What can you say about the importance of religion? Does it help the humanity survive? I have read a few articles devoted to religion recently and I want to share my opinion about them. Religion is a system of cultural, social and ethical norms, which define the order of the human existence. This problem is very controversial and disputable, because there are many different religions in the world. People have not invented a single religion, which can answer all questions about the origin of the universe. Every religion has its own norms, rules and points of view about the most important existential problems.
There are several opinions about the nature of religion. Some experts say that religion has a real sacrum background. Nearly every religion is based on the deeds and powers of the definite spiritual figure who is supposed to be the ‘father’ of this religion. Very often, this figure possesses supernatural powers, which impresses all the people around. When we speak about pagans or folk religion, we will say that there are good and evil gods. Ancient folk religions are based on polytheism. The brightest examples of polytheism are the religions of ancient Greece, Rome and Scandinavia. The main monotheistic religions are Christianity, Islam and Buddhism. These religions have a single spiritual figure or god.
With the run of time, the influence of religion has reduced. The scientific revolution has influenced people seriously. Various scientists have explained different natural phenomena, explored the Universe and invented numerous devices and technologies, which improve the quality of our life. It does not worth mentioning that they have found any supernatural powers anywhere. No wonder, people began to criticize the value of religion. The number of atheists and agnostics has increased rapidly. Fewer and fewer people believe in gods and any mythic creatures. I should say that science is the religion of our time.
Many authors say that religion is a good tool to unite people. Thousands of years ago, people did not possess enough knowledge about the structure of the surrounding world. They could not explain the cause of the natural phenomena. They were afraid of fire, lightning, shower, volcanic eruption, earthquake, etc. They thought that these severe weather changes and cataclysms occurred because of the will of various supernatural powers or gods. Consequently, they created various cults of these gods in order to please them. They sacrificed animals and human beings in order to satisfy their gods with blood. Such pagan or folk religions exist even today, though the number of pagans is quite low. I should say that the core of the most ancient cults and religions is fear. When people are afraid of something, they want to reduce the danger of this phenomenon and they praise and worship it.
I support the author’s point of view that religion is a good method of exploitation. When we think about Christianity and its position in the Dark Ages, we will notice that the Church accumulated much gold. The monarch of every country understood the importance of religion for his successful reign. Nearly every king in the world said that he was chosen by gods. The common people believed him and did not protest against his unfair laws and decisions. Religion has always cooperated with power in order to control the common people and accumulate gold. Priests and spiritual teachers transmit their information about gods among people and attract new and new believers. In my opinion, this cooperation of religion and power is very dangerous, because very often, priests impose their point of view on people saying that the monarch or president is the best one. I guess religion and power should exist separately.
In conclusion, there are many different types of religion. There are many opinions about the importance of religion in our society. I suppose people have not discovered the right religion yet; therefore, they ought to live according to the moral and ethical laws, which are similar in every religion.
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