Write an essay of approximately two to three paragraphs that answers the following question: According to Immanuel Kant, why did humans develop religion? With this in mind, let's get started with the theory of Immanuel Kant. Here she recommends five books she considers essential to "understanding the merits of atheism.". [14][15], A second methodology, functionalism, seeks explanations of religion that are outside of religion; i.e., the theorists are generally (but not necessarily) atheists or agnostics themselves. Today, In fact, these religions have survived for thousands of years, and all of them seem to have developed around the same time. The theory of religious economy sees different religious organizations competing for followers in a religious economy, much like the way businesses compete for consumers in a commercial economy. Awe, a sense of mystery, a sense of guilt, and adoration are "religious feelings" which tend to be aroused in religious believers when they come in the presence of sacred objects, in sacred places, and during the practice of sacred rituals. The historians J.R. and William McNeil call this the development of portable, congregational religions. Common features of these religions are the following: there is usually a founding man who receives the word of God; there is a key text or set of texts that defines mans relationship with God; there are recommended ways of living and worshipping; people come together regularly to have Gods word interpreted for them by an authority; and there is a path to self-trans-formation and eternal salvation in one way or another. He criticised the work of his predecessors, Mller, Tylor, and Durkheim, as untestable speculation. Typically they did not practice investigative field work, but used the accidental reports of others. [50], Durkheim's approach gave rise to functionalist school in sociology and anthropology[51] Functionalism is a sociological paradigm that originally attempted to explain social institutions as collective means to fill individual biological needs, focusing on the ways in which social institutions fill social needs, especially social stability. The ideas on religious study can be found to support efforts in these fields to convey purpose, meaning, and structure in furthering th. It is difficult for cults and sects to maintain their initial enthusiasm for more than about a generation. The main reason for the survival of religion is not a desire to live a better life, but our fear of death, says atheist author and independent scholar Susan Jacoby. An error occurred trying to load this video. Theory One: Animism Herbert Spencer (1850s) - Manism The gods of "primitive" people were/are based on dreams about the recent dead Believe that these dead people were actually alive in another world or another form Believe that these spirits can . Even though none of these three men was particularly religious, the power that religion holds over people and societies interested them all. The quest for the 'Origins of Religion', which so characterised early scholarship in the field of religious studies as opposed to Theology, has, on the whole, become outdated and, seemingly, destined to fail under scrutiny fed by an exponentially growing library of anthropological data and independent human experience; theories of origins claiming universality do not stand up to the test of . Building on the role of nature, Sir James George Frazer's theories went a step further. The theories could be updated, however, by considering new reports, which Robert Ranulph Marett (1866-1943) did for Tylor's theory of the evolution of religion. It is a way of knowing about and understanding the world and humans . She has an M.A in instructional education. 2023 Course Hero, Inc. All rights reserved. This spirit allowed them to feel and communicate with humans and each other. The school of religious history called the Religionsgeschichtliche Schule, a late 19th-century German school of thought, originated the systematic study of religion as a socio-cultural phenomenon. Example: Consider how the notion of Mother Nature came into being. It is also commonly regarded as consisting of the way people deal with ultimate concerns about their lives and their fate after death. If you're not religious, then you see how a lot of people celebrate Christmas. For example, there was Greece's Poseidon, god of the sea, or Babylon's Marduk, who controlled the winds. [5], Theories of religion can be classified into:[6], Other dichotomies according to which theories or descriptions of religions can be classified include:[12]. [8], He asserted that these experiences arise from a special, non-rational faculty of the human mind, largely unrelated to other faculties, so religion cannot be reduced to culture or society. INTRODUCTION Anthropological theories of religion are diverse. According to Muller, this personification led to worship among the primitive people. Potential converts vary in their level of social connection. There is evidence that monotheism is more prevalent in hunter societies than in agricultural societies. [citation needed] The view of a uniform progression in folkways is criticized as unverifiable, as the writer Andrew Lang (18441912) and E. E. Evans-Pritchard assert. Religion is a pervasive and significant cultural phenomenon, so people who study culture and human nature have sought to explain the nature of religion, the nature of religious beliefs, and the reasons why religions exist in the first place.There have been as many theories as theorists, it seems, and while none fully captures what religion is, all offer important insights on the nature of . [35], The rational choice theory has been applied to religions, among others by the sociologists Rodney Stark (1934 2022) and William Sims Bainbridge (1940 ). [citation needed], The functionalists and some of the later essentialists (among others E. E. Evans-Pritchard) have criticized the substantive view as neglecting social aspects of religion. Evolution and Religion. They also believe in the Resurrection and a Judgment Day. [2] Max Mller (1823-1900) has the reputation of having founded the scientific study of religion; he advocated a comparative method that developed into comparative religion. 