What Is Religion?

[Jim Colyer]

I have thought that religion may be one of the side effects of intellect, wasted and unproductive thinking. I could be wrong.

[IDMclean]

I thought this might be interesting for this thread, so here is how Religion is legally defined.

 

B. Religious Beliefs

 

The First Amendment to the United States Constitution provides:

 

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. . . . "

 

First Amendment prohibitions apply to state and federal governments only, and do not apply to private employers. Private employers are, however, governed by the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 if they have over 15 employees. That Act prohibits covered employers, government, and labor unions, from discriminating against persons because of their religion:

 

"The term "religion" includes all aspects of religious observance and practice, as well as belief, unless an employer demonstrates that he is unable to reasonably accommodate to an employee’s or prospective employee’s religious observance or practice without undue hardship on the conduct of the employer’s business."

 

Taken from the EDD website, Unemployment, Suitable Work SW 90

[REASON]

So in this case, Religion would be defined as:

 

All religious behavior tolerated by your employer. :hihi:

[Boerseun]

In my view, "Synchronised Mass Irrationality" fits the bill perfectly.

[charles brough]

The reason for the confusion over "religion's" meaning is that to define it offends the faithful. Religion serves an evolutionary or teleological function. This is not what the faithful want to hear from social scientists! So, they don't because scientists avoid offending them. “Do not offend the faithful” is a social science doctrine which is implied but rarely breached.

 

We use religions to bond us into huge societies. How else could we possibly manage to live in such huge groups considering millions of years of evolution evolved us in small hunting/gathering groups of a mere some forty people?! We would feel miserable, feel crowded, fill with stress and come to hate each other if we did not have common beliefs. Even then, they can only (barely) manage to accomplish it. No wonder people hate society! Ask anyone.

 

In other words, we are bonded together into societies by common world-view and way-of-thinking systems. Anyone have an idea as to how religions do it?

 

 

charles

[Turtle]

... No wonder people hate society! Ask anyone.

:hihi:

 

In other words, we are bonded together into societies by common world-view and way-of-thinking systems. Anyone have an idea as to how religions do it?

 

 

charles

 

By engendering blind obedience to authority. :) :) :eek:

[charles brough]

:hihi:

By engendering blind obedience to authority. :P

 

Turtle: "Blind obedience,""freedom," and "independence" are emotionally loaded terms or doctrines of our secular ideological system. They served us for four hundred years, but they are failing us now. The whole world is so disillusioned by "democracy" that we cannot even IMPOSE it on other people---such as in Islam---even when freeing them from brutal, cruel secular dictators.

 

In the Middle Ages, we had what you would call a "blind obedience" system. It consisted of little hovels in every direction with an emense, gracefully elegent cathederal in the center. Know how it was built? It was VOLUNTEER labor! This is the kind of system that builds civilization---which did happen. From that age on steadily for the next six hundred years, we built our modern world. All civilization is heirarchal and when we have a breaking-down system in which we hate authority, we are heading ever into worse and worse times.:D

 

charles

[ughaibu]

Charles Brough: Could you explain your final sentence, please. Personally I think subjugation to authority is the main failing of any system based on a political, religious or other cult ideology.

[charles brough]

Charles Brough: Could you explain your final sentence, please. Personally I think subjugation to authority is the main failing of any system based on a political, religious or other cult ideology.

 

We are all brought up to believe that. So, we rebell against authority; but the more we believe it, the more difficult government becomes because all government is heirarchal. Our secular doctrines work against our nature. We are evolutionarily evolved into hunting/gathering groups which are all dominated by an Alpha male and a couple of cohorts. They provide security for the troop and all others rally behind them.

 

This instinctive nature is what makes heirarchy possible and we can have government only with heirarchy.

 

If we hate authority, then leadership deteriorates because the only reason Allpha males are willing to take over and well manage and protect the group (society) is if the rest take cues from them and follow them. Otherwise, the alpha male is content to take bribes and in that way "protect and manage" his more natural-size group---that is, his family! In other words, he takes bribes as are those now in Congress doing, being supported by corporate interest handouts.

