5 different theories on the origin of religion

Another criticism supposes that Tylor and Frazer were individualists (unscientific). Various theories for the origin of Earth have developed over the period of time. CliffsNotes study guides are written by real teachers and professors, so no matter what you're studying, CliffsNotes can ease your homework headaches and help you score high on exams. In this post, I briefly set out three distinct approaches to the study of religion: criticizing religion, upholding religion, and disaggregating religion. The mama theory. He asserted that magic relied on an uncritical belief of primitive people in contact and imitation. The major ideas in each religion provided more structure and guidance for how people should peacefully relate to one another and how they should live their best lives. Get ready to meet the weirdest, wackiest and most wonderful birds in Animalogic's World of Birds. In this view, the path toward moksha seems enjoyable. In The Human Web: A Birds-Eye View of World History, the McNeills argue that religion took hold during this time period for the following reasons: So what theyre saying is that religion provided structure and meaning for large groups of people in ways that small, tight-knit village communities used to do. Content uploaded by Georgios Gaitanos. James George Frazer (18541941) followed Tylor's theories to a great extent in his book The Golden Bough, but he distinguished between magic and religion. The empirical basis for Durkheim's view has been severely criticized when more detailed studies of the Australian aboriginals surfaced. If indeed you can improve your lot in the next life by living well in this one, why dwell on how miserable your life is now if you can focus on having a better one next time around? The origin of religion and polytheistic systems: Polytheism (a belief in many gods) is . Today, religion is considered a product of society and not a creation of man, established by God, not God's work. Write an essay of approximately two to three paragraphs that answers the following question: According to Immanuel Kant, why did humans develop religion? Mainstream established groups are called denominations. From this perspective, religious texts . The first form religion takes is monotheism, and it deviates from there. History. There are several hypotheses about how life started on Earth that are still being studied today. If the texts and tenets of these faiths spoke to such a wide variety of people then the religious beliefs were more likely to spread along trade routes, unlike the earlier village-based religions. Here are five facts about evolution and faith: 1 The Roman Catholic Church has long accepted - or at least not objected to - evolutionary theory. Psychological Research & Experimental Design, All Teacher Certification Test Prep Courses, What Is Religion? Marx' explanations for all religions, always, in all forms, and everywhere have never been taken seriously by many experts in the field, though a substantial fraction accept that Marx' views possibly explain some aspects of religions. [13] They relied heavily on reports made by missionaries, discoverers, and colonial civil servants. Eliade's methodology was studying comparative religion of various cultures and societies more or less regardless of other aspects of these societies, often relying on second hand reports. [39], Some recent work has suggested that, while the standard account of Marx's analysis of religion is true, it is also only one side of a dialectical account, which takes seriously the disruptive, as well as the pacifying moments of religion [40]. Characteristically Religious Feelings. The anthropologist Bronisaw Malinowski (18841942) was strongly influenced by the functionalist school and argued that religion originated from coping with death. According to the theory, the more religions there are, the more likely the population is to be religious and hereby contradicting the secularization thesis. Adaptationist theories view religion as being of adaptive value to the survival of Pleistocene humans. He criticised the work of his predecessors, Mller, Tylor, and Durkheim, as untestable speculation. But nonetheless it can take a very long time for religions to grow to a large size by natural growth. On the other hand, the theory of creation and the theory of evolution are attempts to explain the origin of the universe and of its inhabitants. Most religions start out their lives as cults or sects, i.e. Even though none of these three men was particularly religious, the power that religion holds over people and societies interested them all. Evolution and Religion. The rituals and practices of religion began as an expression of the creature's desire to worship the Creator. Both these writers ask why the Victorians were so interested in seeking the origins of religion. To Immanuel Kant, an 18th century German philosopher, religion is the product of limited empirical reason. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are all monotheistic, with one omnipotent and omniscient deity. 