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Originally Posted by r3ptile
i don't think religion is useless, nor do i think that it's absence would improve things here on this crazy-ass planet. besides, men will always seek truth, and religion is "truth."
i think religion, in its most natural form, helps people realize their true potential. i think it gives people a way to strive to be their absolute best, while contributing the most possible value to society and the world in general.
not that it can't cause problems, when twisted and misinterpreted.. but that mostly seems to occur as a result of theological beurocracy & discrimination. but if religion can convince people to truly devote themselves to achieving world piece & happiness through individual growth & wisdom (such as buddhism does), we should not underestimate its importance in prolonging the life-span of our race.
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While that may be true in some stages, I believe relgion as a whole cannot be so easily defined. it evolves. Yes, at first, religion may seek truth but as it evolves, sometimes the truth conflicts religion. People also need to remember the exploitation factor of religion. I also partly agree with the statement that religion is a tool; as i wrote earlier, i think it may be a tool at one point or another but there are always those who are faithful. Religion as a whole cannot be defined so easily but there are several stages we see universal in most religion.
(monotheist) Religion usually starts out connected with science, logic and "truth". You use God to define your universe, the explain things. An example would be St. Augustine in his argument for god through apriori epistomology. religion at this stage is usually hierarchal.
:::Note that i'm generalizing a WHOLE lot and not going into detail. this is merely my outlook on religion based on history which i believe in a sense define a general trend.
Then in between the points, there will of course be exploitation and people using it as a tool. When the exploitation moves to an extreme, it either continues or someone fights back; such as the protestant reformation. This, in christianity, drove religion away from truth and logic --the first adaptation of faith in the form of passion --
Then finally religion moves toward individuality. This i can say is a general pattern. Religion becomes a person-to-person concept emphasising the notion of choice.
This generalization may not be true, or may be even completely wrong but it does demonstrate that religion in its fundemental does change and cannot be defined very easily. This is with the exception of my final point, which is individualism. I believe even if the human race began affreshed, the trend of religion --hopefully-- moves toward an individual basis. //rambling