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Religion is an organized set of beliefs explaining the cause, operation, an purpose of life and the uiverse. The development of religion is one of the
distinguishing characteristics of mandkind. Most religions have associated moral codes. Religion has been a major force in history. It is unclear at what stage in
human history religion developed. Early religions were normally animistic and polytheistic in nature. The adoption of monotheism is seen as an advanced important
stage in human development. Religions involve ritual and devotional behavior . Distinctive clothes and costumes are adopted by many religions.
Religion is an organized set of beliefs explaining the cause, operation, an purpose of life and the uiverse. The development of religion is one of the
distinguishing characteristics of mandkind.
Children have over the ages played an important part in religious observation. Many primitive religions involved human sacrifices. The Aztecs religion involved warfare to obtain victims for human sacrifice. The victims appear to have been primarily adult males. Other religions sacrificed children. Now mumified Inca children have been found sacrificed at high elevations in the Andes. The early Greeks are known to have sacrificed children. The Biblical story of Abraham and Issasc shows that the Jews departed from this religious rite at an early point in their development. It also suggests that the practice was widespread in the Middle Wast at the time. Children have also been commonly used as acolytes in many religions to assist priests in their devotionals and rituals. The modern altar boy is a continuation of this tradition.
Religion since the dawn of civilization has been a major force in history. in many historical eras, civilization was ordered around religion. Many in the 20th century have seen religion as a spent force, buffeted by both nationalism and socialism. Certainly the force of religion has declined in Western Europe, but less so in America. Events in the late 20th century, however, have shown the continuing force of religion in modern life. The ability of Pope John Paul to confront Communism in Poland, the Muhajadeen to confront the Soviets in
Afghanistan , and the conflict betwwn Al Queda and the secular West show that religion is not as spent force. The on going religioys conflicts also show the continuing force of religion, the Catholic and Protesatants in Northern Ireland, the Isrealis and Palestinians in the Middle East, the Muslims and Hindus over Khasmir, the Muslems and Christians over Ache, and many others.
Most religions have associated moral codes. Many of the great religions share many of the same moral precepts. This is in part because many religions have developed in the same historical and social traditions and are related to each other. Judiasm and Zoroastrianism both developed in the Middle East and share some of the same mythology. Christianity of course developed from Judiaism. And Islam was heavily influenced by both Judiasm and Christiasnity. But even religions outside of these traditions share moral precepts. This suggests that there are certain basic moral precepts that are widely held by all people. There are also differences between the moral code of the great religions. This also suggest that morality is not entirely a matter basic precepts, but rather issues that humans have to wrestle with and establish for themselves. And some of these moral precepts have changed over time. Some religions in the modern age have been willing to interpret religious texts differently over time. Other such as Islam see the Koran as the imutable word of God which must not be questioned.
Over human history there has been considerable discussion of religion. In some cultures and in some historical periods religion has been the central isdsue of human discourse. Most of this discussion has been about doctrinal issues. Men have debated the nature of God and the proper way of worshiping him or them, but the discussion as to whether god exists is a relatively modern discussion. Marx called religion an opiate. Interestingly one author suggests a gene may affect body chemistry (which is hat an opiate does) and thus predisposed some people toward religion. [Hamer] Freud referred to religion as a neurosis.
It is unclear at what stage in human history religion developed. It is difficult to assess the religious beliefs of early man. It may well be that even earlier hominids may have had what may be called religious beliefs. There are of course stone-age people that still exist in remote corners of the globe. And these peoples no matter how primitive have religious beliefs. So it may well be that religion is an essential element of the human condition.