1. an individual level that is controlled by 2. a social system that is in turn controlled by 3. a cultural system. Be sure to address Frazer's theory about the connection between religion and nature, and also note his views on science. There are various sociological theories of religion, but the ones with a strong influence are that of sociology's three classical theorists. The new religious beliefs are compensators for the failure to achieve the original goals. Hinduism allows for the worship of numerous, powerful gods and goddesses. 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 . 35. Witchcraft and oracles played a great role in solving disputes among the Azande. Get unlimited access to over 88,000 lessons. Weber acknowledged that religion had a strong social component, but diverged from Durkheim by arguing, for example in his book The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism that religion can be a force of change in society. It includes the analyses of religious concepts, beliefs, terms, arguments, and practices of religious adherents. Marx held that religion served as a sanctuary from the harshness of everyday life and oppression by the powerful. The Azande's faith in witchcraft and oracles was quite logical and consistent once some fundamental tenets were accepted. The root of this suffering comes from a persons material desires Durkheim also argued that religion never concerns only belief, but also encompasses regular rituals and ceremonies on the part of a group of believers, who then develop and strengthen a sense of group solidarity. The ta-ta theory. Over time humans have advanced all sorts of theories concerning religion and religious belief systems. 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. All of these religions teach that human relations should be guided by kindness, selflessness, and decency. [61] The main reasoning behind this theory is that the compensation is what controls the choice, or in other words the choices which the "rational actors" make are "rational in the sense that they are centered on the satisfaction of wants".[62]. Sigmund Freud (18561939) saw religion as an illusion, a belief that people very much wanted to be true. Religion, or more appropriately religions, are cultural phenomena comprised of social institutions, traditions of practice, literatures, sacred texts and stories, and sacred places that identify and convey an understanding of ultimate meaning. The Origin of World Religions. What Does Religion Mean? Its meaning is as expansive as the masses of cultures that cover the earth. From presocratic times, ancient authors advanced prescientific theories about religion. 100 lessons [23][24] Like Durkheim, he saw the sacred as central to religion, but differing from Durkheim, he views the sacred as often dealing with the supernatural, not with the clan or society. Biogenesis. It says that the earth was made in six days. These religions were accepted by thousands of followers because they appealed to many different people from all social classes and occupations. After his enlightenment, he began to share what had been revealed to him under the Bhodi tree. Although their meanings may be radically different from one another, the "tales of origins" told in the different religions worldwide speak of a connection between the world of humans and . Introduction to Humanities: Certificate Program, UExcel Introduction to Music: Study Guide & Test Prep, Introduction to Music: Certificate Program, Introduction to Humanities: Help and Review, DSST Introduction to World Religions: Study Guide & Test Prep, Introduction to World Religions: Certificate Program, Introduction to World Religions: Help and Review, Humanities Survey for Teachers: Professional Development, History of Major World Religions Study Guide, Create an account to start this course today. [53][54] He saw science as practical knowledge that every society needs abundantly to survive and magic as related to this practical knowledge, but generally dealing with phenomena that humans cannot control. Top 10 Theories. The followers of the five main religions make up a significant majority of the world's population. If you're not religious, then you see how a lot of people celebrate Christmas. The early theories were the . Religions are very diverse. Those with no religion or no interest in religion are difficult to convert, especially since the cult and sect beliefs are so extreme by the standards of the surrounding society. Of course, this is just a hypothetical theory, created by the idea of relativity which is from the brain of Albert Einstein. But in the modern scientific age, the theory of divine revelation about the origin of religion is severely criticized. More specifically, the definition of religion as dealing with the sacred only, regardless of the supernatural, is not supported by studies of these aboriginals. He was born into a Ksatriya Hindu family, which was the warrior/ruler class. 