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What is religion

And I suppose people believe in Hell because they find the idea of eternal torture so comforting?

No, that's where the church/mosque/temple gets to exert control over their congregation by scaring and scarring them with visions of eternally melting skin. The Qur'an plays the whole carrot/stick theme to excess.
 
The word "religion" is often used to refer to the major organized Western religions. Is that really an accurate or useful way of defining religion?

Broadly speaking, "religion" is a faith based belief system.
 
And I suppose people believe in Hell because they find the idea of eternal torture so comforting?

Only when it's someone else who's going there...;)
 
Only when it's someone else who's going there...;)

Or more accurately, that they can use the threat of hell to persuade others.

It's an adult version of the carrot and stick approach that parents use to subdue unruly children.


"Be good or the bogey man will get you"

"If you're not a good boy/girl, Santa won't be bringing any presents for you, because he knows if you've been good or bad and has a list...."


Eventually children come to realize them as cheap tricks...Atheists are people who've come to see heaven and hell as the cheap tricks they are too.
 
Or more accurately, that they can use the threat of hell to persuade others.

It's an adult version of the carrot and stick approach that parents use to subdue unruly children.


"Be good or the bogey man will get you"

"If you're not a good boy/girl, Santa won't be bringing any presents for you, because he knows if you've been good or bad and has a list...."


Eventually children come to realize them as cheap tricks...Atheists are people who've come to see heaven and hell as the cheap tricks they are too.

If one is gullible enough to believe the lies told about them, then yes, they are cheap tricks...
 
Unfortunately politics "also separates, denigrates, belittles, lies, and provides platforms for abuse, hatred, and in many cases throughout history, murder."
Unfortunately psychology "also separates, denigrates, belittles, lies, and provides platforms for abuse, hatred, and in many cases throughout history, murder."
Unfortunately ethnocentrism "also separates, denigrates, belittles, lies, and provides platforms for abuse, hatred, and in many cases throughout history, murder."
Unfortunately culture "also separates, denigrates, belittles, lies, and provides platforms for abuse, hatred, and in many cases throughout history, murder."

Hey, maybe it's human nature you should be grousing about!

Yes, very true.
 
The word "religion" is often used to refer to the major organized Western religions. Is that really an accurate or useful way of defining religion?

Most of us here probably belong to Western civilization, and therefore we might forget that our species evolved for a very long time before Western civilization existed. And religious practices have probably been around as long as our species.

I would define religion as all practices involving interaction with the spirit (super-physical) worlds. That would include prayer and meditation in all its aspects (trance states, visions, chanting, dancing, drumming, etc.). And it would include rituals (magic).

If you believe there are super-physical worlds, and beings, above or beyond the world of our senses, then I would say you are religious.

The word "religion" means to "reconnect" or "retie." The assumption is that we experience some kind of disconnection in our earthly life.

I often hear people say they are not religious, but they are "spiritual." What I think they actually mean is that they are religious, but they don't follow any of the major Western religions.

Religion is a social control.
 
The word "religion" is often used to refer to the major organized Western religions. Is that really an accurate or useful way of defining religion?

Most of us here probably belong to Western civilization, and therefore we might forget that our species evolved for a very long time before Western civilization existed. And religious practices have probably been around as long as our species.

I would define religion as all practices involving interaction with the spirit (super-physical) worlds. That would include prayer and meditation in all its aspects (trance states, visions, chanting, dancing, drumming, etc.). And it would include rituals (magic).

If you believe there are super-physical worlds, and beings, above or beyond the world of our senses, then I would say you are religious.

The word "religion" means to "reconnect" or "retie." The assumption is that we experience some kind of disconnection in our earthly life.

I often hear people say they are not religious, but they are "spiritual." What I think they actually mean is that they are religious, but they don't follow any of the major Western religions.

Secular Humanism has been described in one SCOTUS ruling as a religion. Religion must therefore have something to do with philosophical views of real or mystical forces which impact humans from beyond their control.
 
I'd say literacy is the key to civilization.

A socially controlled group of cavemen isn't a civilization.
Cavemen never get to be literate unless socially controlled.
 
Religion in the USA shows there are many gullible Americans.

Religions world wide that teach false doctrines people buy into shows there are many gullible people everywhere...
 
Answer to the OP question:

A system of ideas and beliefs which prompt humans to gauge and adapt their existence in accordance to the theoretical and unknowable.