Many social analysts have seen early history as a struggle between polythesism and monotheism. Early religions were normally animistic and polytheistic in nature. The adoption of monotheism is seen as an advanced important stage in human development. This view is in part an example of the dictim that it is the victors that write history, The Christiand that took control of the Roman Empire with Constantine's victory, set out to vilify and eliminate pagan polytheism. Theodociys the Great outlawed paganism and made Christianity the state religion, in effect an agency of state in the governance of the Empire. Smear tactics were used to vilify pagan beliefs. Paganism was associated with vile practices such as orgies and child sacrifice. This image has caried over into our modern world. The word pagan does not only mean non-Christian, but also has connotations of hedonism and evil. Often left unsaid is that the great pagan civilizations, especially Greece and Rome were the foundation of Western civilzation. [Kirsch] They were also more tolerant socities than the monotheistic Christian era that was to follow. The moral codes associate with the great monothesitic religions are generally seen as more sophisticated than polythestic religions. There is often an intolerant element associated with monothedsistic faiths that was not nearly as common with earlier ploythestic religions. [Cook] Intolerant acts since the 4th century AD like the Christian destruction of the Serapeum (the beautiful pagan temple in Alexandria) to the Islamic (Taliban) destruction of theBamiyan Buddah in Afghanistan to monotheism. The belief that there is one God and one righteous system of believes has empowered monothesitic religions since the fall of Rome to when possible impose their beliefs on others. One author writes, "At the heart of polytheismis an open-minded and easygoing approach to religious belief and practice." In contrast he sees in montheism a regretable "tendency to regard one's own rituals and practics as the only proper way to worshipthe one true god." [Kirsch] There are many examples of intolerance in the great montheistic religions. Perhaps the ultimate example in Christianity is Torquemada and the Spanish Inquisition. There are many examples in Islamic history and they are not all historical examples. The Taliban, Whabism, and Osama bin Laden are modern examples. By the same token there are many examples of religious toleration on the great monotheistic religions. Perhaps the best example in modern Christianity is Pope John XXIII.
Religions involve ritual and devotional behavior. There was often clothing or costumes especially designed for religious observation.
Music plays a major role in the Christian religion. The Christioan Church from an early point in its development incorporated music in religious celebrations. This seems to be, however, rather unique. Music appears to play a minor role or is completely absent in most other religions. Several religions use various forms of chanting, but actual music seems rare. We also do not know why Christianity is unique in this regard. This is, however, a topic that we know very little about. Hopefully HBC readers will provide some useful insights.
Distinctive clothes and costumes are adopted by many religions. Church
attendance used to be an occasion for dressing up in your best clothes. This was as true for children as their parents. Church is no longer such a formal occasion. Men commonly still wear a sports coat and tie, but often not a suit. Boys are much less likely to wear a sports jacket or suit. Special days such as Easter and Christmas or events such as weddings and christenings, however, still often are occasions for formal dress.
The American Revolution is often portrayed as primarily establishing a revolutionary democratic government. This is not quite true. The revolutionary government it established was a republic. Democracy came later. America continued for over a century as virtually the only republic of any importance as the great European powers continued to be goverened by monarchies. Another major aspect of the American Revolution, enbued by the ideals of the Enlightenment, was secularism. Republicanism and democracy are no longer in question. Secularism is very much an issue, not only in America, but in many other countries around the world. Ironically secularism is under assault in America at a time when it isc the dominant approach throughtout Europe. At the same time, America is under assault by fundamentalist Islam which also rejects secularism.
A debate in the religious community is the impact of pluralism on religious conviction. This debate has been conductefd more in Europe than America, perhaps because pluralism is such an excepted principle in American life. There are two primary positions. First the adherents of the secularization theory contend that religious pluralism act to diminish the credibility of all religon. This would mean that pluralism leads inexorably to the seculirization of society.
[Berger] This theory has gained wide credence in Europe. Second the competing theory is sometimes referred to as the "rational choice theory" and employs a concept known as "religious economy" which is the totality of all religious activity in any given society. The economy concept is based on an idea of a free market place for religious ideas. Adherents of this theory are convinced that in societies in which religious participation is unregulated and competitive, religious participation will be extensive. The lack of pluralism will reduce religious participation because without the competition which flows from pluralism the religious institutions would be to inefficient to conduct effective marketing efforts. [Stark and Finke, 201]. Of course it has to be noted that religious conviction in much stronger in more pluralistic America than in Europe. This debate has primarily been conducted within Christendom. The debate is complicated in theocracies in which the state commands religious participation. This would be states like the Taliban in Afghanistan, mullah-controlled Iranian Republic, and Whabi inspired Saudi Arabia.