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. [8] Weber's main focus was not on developing a theory of religion but on the interaction between society and religion, while introducing concepts that are still widely used in the sociology of religion. Hosted by Talia Lowi-Merri. The origin of religion can generally be traced to the ancient Near East and classified in three basic categories: polytheistic, pantheistic and monotheistic. This book surveys the major theorists in the psychology of religionSigmund Freud, C.G. [48] Differing from Tylor and Frazer, he saw magic not as religious, but as an individual instrument to achieve something. They used this by extension to explain life and death, and belief in the after life. A religion is a set of beliefs and rituals practiced by a group of people. Primitive people used human dreams in which spirits seemed to appear as an indication that the human mind could exist independent of a body. For Muller, religion originated as man observed nature and its workings, personifying it as cultures developed. Rational arguments to a person holding a religious conviction will not change the neurotic response of a person. Thus, religion as a social institution plays a significant role in binding people together and strengthening the sense of solidarity amongst them. Philosophy of religion is the philosophical study of the meaning and nature of religion. Durkheim saw totemism as the original and simplest form of religion. Once a cult or sect has been founded, the next problem for the founder is to convert new members to it. [27] The primitive man could not endure that his struggle to survive had no meaning. [19][20] The latter criticism presumes that the evolutionary views of the early cultural anthropologists envisaged a uniform cultural evolution. He asserted that these group meeting provided a special kind of energy,[47] which he called effervescence, that made group members lose their individuality and to feel united with the gods and thus with the group. The Role of Religious Movements in International Politics. In 1950, in the encyclical " Humani Generis ," Pope Pius XII said that Catholic . Zoroastrianism Beliefs & Practices | What is Zoroastrianism? Chapter 3: Science and Religion. To Kant, religious beliefs are unprovable. Some people think that, to accept the key tenets of evolutionary thought is to deny their religious . He avoided the subjective and vague concept of group attitude as used by Ruth Benedict by using the analysis of society as proposed by Talcott Parsons who in turn had adapted it from Max Weber. Like all religions, Muslims have split up into different sects. Throughout the ages, people have sought to understand the human need to reach beyond ourselves. Origins of Theatre -- Theories: No clear evidence, so all theories are conjecture. In other words, since there are things that are unexplainable by simply using the five senses, humans developed religion to fill in the blanks. The best candidates for religious conversion are those who are members of or have been associated with religious groups (thereby showing an interest or openness to religion), yet exist on the fringe of these groups, without strong social ties to prevent them from joining a new group. There are about 19 major world religions which are subdivided into a total of 270 large religious groups, and many unique faith groups. Sacred rituals and ceremonies are especially important for marking occasions such as births, marriages, times of crisis, and deaths. According to Marx, the dynamics of society were determined by the relations of production, that is, the relations that its members needed to enter into to produce their means of survival.[38]. [41] In the book he asserted that monotheistic religions grew out of a homicide in a clan of a father by his sons. The word "tragedy' seems to have come from . Right Intention: Avoid harmful thoughts, care for others, Every culture, religion, sect, or belief cannot deny that life is supposed to end someday. flashcard sets. [35] Parsons' adaptation distinguished all human groups on three levels i.e. Whats more, it seems to be an effective system for maintaining a social hierarchy and control over the population. The vast majority of Muslims are Sunni. If you're seeing this message, it means we're having trouble loading external resources on our website. It means bio \ (=\) life, genesis \ (=\) synthesis. LESSON 2: ORIGIN OF WORLD RELIGIONS By: Ms. Jo Marie Nel C. Garcia. The best books on Atheism, recommended by Susan Jacoby. They had also totemism, but this was a minor aspect of their religion and hence a corrective to Durkheim's generalizations should be made. There is evidence that monotheism is more prevalent in hunter societies than in agricultural societies. Focusing on the positive and trying to achieve happiness now does indeed bring meaning to life and lift peoples focus away from daily drudgery or suffering, with the hope that one day people might achieve eternal salvation or be released from the reincarnation cycle (samsara). Theories of the Origin of the Earth. 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. 1. 