Motivation and Religion
According to Dr. David Elkins, "Contemplation, meditation, prayer, rituals and other spiritual practices have the power to release the "life force" in the deepest levels of the human psyche, levels that secular interventions cannot
reach" (Elkins 1999). Spirituality may not just about one person healing. It may be about the look of wonder on a child's face or the love we feel for a family member. It could also be about finding the place that attaches one person to another. It's about seeing the sacred in our lives and opening the door to a life of passion and depth or even strength and power. There is no right or wrong answer. To each their own, but there must be something that motivates each and every person to religion and/or spirituality. As a religious and spiritual person, I have purely internal motivations for what I do and why I do it. What I want to research is what motivates people in general to seek spirituality and/or religion.
Religion could very well fulfill a need for affiliation. Would one person become a Christian, just to say that they are a Christian? Christianity is a world-recognized religion. Is it possible that one would become a Christian to feel a part of such a large group? Christianity has many aspects and standards that have to be upheld. Would someone become and Christian, uphold all standards, and become a devout follower, just to fulfill a need for affiliation?
Another reason for turning to religion could very well possibly be for an internalization of values. This would be maybe an instance of inter-faith marriages or relationships. Someone who is Jewish, could marry someone who is Christian, and one of the individuals could take on the religion of...
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... make the motives evident and easy to identify. This study suggests that the data complied here may be useful for both tying together existing lines of research and/or generating new lines of research in the future.
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References
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It is incredibly uncommon in this day and age for an individual to hold their own personal religion and line of beliefs. In most cases it wouldn 't even be categorized as a religion. Religion requires multiple persons. It is the breeding of individuals who see community as a defining factor in advancing their religious beliefs and immersing such beliefs into their lives. The aspect of community works differently amongst various religions, but one thing that seems to hold true across the board is that religion functions as a “social glue”. It can serve to hold individuals together, as well as an entire group of people. The counter-argument to this would certainly be that religion instead serves to rip communities apart. The latter to this is prominent in religious communities whose sole function is to impound intense religiosity into individuals in an atmosphere where the extensive nature and uniform of their beliefs are the highest priority. Jesus Camp, is a documentary that makes light of how religious communities function
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Religion is defined as a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs. Throughout time, religion has been debated to the point where many have philosophers have claimed it as a crutch for individuals in times of depression or despair. However, the purpose of religion has been argued numerous times and now the age old question remains whether or not religion is a want or a need. This question has been debated, and it is clear where philosophers such as Kierkegaard, James and Nietzsche stand, in regards to such prominent men as Marx, Skinner and Freud. Both sides pose salient arguments and each present strong points. Based on each argument presented, religion is therefore both a want and a need under certain conditions.
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...inds of individuals join such organizations, and can they be differentiated from people diagnosed with a psychotic disorder (Bhugra, 1996)?”
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In this paper two topic from the Psychology and Spirituality course will be discussed in regards to spirituality and their influence on my personal life. I will examine how I have grown and what I have learned from the week on Spring Lake ranch and how I wish to continue moving forward in my attempt to be spiritual and build a closer relationship to God.
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Ganga and Kutty stated (2013) spirituality refers to a path of life that enables people to seek reason of their existence and helps people explore challenges. Ganga and Kutty (2013) conducted a study on adults to see if spirituality had positive effects on their life, meaning did their life have purpose or value. Each participant partook in a study that asked questions about their life and purpose. The study consisted of a daily spiritual experience scale, it was a point scale that consist of 16 items to be rated on a 6-point scale. The results concluded that spirituality has positive effects on their life when seeking their purpose. Each participant felt that he/she had a purpose and that their life was valuable and meaningful (Ganga and Kutty, 2013). According to Ganga and Kutty (2013), spirituality is a way for people to discover the meaning of their life. Spirituality is a personal adventure to understand answers to the questions they seek to find about their spirituality and purpose in life. It says spirituality is a set of beliefs and practices that concludes with life changing paths that make a person’s life meaningful. Spirituality has been viewed as an important factor when realizing the purpose of life. Ganga and Kutty (2013) expressed spirituality enhances our emotions, thoughts, beliefs, relieves stress and it finds meaning and purpose of one’s life. I believe