The United Nations Charter includes provisions for religious freedom. There were in the 20th century major assaults upon religion. The most important were those launched by Soviet Union and Communist China as well as other Communist states. Each of which had major athiest campaigns. Promoted by religious groups in America, the U.S. Congress passed the International Religious Freedom Act (1998). A provision of the Act created a permanent nine-member U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. Another provision requires the State Department issue an annual report on the status of religious freedom around the world. The State Department in 2004 identified Saudi Arabia as a country which severly restricts religious freedom. Saudia Arabia was probably not listed earlier because of a desire not to offend an important ally. Officials have previously suggested that it was better to engage the Saudis quietly. Actually Saudi Arabia has developed one of the world's most repressive and hostile reguimes for the free exercise of religion. As almost the entire population is Muslim, most of the repressive measuures wwere directed at fellow Muslims who do not share the austere, state supported Wahhabi creed. Since the 9-11 attack in Ameriica (2001), there have been some mkodest steps such bas removing hate filled passages aimed at Chridtuians and Jews in school textbooks, but there has been no major change in the repressive regime. The State Department identified seven other countries as "countries of particular concern": Burma, China, Iran, North Korea, and Sudan which were previously lissted along with two other new additions, Eritra and Vietnam. It is not suprising that the list includes the remaining Communist countries (China, North Korea, and Vietnam). What is especially notable is that most of the other countries are Muslim nations (Eritra, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Sudan). Afganistan since the fall of the Taliban has been removed from the list. This is notable because Islamacists claim that there is a war against Islam. In fact it is the Islamacists that are persuing a war against other peoples and other faiths.
Virtually every society over history has had some form of religion however loosely defined. Even modern athiest states adopted a kind of state religion. Rhe prevalence of religion in human history suggests that there is some ascpect of human nature which requires religion of some form. Some authors have addressed this subject philosophically. We do not know if any social scientist has addressed this subject scienticically. We do note one author who claims have discovered what he calls the "God gene" or the self-trascendence. He suggests that this gene (VMAT2) predisposes a person toward spirtuality by affecting body chemistry. [Hamer[ We do not know enough about this subject to comment. Genetic research with an understanding of DNA is a still new field of research. We suspect that now that the human genome has been compiled that future research will open whole new scientific fields. We suspect that this researchb will provide many important and surprising insights into human behavior.
Religions vary greatly around the world. There has been since the European religious wars of the 16th century a general trend toward relgious diversity around the world. The Spanish and Portuguese carried Christianity beyond Europe, but the primsry success was limited to Latin America. In Europe as in America there proved to be after the Reformation so many different sects that no one group could dominte. Since World War II there has been a notable migration of Muslims into the Christiam West. The primary exception to the general trend to diversity has been in the Muslim world where minority religions have come under increasing pressure in recent years. The Soviets persued a campasign of atheism which was particulsr brutal under Stalin. There has been a revival of religion in Russia since the fall of Communism. Comminist regimes especually China continue to restrict religious freedom. We have developed several separate pages on religious trends in seceral different countries, including: America, Austria, Belgium, Canada, England, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and other countries.
Berger, Peter. The Sacred Canopy (1967).
Cook, Michael. A Brief History of the Human Race (Norton, 2003).
Hamer, Dean. How Faith is Hardwired into Our Genes (Doubleday, 2004), 241p..
Kirsch, Jonathan. God Against the Gods: The History of the War between Monotheism and Polytheism (Viking Compass, 2004), 336p.
Stark, Rodney and Roger Finke. Acts of Faith: Explaining the Human Side of Religion (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2000).
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