Post 1

The argument in the Religion text is that it is important to study religion because it is a force that pervades all parts of our life. Religion informs our thoughts, structures our world and creates our culture. In modern society it is important to study religion because we live in a pluralistic society of many different religions, so studying religion allows one to understand and empathize with people of different faiths. To be an educated person, polite person in society it is also important to understand religion so one may know how to interact with others of different faiths.

            I think it is important to study religion because it is such an important facet of every person’s life and by understanding the basic tenets of various religions, we can begin to understand who a person is and what shaped them into that person. Not only is it important to study religion because for personal understanding, but religion is one of the major forces that has shaped the world that we know. It is because of religion that America was founded, it is because of religion that an Islamic Empire was founded and created a golden age of learning, and also because of religion there have been many wars and atrocities waged in the name of God. Religion shapes our world and society, look at how religion shapes the political discourse in American politics. Conservative Americans are pushing for a return to “traditional” values and their religious beliefs are reflected in the opinions and laws created by our congress.  Many people view other religions with suspicion and it is through learning that we may be able to break down the stereotypes and prejudices and empathize with all people.

            My personal desire to study religion comes from my interest in how culture and religion influences a person’s worldview. My greatest goal in life is to understand history and society, and be able to help shape it for the better. I also want to study religion because I feel that there isn't any one right religion. Just as the text used the example of the blind men attempting to recognize an elephant, I feel that religion is an attempt to ascertain the unknowing and each particular movement may have only a piece of the puzzle.

            There are many theories as to why religion began.  The text discusses theories that religion may have begun because of a biological evolutionary advantage or social advantage. Some scholars believe that religion began as a deification of nature, while others still argue that religion sprung from our unconscious minds.  Many people would argue that religion came directly from God to guide us to salvation.

I feel that most of these theories make sense when combined into a whole. I don’t think the idea of religion would have been possible without the biological evolution of consciousness as we know it, after all we don’t see other animals with religion or faith. Having a religion was advantageous to humans in many ways. In my world history class, my professor argued that the development of religion began with early humans in an attempt to understand and cope with their environments and perpetuated to achieve social cohesion and legitimize the government’s power, this idea relates closely to the anthropological and social theory of the origin of religion. 

The theory that makes the most sense to me, with the understanding that the theories I just mentioned are also important, is the idea of the collective unconscious proposed by Carl Jung. Jung believes that there are universal forms and symbols, or archetypes, which are manifested in the subconscious and expressed through our ideas of religion. Indeed, if one is to look closely at various religions, myths, and even literature we can see many similarities in a variety of different cultures. The savior archetype is manifested through Jesus or Buddha in modern religions, but can also be found in Zoastrasism and Greek/Roman myths. The idea of the Great Mother is found in many pagan religions from vary different geographic areas and even in Catholicism. How can these ideas be so pervasive throughout various, and often isolated, cultures?  I think religion is somehow inherent to us human beings and Jung’s explanation, along with the biological, social and anthropological theories, may be the best way to understand the origin of religion.