control

Answer 8

This is very easy and simple. Religion (let's say, Christianity) was created to preserve the human species. Everything written in the Bible in some way (directly or indirectly) supports the preservation of the human species. When we were placed on this planet to multiply, the aliens knew that establishing a basis for a God and a set of rules would help ensure the success of the species.

Answer 9

Well there is no other way to go about it rather than approach the dispensation when God created Adam, then Eve from Adam. Because God was giving them instruction religion was already there as they referred to God as "Father." Since Adam on down to other dispensations such as the time of Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and Moses and even up until the time of Christ religion was a part of life, a part of government, a part of culture of different groups of people. As humanity changed from dispensation to dispensation people began to change and create their own philosophy to suite humanity at that time and the same is true today. What originated as a christian religion now results in several thousand religions in the world today. Ultimately religion was created to control peoples behaviour so that they may be right with God at all times, it was and still is a culture within itself the original mortal culture actually. The emphasis of religious practices were enforced through prophets who were in fact in "righteous" cities part of government to give instruction to "righteous" kings on how to rule his kingdom. Prophets were often instructed by God and angels. They got their messages through great manifestations as illustrated in the bible through angels that ministered to them and told them to tell the world that if people didnt live a certain way they would see the wrath of God come upon them. People apostasized or fell away from truth mostly because of money, greed, adultery, worshipping other Gods which are reasons that still exist today. Laws to abide in those days were more religious. Today in the U.S. this is also true. Although our laws may seem mostly secular laws as primarily written by our great leaders of old when building and establishing this country had great faith in God. For example, we have "IN GOD WE TRUST" written on dollar bills as well as in our constituion and other sets of laws.

Answer 10

While you may not want this answer, religion is not created by man. The very fact that religion has always and everywhere occurred shows that it is in fact something deep within man. He knows that he cannot explain his situation and he has a sense of the sacred. Religion is the response of man to his Creator.

If religion is man made, why has it not disappeared? The Enlightenment thinkers thought that they would reach a point of knowledge, when so much scientific understanding had been attained, that religion would disappear. We continue to learn more and yet religion continues to exist. Man cannot explain himself. Every man knows there is something magnificient to his existence that the idea of the Big Bang or any random evolutionism cannot explain. Man himself knows he has a purpose. He experiences guilt and he attempts to make amends. All of these things point to God, the source of mankind and this whole world.

It is perfectly reasonable to believe in the existence of God and that He created all things. It is actually common experience.

Answer 11

Religion was pronounced by moses (not his real name).
Numbers chapter 11 verse 24 says; And Moses went out and told the "Jewish people" the words of the Lord - as he gathered - Seventy men of the elders, of the people - and he set them round about' in The Tabernacle. (to organize "The Treasures of Zion" to conquer and control all the world's nations)
Deuteronomy chapter 15 verse 6 says; Thou shall lend money to all nations and "never" borrow from them, thou shall reign over them, but they shall not reign over you.
Issaiah chapter 44 verse 10 says; Who? hath formed a God, or molten a graven image (of a God) that is profitable for nothing?
The First National Bank as well as all The churches named like The First Baptist Church - are all about accumulation of wealth, property and political power.