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Role of Religion in society
History of religion essay
Role of Religion in society
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Recommended: Role of Religion in society
Schambach 1
The first chapter is about possible reasons why humans have felt the need to create religion, according to Freud, as humans became separate from wild animals, they felt the need to look into their past and attempt to discover their collective past and to predict where they will be in the future.
The purpose of civilization which is to control nature and gather its resources for human purposes and the rules which are used to control human affairs, especially the distribution of wealth amongst its citizens. One of the goals of civilization is to control the majority of the population from doing too much harm to the environment when attempting to increase their own wealth, these goals are made by a minority of the population
As children, we are often told stories, some of which may have practical value in the sense of providing young minds with lessons and morals for the future, whereas some stories create a notion of creativity and imagination in the child. In Karen Armstrong’s piece, “Homo Religiosus”, a discussion of something similar to the topic of storytelling could translate to the realm of religion. Armstrong defines religion as a, “matter of doing rather than thinking” (17) which she describes using an example in which adolescent boys in ancient religions, who were not given the time to “find themselves” but rather forced into hunting animals which ultimately prepares these boys to be able to die for their people, were made into men by the process of doing.
Webster's online dictionary defines civilization as "a society in an advanced state of social development". Without the restraints of society, the behaviour of people will regress to their savage beginnings, due to the fact that one's need for survival will overpower all other impulses. The descent into savagery, man's inherent desire to survive over anything else, and the need for civilization and order shows how society unnaturally holds everyone together. Society artificially bonds everything together by imposing rules and structures and without the reminders of civilization and its conventions the savagery of human nature emerges.
Similar to Marx, Freud believes humans simply make up the idea of God in explanation to things science could not disprove. Humans take relationships from our Earthly fathers and compare it to our Heavenly father. According to Freud, “Religion is an attempt to master the sensory world in which we are situated by means of the wishful world which we have developed within us as a result of biological and psychological necessities.” (H/R,p.26) Science can neither prove or disprove religion. Freud chooses to believe science and claims religion is only comforting and hopeful thinking to our purpose after
In the first two chapter of the book, Freud explores a possible source of religious feeling. He describes an “oceanic feeling of wholeness, limitlessness, and eternity.” Freud himself is unable to experience such a feeling, but notes that there do indeed...
In the midst of his already successful career, Sigmund Freud decided to finally dedicate a book of his to religion, referring to the subject as a phenomena faced by the scientific community. This new work, Totem and Taboo, blew society off its feet, ultimately expanding the reaches of debates and intellectual studies. From the beginning, Freud argues that there exists a parallel between the archaic man and the contemporary compulsive. Both these types of people, he argues, exhibit neurotic behavior, and so the parallel between the two is sound. Freud argues that we should be able to determine the cause of religion the same way we determine the cause of neurosis. He believes, since all neuroses stem from childhood experiences, that the origins of this compulsive behavior we call religion should also be attributed to some childhood experiences of the human race, too. Freudian thought has been dominant since he became well known. In Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans, religion becomes entirely evident as a major part of the novel, but the role it specifically plays is what we should question. Therefore, I argue that Freud’s approach to an inborn sense of religion and the role it plays exists in The Last of the Mohicans, in that the role religion plays in the wilderness manifests itself in the form of an untouchable truth, an innate sense of being, and most importantly, something that cannot and should not be tampered with.
Religion comes from religare, which means have a reunion. Aneel Baquer says that humans have a need to connect with others, the ability of myths and thoughts of religion is a desire that humans need to bond. In most civilizations, religion is the reason why civilizations are successful. Religion give, people a motive to survive or do what they do. Sometimes the religions actually make their civilization expand and even more successful. not only does religion give us a motive to survive. Still today, religion is one of the biggest factors in modern civilizations. In several religion motives are used for example, christianity. In christianity to meet with god, you must do good. Religion can change a persons personality by aiding from stress, to giving hope. Religion can also reduce the fear of death. In ancient civilizations, egyptians did not fear death. In their religion they believed that living on earth was the beginning of life. Once dead it sends you to the beginning of happiness or horrible. Religion can also expand. If you have a strong connection to your religion, some people spread the word of their religion to other people. It also teaches manners and the difference between the good, and the evil. Vikings were such a significant civilization than any other because of their religion. Religion for the vikings have given them motivation to expand territories, learn between the good and the bad, and not to fear death but to welcome death; reasons why are from being taught was from viking mythology, heroic people and their warlike god.
