What is the purpose of religion? Throughout history man has felt the need to have a spiritual belief or religion. Why?

I am not talking about any one religion being right or specific beliefs, in general what was man's purpose in having religions?

It's comforting for some people to have faith in something, and feel that they are not alone. Also, I find that most people want to know there is something after death. I mean when you die, if you don't believe in anything, that's pretty much where it ends.

Something to believe in? Hmmmmmmm.....

for a lot of people I would say it gives them purpose, boundries, a course to stay on, and something to look forward to in the end.

Throughout history, scientists have been fascinated about how the world came to be. But even with that, there are things that are unexplainable...signs, wonders, miracles. People have religion to know why they are living...their purpose...to be accepted in a community. Something like that.

I believe it originally started out as a way of fulfilling a need to try to understand what was, at that time, the incomprehensible. We no longer believe that the sun is some guy in a chariot flying across the sky every day, because we have the means to test that hypothesis and disprove it.

At some point, some clever, opportunistic people discovered that supernatural beliefs could be effectively used to control the minds and hearts and wallets of people. And that's "organized" religion.

Just one guy's opinion.

So we can kill each other and make money for the politicians

I read this book about the pilgrims on the Mayflower. It said that during the time they made their settlement their were other people that came and tried to live around there. Most of them turned around and went home. The religious people were able to take more negative issues because the believed that it was "Gods will" or "doing Gods work". They could ignore the cold, death, starving because they knew it was part of the great plan. The non religious colonies did not have that to rely on in the tough times. No reason not to just up and leave when things were bad.

If you can imagine this over the great span of the age of man, it would seem that the religious people would be more likely to survive and it would almost be in our genes to believe.

I am not religious, but I always heard believe in something or you will fall for anything..Take it for what you will...

That there really is a higher calling,Being,To have order, justice,Peace in our hearts & minds,A place to belong,To seek & get guidance,To have have a code of conduct/rules to live our lives by...And to feel that there is a right/wrong,left/right. Just a few thoughts

Religion occurs naturally in human society. The ability to have religion is an aspect of the evolution of the human mind.

Religion is one of the traits that are unique to humans.

You always ask the best religion questions Dragoness.

Man looked at all the wonders around him good and evil and it was natural to come to a conclusion that their had to a creator or creators. He had to assume he was not the creator because it was already here. In past times he assigned a god/goddess to each power he saw around him, sun, weather, water, winds, nature, life, death and any other thing he did not understand.

Does this logic come from the fact that in the human psyche there is always a creator of power? Because we know instictively the power we weild ourselves? The power of life and death is in our hands, so does it stem from this recognition? Does it stem from fear of that which we do not know? Do we feel more comfortable with a power larger than ourselves that is in control? Just pondering

I believe that religion was originally 'created' to explain the unknowns... as Lex also suggested.

Throw in with that mix the need for population control, and a set of rules needing to be established for what may have been considered to be for the greater good of all. Attribute those rules to that which could not be argued because of the reported source, and I believe that we have a 'winner' as to why... originally...

Throw in idealogical support of man's belief that s/he is superior to the other animals as well... As abra has also pointed out.

I agree creative I think you hit on all the points. The formed explanation of the unknown, then the believed greater good for all, the assumption of our superiority over all other living things then somewhere someone realized the power the control of the people weilds and thus evolves complex organized religions.

The source of it all though is our basic misunderstanding of that which is unknown to us.

Isn't it amazing that the end result of this evolution is a complexity of the modern organized religions. What will be the next evolution of this process?

Anyone's guess, I suppose...

Just a little expansion on what has already been said.

The simple mind of early man was not looking for a creator so much as it was looking for a way to "control".

RAIN - comes from the sky. Rain provided water. Rain was good. No rain? What to do? It comes from the sky so ask the skies to open up and let the rain begin.

Learned responce indicated if enough emphisis was placed on THE SKY, in other words, if enough attention was given to the sky, eventually man was rewarded with rain.

Rain was valuable and even though continued and direct pleas, eventually resuled in rain, it became obvious that rain was not in the contol of humans. (EGO)may have indicated that if this is something humans have no control of, than something more powerful than man MUST have that control. Was it the moon, was is the stars, or the sky itself, or something unseen?

You see, man did not start out worshoping or even createing gods/esses, man was so egotistical that any power not in their control simply had to be in the control of something MORE powerful than man. Many natives, such as the American Indians, did not actually worship 'deities' so much as they worshiped 'nauture' in the form of being the creator of all. As in Mother Earth, Father Sky or whatever. They did not feel separated as some other humans did. Instead their EGO was so strong that they simply considered themselves as 'children' rather as lesser beings as in a God/creation theory.

Belief systems developed, merely, as a way to take control of the surroundings to which man refused to be submissive to.

Perhaps some of the most amazing psychologial profiles in history, are reflective of those whom 'observed' the behavor of those whose ego could only bow in submission to that which they could not control. Using the knowledge gained from the first of a scientific study (observation) they tested a new theory.
"how to contol man with the only power they would submit to; gods".

It worked SO WELL, that eventually, only One God was required to do the trick. Those who KNEW the will and mind of the only thing that was more powerful than man, himself, became the "authority" to whom other men 'bowed'. (government)

Humans - only want control, and the least number of other humans they have to bow to, in order to have that control, the better. Thus, a 'personal god' was really all that was needed. And that just about brings us up to date.

Short historical synopsis of how god(s)/goddesses were created.

heh,this is almost exactly the same one that i put up yestarday called"why must we believe,"but as for the question,i believe it was (and maybe today) to strike fear into the evil ones.So that if they were to do evil things then they were to be put into damnation for eternity.could be wrong,could be right.