Religion In Oedipus The King

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In the play Oedipus the King, also known as Oedipus Rex, religion plays a large impact on the daily lives of the citizens of Thebes. It begins with the town suffering from a plague, which after his brother-in-law Creon discusses with a God can only be cured after the murderer of the previous king Laius is caught and banished (Oedipus the King). The beginning part of the play shows that they look to what they see as divine for advice on how to live their life. This can be compared to James and phenomenology and the idea of individual experience, and how one experiences this relationship with the divine can affect the way in which they choose to live their lives.
What differs from Jamesian beliefs is how the characters in Oedipus the King believe in fate and prophecies. For example, a recurring theme throughout the play is the prophecy of Oedipus, where he was told he’d kill his father and sleep with his mother, and the prophecy of Laius and Jocasta’s son, who’d kill his parents, which we discover near the end are the same prophecies (Oedipus the King). James discusses how the idea of fate – the belief that what’s going to happen will happen and nothing can change it – isn’t the same as religion. Those who followed those belief path were passive about …show more content…

However, by considering bracketing, the suspension of value judgment, and intentionality, being aware of mental states and beliefs, we can’t rule out that it isn’t related to religion. Everyone has their own specific beliefs about religion, so if someone believes that a certain event happened to them is religion related we can’t deny that it isn’t. Therefore, after reading the Oedipus plays, we can decipher that the Greek culture seems to revolve their lives around pleasing their Gods and accepting the fates bestowed onto them, which can be seen as religious

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