A civilization to me is people in an area coming together and learning how to work with one another. As they learned new things such as how to grow more food, and skills that will make their everyday lives easier the population starts to grow. The way people could advance in one skill gave them the opportunity to trade with each other for other goods, allowing them to become more urbanized. Every civilization is unique in it’s own way, each having cultural diversity in their music, art, and building styles.
Erich Fromm in his psychoanalytical approach to religion is distinct from the earlier works of Sigmund Freud. Fromm defines religion as “any system of thought and action shared by a group which gives the individual a frame of orientation and an object of devotion.” Fromm argues that irreligious systems including all the different kinds of idealism and “private” religions deserve being defined as a “religion.” Based on Fromm’s theory, it is explained that there is no human being who does not have a “religious need,” almost every part of human life reflects religious need and its fulfillment, in fact he states it to be “inherent” in man.
(1) S. Freud, Civilisation and its Discontents, (trans.) J. Strachey, W.W. Norton Company, Inc. 1961, pp. 71-72.
The first essay of this paper will cover Question two of section “A”. This essay will examine Sigmund Freud and Erik Erikson tie religion in early childhood, with a focus on the contrasting difference of both thinkers’ views of the means in determining the value of religion and how religion is related to mature development. Finally, both thinkers’ views will be analyzed to determine the value of religious implication and my personal opinion of which thinker provides the most compelling view.
Those three things that serve as a foundation for the book are well described in the Nye’s Religion: the basics. He describes religion as a «set of ideas and beliefs that people can engage with and the framework for their lived experiences and daily practices.» (Nye, 3) The most important component of religion is ‘belief’ that something is right and do this right thing all the time. Power can be described as the ability to control people through some values. «Religion are bound up with systems of power.» (Nye 57) Politics is the way to control people. As we can see, all these aspects connected with each other and
...ses, the natural choices of humans impact the functionality of that society. Humanity is allows for humans to advance at a natural pace, decided by society as a whole. Humanity provides the basis for the existence of a society, which in turn progresses toward development that leads to the desire for an organized government. However, government and humanity should operate cohesively for the good of society. Human nature should be allowed to run its course freely and should not be forced. In doing so, it allows for humans to evolve into greater societies due to learned customs and values.
A civilization is the starting point of a society. Civilizations have existed for millions of years and are the basic unit of structure for a society. Civilizations were the base of great societies such as Egypt and Rome. If not for civilizations these societies would not have flourished or even existed.
In the last chapter of Totem and Taboo, Freud gave his explanation to the origin of religions. His theory regarding the development of civilization, begins by stating that each group is related to their own animal or plant species, which they “believe that they are descended from it. This is due to this belief that they do not hunt the totem animal or kill or eat it” (Freud, 96). Humans believe that spirits exists in totem animals, in which they are also manifestation of god. By not killing the totem animal, they can help “in case of illness and gives the tribe premonitions and warnings” (Freud, 96). This sheds light on the modern forms of religion. For instance, Hindus honor cows. They view cows as a sacred species. If not necessary, they
A Civilization is a group of people who work together. Therefore, what it means to be civilized is having a well organized, behaved, and ordered society. However, there are different, controversial strategies used to achieve an orderly civilization. So, being civilized can be positive or negative depending on how order is achieved. For example, a civilization can include a fair democracy where everyone is able to vote and participate in the government. In addition, there is equality among the citizens and everyone shares the same rights. In contrast, being civilized could mean having a harsh dictator control the civilization. There is still a well-organized and behaved society, but that is accomplished out of fear and there is no equality. The pros of a civilization are that the economy generally is very strong and functions well, infrastructure is constantly being improved, and the society itself continues to grow and accomplish new things. Cons of a civilization, especially a civilization that is lead by a dictator, is that citizens may not all be equal, or share the same rights, and there may be forced labor. Ralph and Piggy in Lord of the Flies are considered civilized because both use tools of civilization, contribute to maintaining a well organized civilization by using their knowledge and leadership skills, and stay innocent/ not let