On the Nature of Religion
Mohd Ali
Professor Alexandra Asbille
Composition II
March 12th, 2012 On the Nature of Religion Throughout history it can clearly be seen that religion has played an important role in people’s lives. It is the one thing that is consistent across every culture. From Scandinavia to Japan, and from Ireland to Argentina, religion has played a role in the development of these societies. It does not matter what language the people speak or what they wear. Religion seems to bridge the gap without problem, rapidly spreading from one place to another in a matter of centuries, despite there being a cultural and language barrier. What makes religion so incredibly effective? Why is it that the concept has existed for literally as long as humanity has existed? What is the relationship between religion and culture? Are they two distinct entities, or are they two different manifestations of the same phenomenon? In order to answer these questions, first, a mutual platform must be developed and agreed upon, which will serve as the basis for development and proposal of arguments. First and foremost, this paper is a rational inquiry about the nature of religion, and as such this paper will establish arguments and analyze religion through the lens of rationality and science. This is not a paper about causality. The arguments developed here are built on the foundations of Objectivism, scientific realism, empirical analysis and strict adherence to logic. Furthermore, religion has to be rigorously defined. Such a definition, however, is difficult to establish. Religion, as stated above, is a global phenomenon that is as old, even older still, than written history. And so establishing a general definition for a phenomenon that has such a wide range of variety is challenging. Nonetheless, henceforth, religion shall be defined as any ideology that proposes supernatural causes as an explanation for the natural world. Furthermore, religion is a purely psychological phenomenon that
Professor Alexandra Asbille
Composition II
March 12th, 2012 On the Nature of Religion Throughout history it can clearly be seen that religion has played an important role in people’s lives. It is the one thing that is consistent across every culture. From Scandinavia to Japan, and from Ireland to Argentina, religion has played a role in the development of these societies. It does not matter what language the people speak or what they wear. Religion seems to bridge the gap without problem, rapidly spreading from one place to another in a matter of centuries, despite there being a cultural and language barrier. What makes religion so incredibly effective? Why is it that the concept has existed for literally as long as humanity has existed? What is the relationship between religion and culture? Are they two distinct entities, or are they two different manifestations of the same phenomenon? In order to answer these questions, first, a mutual platform must be developed and agreed upon, which will serve as the basis for development and proposal of arguments. First and foremost, this paper is a rational inquiry about the nature of religion, and as such this paper will establish arguments and analyze religion through the lens of rationality and science. This is not a paper about causality. The arguments developed here are built on the foundations of Objectivism, scientific realism, empirical analysis and strict adherence to logic. Furthermore, religion has to be rigorously defined. Such a definition, however, is difficult to establish. Religion, as stated above, is a global phenomenon that is as old, even older still, than written history. And so establishing a general definition for a phenomenon that has such a wide range of variety is challenging. Nonetheless, henceforth, religion shall be defined as any ideology that proposes supernatural causes as an explanation for the natural world. Furthermore, religion is a purely psychological phenomenon that
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