1. Women's generally greater level of religiosity has been observed by scholars for decades; it has shown up in surveys going back as far as the 1930s. Although people commonly assume that Marx saw no place for religion, this assumption is not entirely true. Philosophy of Religion. Some religions are better described by one model than another, though all apply to differing degrees to all religions. There are about 19 major world religions which are subdivided into a total of 270 large religious groups, and many unique faith groups. What a story! [36] Geertz held the view that mere explanations to describe religions and cultures are not sufficient: interpretations are needed too. Then, he went outside of the palace and saw all the illness, poverty, death, and human suffering in the world.He fled his home and began to search for peace. 2. Jessica has taught junior high history and college seminar courses. Cults are new groups with a new novel theology, while sects are attempts to return mainstream religions to (what the sect views as) their original purity. The Origin of World Religions. Even though none of these three men was particularly religious, the power that religion holds over people and societies interested them all. [48] Differing from Tylor and Frazer, he saw magic not as religious, but as an individual instrument to achieve something. In Moses and Monotheism, Freud proposed that Moses had been a priest of Akhenaten who fled Egypt after the pharaoh's death and perpetuated monotheism through a different religion. Religion Concepts, Types & Social Aspects | What is Religion? Abstract. I learned that the whole purpose of ending suffering (dukkha) in the world is to achieve the ultimate goal of enlightenment (nirvana). For Muller, religion originated as man observed nature and its workings, personifying it as cultures developed. Right Living: Make sure that your livelihood does not harm others. Not just passing contact, like Eliade. 100 lessons After his enlightenment, he began to share what had been revealed to him under the Bhodi tree. Max Weber (18641920) thought that the truth claims of religious movement were irrelevant for the scientific study of the movements. More specifically, the definition of religion as dealing with the sacred only, regardless of the supernatural, is not supported by studies of these aboriginals. Witchcraft and oracles played a great role in solving disputes among the Azande. Right View: Understand that there is suffering in the world and In his 1913 book Totem and Taboo he developed a speculative story about how all monotheist religions originated and developed. Marx once declared that religion is the opium of the people. He viewed religion as teaching people to accept their current lot in life, no matter how bad, while postponing rewards and happiness to some afterlife. So Siddharthas dad kept him inside the palace walls all of his life. There were no human observers to the origin of the universe, the origin of life, or, as a matter of fact, to the origin of a single type of living organism. Siddhartha spent six years wandering around South Asia trying to find ways to ease the suffering of the world. [45] He saw religion as a reflection of the concern for society. Abstract. While many people were drawn to these early religions, they are not all the same. Since the religion hinges on this idea of karma what you do in life today determines what you do in the next life I wonder if the untouchables could come back as a higher caste if they lived a virtuous life. If I look back to what the McNeills said about religion giving meaning to the drudgery of daily life, Hinduism seems to fit that description perfectly. [19][20] The latter criticism presumes that the evolutionary views of the early cultural anthropologists envisaged a uniform cultural evolution. [citation needed]. McNeill, J.R. and McNeill, W. The Human Web: A Birds-Eye View of World History. ADVERTISEMENTS: Following ancient theories are important to mention. The anthropologist Bronisaw Malinowski (18841942) was strongly influenced by the functionalist school and argued that religion originated from coping with death. As cultures grew, this worship became more structured. However It is also interesting that the four paths in life arent just about spirituality and God. The dichotomy between the two classifications is not bridgeable, even though they have the same methods, because each excludes the data of the other. Different from Kant, the 19th century Max Muller held to the nature-worship theory. Among some of Freud's most famous quotes on religion, in his book "New Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis" (1933), he suggested that "religion is an illusion and it derives its strength from its readiness to fit in with our instinctual wishful impulses." In "The Future of an Illusion," Freud wrote that "religion is comparable to a . There are several hypotheses about how life started on Earth that are still being studied today. Primitive people used human dreams in which spirits seemed to appear as an indication that the human mind could exist independent of a body. Converts with a large social network are harder to convert, since they tend to have more invested in mainstream society; but once converted they yield many new followers through their friendship network. Big Era Four: Expanding Networks of Exchange and Encounter 1200 BCE 500 CE. World History for Us All.
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