 

When people are united by an advanced, common word-view and way of thinking, they welcome strong leadership and their society functions efficiently and progress. The world-view system we have now is a combination of liberalized religious beliefs, secular dogma ("democracy" etc.) and, supposedly, science. All three are very inconsistent with each other and the whole system is therefore unstable. It frames a pathological society and leaves us, its world citizens, living in stress, depression, hostility, a feeling of abandonment, lacking roots, and being lost.

 

We are instinctively social animals and choatic society is destructive to us.

 

charles

[ughaibu]

Sorry, your post is inadequate. Reading the first sentence, I have no idea what "that" means. Please make a response with defined terms.

[charles brough]

Sorry, your post is inadequate. Reading the first sentence, I have no idea what "that" means. Please make a response with defined terms.

 

"That" is what you expressed. I was responding to what you stated you believe and, incidentally what most people believe in our society.

 

 

 

charles

[Turtle]

Turtle: "Blind obedience,""freedom," and "independence" are emotionally loaded terms or doctrines of our secular ideological system. ...

 

charles

 

I don't 'hate' authority; I simply think that without challenge it runs amuck. The term 'blind' I added to Stanley Milgram's phrase that he used as the title of his seminal work, Obedience to Authority

 

Authority comes in many guises be they(the guises) people, books, clothing, etc.. Religion in my opinion fosters peoples' tendency to follow authority rather than reason. Authority is the emotionally loaded term of our entire ideological system.

[Alias]

I think religion is a belief, it does not need to be in a God. It means to me that faith is my religion and that I believe in what I feel is real and to my pride I feel that the catholic God is real.

But i know many atheists and i know that they are religious in the fact that they believe/have faith in themselves...

[charles brough]

two good posts!

 

Turtle: yes, "authority" is the hate-word of our "Secular Humanism!" It is its "devil." How else could we set up secular nations if we did not adopt that "ideal" and in that way tear down the power of Kings? But now that we have evolved almost into a mobocracy, people are filled with stress and depressed over the political chaos and dissention. A reversal of the trend may possibly be beginning.

 

Alias: So you say I have "faith" that I can function without any belief in "spirits" of any kind! . . . a clever way of putting it, but other animals don't believe in "spirits" also; do they have "faith?" I just function as myself without them and find I do well and to my own general satisfaction!

 

Myself, I think of it this way: it is unscientific to accept belief on faith when we should focus on improving the accuracy of natural cause and effect explanations. Otherwise, there is no criteria for what "spirits" to accept. How about munchkins and Santa Claus?

 

charles, HOME PAGE

[IDMclean]

The question of authority and hierarchy are incidental to this thread.

 

The problems and failing of imposing a socioeconomic solution (Democratic society) on a tribal problem (Shiites, Kurds and Sunni unrest) bears little relevance within the scope of this thread and thus would do well to take it's own space in the mass of threads on this site.

[Turtle]

The question of authority and hierarchy are incidental to this thread.

 

Nonsense & popycock! The foundation is well laid here to assert it is fundamental to this thread, if by no other reason than that assertion is qualified with supporting arguments. Your retort is without merit, authority, or support.

 

I note that not more than 3 sentences into your oprening post of this thread you make it clear you intend to argue with anyone's answer no matter its merit. You merit the moniker clown.

[IDMclean]

Though Authority and Hierarchy have a definite place within the context of the arguement for definition passed through from organized religion. The arguement of authority and hierarchy are a distraction to the semantic examination of the word religion. That is they are a red herring.

 

To prove that authority or hierarchy is necessary or unnecessary to the human culture is ultimately irrelevant to the question of "What is religion?", and thus should be absent from this thread.

 

Hence the term incidental.

 

in·ci·den·tal –adjective

1. happening in subordinate conjunction with something else.

 

Just as your reply is a red herring, Turtle. Your post is deliberately designed, like many of your other posts, to divert the subject away from the topic at hand.

 

I asked in the opening post "What is religion?" with the intention of addressing that topic. "What is Authority" and "What is Hierarchy?" though casually related through organized religion, are subordinate to the point of irrelevance within the context of the thread, and the chosen topic.

 

So I would appreciate it, Turtle, if you would add something constructive and of relevance to the topic. Thank you, and if you wish to argue it further we can take our case to the Moderators.