OM
 
Secular Humanism has been described in one SCOTUS ruling as a religion. Religion must therefore have something to do with philosophical views of real or mystical forces which impact humans from beyond their control.

Just because SCOTUS decided something doesn't mean it's true. Secular humanism is not a religion, because it denies super-physical realities.
 
Cavemen never get to be literate unless socially controlled.

Cavemen, and all humans that ever existed, were social animals. And therefore "civilized."
 
First off, thank you for a very important question to ask, since many people do not understand what religion is, and how they are actually practitioners of it in one way or another... Hopefully my response to you will be insightful as to what religion is...

The word "religion" is often used to refer to the major organized Western religions. Is that really an accurate or useful way of defining religion?
I would argue that it is not. Religion is much more than being "organized"... Heck, it doesn't even need to be organized at all in order to be religion..

Most of us here probably belong to Western civilization, and therefore we might forget that our species evolved for a very long time before Western civilization existed. And religious practices have probably been around as long as our species.
Very good and important point...

I would define religion as all practices involving interaction with the spirit (super-physical) worlds. That would include prayer and meditation in all its aspects (trance states, visions, chanting, dancing, drumming, etc.). And it would include rituals (magic).
You're on the right track here, but religion is still much more than just 'interaction with the spirit'. One need not interact with any spiritual realm in order to practice religion. This is probably a good place for me to expand upon what religion is.

Religion is an initial circular argument with other arguments stemming from it. That is essentially what a religion is. Christianity makes the initial circular argument that "Jesus Christ exists and is who he says he is". [Jesus exists because he exists]. Other arguments of Christianity all stem from (and back to) that initial circular argument.

Atheism makes the initial circular argument that no god(s) exist. [No god(s) exist because no god(s) exist]. Other arguments of Atheism all stem from (and back to) that initial circular argument.

Even things commonly masqueraded as "science", such as the Big Bang Theory, are actually religions. The BBT makes the initial circular argument that a high density high temperature singularity expanded into the universe that we know of today. Other arguments of the BBT all stem from (and back to) that initial circular argument.

Creationism makes the initial circular argument that the universe was designed by an "intelligent designer". Other arguments of Creationism all stem from (and back to) that initial circular argument.

Hopefully those examples help to clarify precisely what religion is. It all comes down to an initial circular argument that is being made... Religion is an initial circular argument with other arguments stemming from it.

If you believe there are super-physical worlds, and beings, above or beyond the world of our senses, then I would say you are religious.
Correct. But remember that religion still goes beyond that. See my above breakdown of what religion is.

The word "religion" means to "reconnect" or "retie." The assumption is that we experience some kind of disconnection in our earthly life.
Agreed.

I often hear people say they are not religious, but they are "spiritual." What I think they actually mean is that they are religious, but they don't follow any of the major Western religions.
Yeah, I think that's a better way to say it. They are religious, but not in a "worship God" kind of way. They don't realize that religion goes far beyond "worshiping gods" and "connecting with the spirit realm"...

Religion and Science complement each other quite well. Science is a set of falsifiable theories. That's all Science is. Science theorizes about what is currently falsifiable, while religion theorizes about what is currently not falsifiable.

Hopefully this helps ;)
 
Cavemen, and all humans that ever existed, were social animals. And therefore "civilized."
Wolves are social animals too. Elephants also. All herd animals really. And that's a less highfalutin way of characterizing Mankind, a herd animal.
 
Wolves are social animals too. Elephants also. All herd animals really. And that's a less highfalutin way of characterizing Mankind, a herd animal.

Right, that's what we are. We certainly do act like herd animals. The big difference is we have hands that can make things and brains that can do math.
 
Science theorizes about what is currently falsifiable, while religion theorizes about what is currently not falsifiable.


I think the main difference between science and religion is that science deals with things that can be demonstrated, with experiences that can be shared among different individuals. If a scientist claims that the earth goes around the sun, he has to find a way to prove it, to demonstrate it to other scientists. Science is, supposedly, not based on authority. That is how science and the Catholic church parted ways.

Religion doesn't have to be based on authority either. The mystical truths that underly all religion can be experienced by everyone.

Religion and science do not have to be in conflict. The original conflict was between the empiricism of the scientists and the authority of the church. It was NOT between science and spiritual beliefs.
 
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