The nature of religon

Sass:
I agree that a huge part of religion is to bring hope to an overall sense of hopelessness. However, I think its something slightly more than that.

For one, religion is a social construct. You have a hierachy, and places of worship are for the most part places of instruction and community. Many forms of religious worship contain sermons, a method of instructing followers and gioving advice. There is also an emphasis or payer / meditation and the like. Even if prayers are unheard, they force someone to think about a problem they may have and give them confidence that it can be solved.

To me, religion is an intrinsic part of human nature. There just seems to be a part of us that requires the existence of a higher power (for atheists, the higher power is reason / science). It may be there or it may just be a fragment of consciousness or our evolution as a species. But it is most definately there. I feel it every time I meditate and reach that state where all conscious thought stops and the entire body feels enveloped in a great ocean. It's a very powerful feeling and it leaves me with a sense of calm and knowledge that my problems will work themselves out with the right amount of effort.

In one sentence, religion is the power of prayer and reflection submitted to a higher power. At least for me it is.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

eks:

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A lot of self-centered people NEED it to keep them from doing immoral stuff.

If a person uses religion as a reason to not do immoral things, doesn't it intrinsically mean they are NOT self-centered?

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Others need it to boost their confidence.

That is a major part of it, but it also is something that you can fall back upon. If there is a major problem in life, religion provides a means of dealing with it. It also instills a sense of calm and serenity.

Sass (Yeah, Moon = Candle Tree):

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Now, I am atheist, but I do not find that math and science are absolute. Pang and I talk about this constantly (and he avoids bringing it up anymore). I think math and science work only from our perspective.

In a sense, I think religion also only works from our perspective as well. Religious thought certainly gives the notion of an absolute, but in reality does not. There are too many interpretations of religious texts and teachings to allow that. Rather, religion is more so a method of discovery. True, a religious doctrine dictates that certain things are true (like mathematical axioms), but allows the observer to take them in a personal way.

Take the religious notion of God. His existence is asserted as true, but exactly what is God is left to the believer. Is he a being, or is he an omniscent force? Heck, even the Bible isn't sure what God is. In Genesis 4:26, God is asserted to be an anthropomorphic being without human flaw, whereas in Deuteronomy 12:5, God is asserted to be an all-permeating, omniscient force.

This is a lot like what reason and science does. It takes something that is asserted to be true and builds upon them. For example, the number system is based on 8 axioms (or set theory, depending which route you choose).

Hence, it is less so a matter of what is absolute, it is more so the system you are working on and assuming as true. It is not necessarily THE system, as I don't believe that there is one correct religion / interpretation, but it is a system.

There's nowhere I can't reach.