Is religion necessary for a Civilization?

Question

Theists and atheist alike, would a newly developed civilization need to establish a religion or set of beliefs in order to function properly. This is just a question and I'm not challenging anyone's beliefs or lack of. I just need a answer to prove someone wrong.

This person also says, "The Ancient Egyptians were a bunch of waring tribes and the strongest one created the Egypt Gods to control the others under control. Without it, they would still be waring tribes in the desert."

Answer 1

It definitely helps it along, cause people share beliefs and values, and goals in some cases

Answer 2

When culture collapses there is always conflict. This has nothing to do with religion but religion gives people the mental strength to help sort things out. To you it probably sounds idealistic but it does help people. Politics causes wars, religion creates peace. Politics always uses religion as a cover for it's own failings. If you'd take your time to study both religion and politics you'd see how much this is true. There's a very good reason politicians try to discredit other people's beliefs- greed and power.

Answer 3

They wouldn't need an established religion, but a set of beliefs would help the government function. Such as, it is wrong to kill someone else so here are the punishments for that crime. It is wrong to steal, etc. etc.

As far as religion, it is not necessary but does serve some societies for controlling the actions of the population. I don't know that you're friend's quote here is entirely sound, however.

Answer 4

You're sort of asking two questions, in that you seem to equate 'religion' with 'a set of beliefs.
I'll answer both....
Religion is not neccesary for a civilization; it's just a VERY common by-product of it.
A set of beliefs is indeed neccesary. Their must be a common goal, and there must be hope. For instance: 'we don't want our children to starve; we will therefore hunt and plant crops. We will hopefully survive the winter that way.'
Consider this.... Virtually all religions are created by and enforced by men. Anthropologically; this is a manifestation of the male need to control his mate(s), perpetuate his own seed, and protect the females from straying from his 'herd' and to keep other males at bay. Religion is a form of control - of wealth, of boundaries, of women, etc..

Answer 5

And with religion, most of the Middle East are a bunch of warring tribes. Peace breaks out when a strong enough dictator comes into power.

Is religion necessary? I suppose at times it gives a structure to unite people. Unfortunately, it also has at the same time the power to render a populace into oblivion.

Answer 6

Of course not. Witness the previous USSR, and Nazi Germany. When's the last time atheists threw a Holy War or an Inquisition, or a Jihad. Why is it always the Catholics or the Jews or the Muslems or the Fundamentalists getting blamed? Because they did it, that's why. The only thing that changes is what year they did it.

Answer 7

religion is necessary to establish principles of peace, order and an atmosphere of submission among different peoples at first. it instills a fear and a ruling class towards which the underclasses can willingly toss capital and personal freedom. in modern society, individualism has started to replace religion. but the stability would not have formed without the essential decency of religious culture. thankfully our system of economy is the only one which appeals to man's own ticker, his greed, vanity and laziness, or the combination of the two we have labeled worth. whether or not our new gods are sustainable remain to be determined, but as history would indicate, we might be coming into trouble. people these days believe in freedom without accountability, which is an interesting concept if you are really willing to give up so much personal freedom to the massive cogs of hyperspecialized society. the trade off is that we now more or less live in an awkward fear, leading pretty unremarkably sedentary lives, no longer capable of effecting anything significant on our own without compromising our integrity: behold politics. gods evolved societally however for the purpose of deepening our social connection and encouraging community building activity. good also generates economic growth. charity effectively constantly adds value to society by addressing problems where they are needed without forcing the receiving party to deal with transportation or opportunity costs. crime interestingly, can have similar effects on economies too. i mean, look how miami became a major city. billions of dollars of cocaine, it is not a secret. bottom line - who knows. wherever we are going we are all going to ride it out and find out soon enough. go with the flow, existential quandries are really not worth their time, but they are fun.

Answer 8

No no no no no.. religion is the cause of dischord, not the solution. History shows it. Belief in God, that is a great thing. I am a believer, but I don't need or want religion for myself or anyone else. When your regulate and put rules around how someone relates to God then you destroy their basic humanity and the free will we were given.

Answer 9

Well we aren't really warring tribes in the desert anymore.

I don't see the need for belief, except maybe a comfort for those who can't function without it.

I don't see what universal values can do that laws can't. Everybody has values, its just a matter of whether you find them for yourself or if you are told them.

Here are my values:

1) Don't do things that physically hurt or kill someone else.

2) Don't do things that limit someone else's freedom.

I doubt these would work on a civilisation scale, but they're good enough for me.

Answer 10

A common religion or belief system helps to give a nation identity and inspire the people to think of themselves as Americans, Egyptians, French, Russian, or whatever.
Even here in America with many different religion we all share common beliefs that identify us as Americans. I.E. we all worship at the shrines of democracy, free speech, free enterprise etc.

Answer 11

To regret religion is, in fact, to regret our civilization and its monuments, its achievements, and its legacy. And in own view, the absence of religious faith, provided that such faith is not murderously intolerant, can have a negative effect upon human character and personality. If you empty the world of purpose, make it one of brute fact alone, you empty it (for many people, at any rate) of reasons for gratitude, and a sense of gratitude is necessary for both happiness and decency. For what can soon, and all too easily, replace gratitude is a sense of entitlement. Without gratitude, it is hard to appreciate, or be satisfied with, what you have: and life will become an existential shopping spree that no product satisfies.