2. The Religionsgeschichtliche Schule emerged at a time when scholarly study of the Bible and of . Religion, especially faiths that were shared by large groups of people, actually provided stability in cities. [28] Historical religions like Christianity and Judaism revolted against this older concept of cyclic time. religion, human beings' relation to that which they regard as holy, sacred, absolute, spiritual, divine, or worthy of especial reverence. Unlike the Eastern religions' passive approach, salvation religions like Christianity are active, demanding continuous struggles against sin and the negative aspects of society. Rituals are necessary to bind together the members of a religious group, and they allow individuals to escape from the mundane aspects of daily life into higher realms of experience. For example, Hinduism stresses attaining higher levels of spirituality by escaping from the toils of the mundane physical world. In this case, there is a male founder of the religion. religion reinforces group interest that clash very often with individual interests. This theory teaches that religion originates with God disclosing Himself to man. It is simply the body of beliefs and practices connected to some supernatural which unites people. Here she recommends five books she considers essential to "understanding the merits of atheism.". Converts who are marginal with few friends are easy to convert, but having few friends to convert they cannot add much to the further growth of the organization. His theory assumed that the psyches of all peoples of all times are more or less the same and that explanations in cultures and religions tend to grow more sophisticated via monotheist religions, such as Christianity and eventually to science. Explore an overview of the works of significant figures who developed such philosophies: Kant, Muller, Frazer, Marx, and Freud. In animism, all of nature is full of unseen spirits, which are to be worshipped. Create a poster, chart, or some other type of graphic organizer that compares and contrasts the theories on the origins of religion of Karl Marx and Sigmund Freud. Right Effort: Work hard and avoid negative situations. Charles Taylor, A Secular Age, Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 2007, cultures and religions tend to grow more sophisticated, magic relied on an uncritical belief of primitive people in contact and imitation, the method of historians studying history, which has been criticized as unscientific, functionalist school in sociology and anthropology, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, The Religion of China: Confucianism and Taoism, The Religion of India: The Sociology of Hinduism and Buddhism, his 1920 treatment of the religion in China, Sociological classifications of religious movements The church-sect typology, The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life, "Clifford Geertz, Cultural Anthropologist, Is Dead at 80", "Reading 'Opium of the People': Expression, Protest and the Dialectics of Religion", "Elementary Forms of the Metaphorical Life: Tropes at Work in Durkheim's Theory of the Religious", Peddlers and Princes: Social Development and Economic Change in Two Indonesian Towns, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Theories_about_religion&oldid=1138388444, Social relational theories of religion that focus on the, "insider" versus "outsider" perspectives (roughly corresponding to, This page was last edited on 9 February 2023, at 11:57. 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. different way in non-worshipping religions as well. As the magician believes that nature can be overwhelmed and instrumentalized for personal benefit through magical spells, in the very same manner, religious man believes in the existence of spirits that must be pleased and cajoled by prayers, rather than overwhelmed by magic . Unlike Tylor and Frazer, Freud attempted to explain why religion persists in spite of the lack of evidence for its tenets. It depicted religion as evolving with human culture, from polytheism to monotheism.. There are numerous theories of the origins of religion involving various philosophies that provide their own explanation. Evans-Pritchard saw these people as different, but not primitive. Youre supposed to be happy, wealthy, and successful. Religion is the result of an evolutionary process in human culture. 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. [60] They define religion as a system of compensation that relies on the supernatural. Still, he predicted that traditional religion would one day pass away. (1) a system of symbols. Norton & Co., 2003. Most concentrate on one of these, but . History of study. It is also interesting that the four paths in life arent just about spirituality and God. All faiths, apart from Confucianism, which some scholars classify as an ethical system rather than a religion, offer eternal salvation in one form or another. PDF file. The ideas of three early sociological theorists continue to strongly influence the sociology of religion: Durkheim, Weber, and Marx. So what this is telling me is that the religion evolved from a social class structure where people had very defined roles. Previous One origin could explain, in simple terms, the beginning of the universe. I highly recommend you use this site! Monotheism History, Origin & Examples | What is Monotheism?

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