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What is the purpose of religion?

Glowpun

Glowpun

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What is the purpose of religion? Did you know that more people have been killed in the name of (a) God than for any other reason?
 
Glowpun said:
What is the purpose of religion? Did you know that more people have been killed in the name of (a) God than for any other reason?
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It provides a comforting, structured world view.
 
Glowpun said:
What is the purpose of religion? Did you know that more people have been killed in the name of (a) God than for any other reason?
Click to expand...

The purpose of religion is to worship God as is due to him by nature.

And the atheist death toll is many orders of magnitude higher.
 
Humans would still kill each other without religion, as we were doing long before a concept of religion ever existed.

There are many purposes for religion/God, depending on the individual and what his needs and desires are,

Something to help explain the otherwise unexplainable.
Something to turn to in times of distress.
Something to help satisfy a need for creativity and symbolism in everyday life.
Something to revere above the regular mundane existence on earth.
A social network of like-minded people with whom to spend time, socialize with, and form close bonds with.

I personally like that it adds an entire different dimension to my life, of meaning, purpose, and inspiration.
 
Social control, to keep the people in power in power. Ever notice how priests always have a lot of power and are often above the law? Or how kings say that the gods ordained their rulership? Or how those gods always seem to value order and fitting into the existing social hierarchy? That's why.
 
One/or a mixture of several things (in my opinion)

personal social control
comfort
state control of a population
an excuse to find an understanding of the unknown
the accepting of traditions
ignorance
you actually believe in fairytales
 
Glowpun said:
What is the purpose of religion? Did you know that more people have been killed in the name of (a) God than for any other reason?
Click to expand...

Depends. If it's a government, it's a way of controlling the masses. The German govt used religion in the rise of the Nazis, I've read. It was an intentional device that was used.

For many individuals, it's a belief, not something that must have a purpose. To those who believe, or think they know, it is merely an acknowledgement of a deity that exists. Like recognizing grass or the sky.

For others, religion is a way to show the world that they are upstanding, good people. Good people go to church and believe in God (or whoever the deity is), or at least profess they do. How many people have been surprised that a local church-going man turned out to be a murderer or embezzler?

For others, it's a way to raise children to have certain values. Don't kill, cheat, commit adultery, etc.
 
Glowpun said:
What is the purpose of religion? Did you know that more people have been killed in the name of (a) God than for any other reason?
Click to expand...

I think, if you peel religion away like an onion, underneath every layer of religious reason, lies a center-mass, based on the fear of death. Religion, most all of them as far as I know, offer to take the sting of death away. In one way or another. I suppose that makes life much easier thinking that there is a hereafter.
 
Glowpun said:
What is the purpose of religion?
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Whatever you want it to be.

Did you know that more people have been killed in the name of (a) God than for any other reason?
Click to expand...

Even if that were true, it has no bearing on religion but on people's desire to kill somebody.
 
Glowpun said:
What is the purpose of religion? Did you know that more people have been killed in the name of (a) God than for any other reason?
Click to expand...

Do you have a rough calculation?
 
brothern said:
It provides a comforting, structured world view.
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That is probably why people believe.

The reason religions are adopted and perpetuated by societies is that religious rules seem to influence people's behavior that help people organized in societies be successful.
 
Captain America said:
I think, if you peel religion away like an onion, underneath every layer of religious reason, lies a center-mass, based on the fear of death. Religion, most all of them as far as I know, offer to take the sting of death away. In one way or another. I suppose that makes life much easier thinking that there is a hereafter.
Click to expand...

I don't think that all religions include an afterlife. The Aztecs whose hearts were carved out of their chests, for example. I don't think there was any kind of existence beyond death for them. Judaism, likewise, is pretty vague about an afterlife, though many are supposed to return to life in the time of the messiah. Immortality after that is not guaranteed.

Many religions address life after death, but not all.
 
The purpose of the fullness of the gospel of Christ:

Moses 1:
39 For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.

2 Nephi 2:
25 Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.
 
it's just me said:
What an idiotic thing to say.
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You are clearly not a student of history, nor are you aware of how religious organizations get to skip on a lot of taxes, and how a lot of guys who rape children aren't going to prison solely because of the power their religion holds in society.
 
Paschendale said:
You are clearly not a student of history, nor are you aware of how religious organizations get to skip on a lot of taxes, and how a lot of guys who rape children aren't going to prison solely because of the power their religion holds in society.
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Lots of non religious organizations get to skip out on a lot of taxes, and : Clergy, abuse, and jail time - CSMonitor.com
 
The Universe either has always existed, or at one point didn't exist, or a third option. Anything eternal is incomprehensible to most humans. Something coming from nothing is incomprehensible to most humans. A third option is incomprehensible to most humans (at this time). God is something most can comprehend, and religion - to me, at least - seems to be a set of beliefs that were conceived to explain what we cannot comprehend. The creation of the universe is only one example of this.

To me, the more troubling question has always been why I exist. The idea that god, as any major religion defines it, had anything to do with it seems pretty laughable to me. It doesn't change the fact that I somehow was born and for decades have existed, acted, and thought as an individual. Anybody who puts a lot of thought into this kind of thing and isn't terrified by them is either stupid or crazy. All stated IMHO
 
Paschendale said:
Your article says nothing about taxes, and seriously... 70 priests out of thousands and you call it a victory? Every single one of them should be in prison. No profession should shield men who rape children.
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Them we should abolish the practice law while we are abolishing religion. No attorney-client privilege. If a person confesses to their lawyer they are guilty then the lawyer has a civic duty to inform the judge of this confession and testify against their client.
 
Moderator's Warning:
Not suited to the Religious Discussion Forum, due to being an attractive nuisance inviting RDF rule violations. Moving thread...
 
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