Why Is Religion the Distinctive Response for the Human Search of Ultimate Meaning?
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A 12 year old boy lays trapped between 4 walls, confining him to his so-called new home. He has no hopes, he has no glory , he has no future. Why? He is a Jew. Though strangled by the hauling walls of the room, his mind ponders…why am I here? Why is there so much pain and suffering? Who am I? Though most of us aren’t faced by the same situation, we too are trapped. Life is like the grey walls of prison forcing us to implore the reason for our existence. Who are we? Why are we here? To answer these questions and to place our mind in this false sense of security we cling to the idea of religion. Why? Why are we inclined to immerse our selves, in the idea of an “omnipotent omniscient benevolent supernatural being who created a world full of disease sorrow accident hardship and death,” rather then follow the path for science? Why is religion the distinctive response for the human search of ultimate meaning?
Well, at some point of our life, usually before we embrace death, we all embark on a journey in search of meaning. Some just accept that our existence is a 3 step process, life-routine-death, while others reject the idea of a cold, bitter , purposeless life and thus convince them selves that death cannot be the end. They find comfort and warmth believing that they play a vital role in a game-plan controlled and overseen by a supernatural force namely “god.” This is human tendency “we’re thrown into a world , the only animal with the capability to conceive of one self, self reflect philosophize , to make meaning of the world, only to see that there is no pre-meaning given to us.” This can be both liberating and horrible as there is no guidelines we can follow. Thus we begin to create our own set of morals our own set of values and in essence we create our own spirituality. Why god? Why believe in a purpose without evidence? The answer is simple; believing in a set of guidelines without evidence far suffices believing in nothing at all.
Another reason we respond to the search for meaning with religion, is because we are conditioned to do so. Society continually aids us if not complete dictate our search for meaning. The create rituals and text that engulf us while attempting to answer questions that perplex us. Unlike science “religion doesn’t sit back and relax and let the world go its own way. It intervenes. Religion makes truth claims and dictates how we must think and behave. Believers make sure they use their advantage to chastise and bully skeptics. Society rebukes and tyrannizes over people who don’t