Professor: Nikos Dimitriadis

Student: Mecaj Klisio

Why does religion(s) exist?

When individuals start and try to study about a new religion they compare the new
knowledge to the religion that is already dominant in their lives. They tend to consider that the
new religion has common traits to their own, such as having a sacred book or that it worships a
divine being. Certainly, plenty of religions share those traits, however not all. One of those who
do not is Shinto that does not have neither a set of commandments nor a moral code.
Additionally, Zen Buddhism does not worship a divine being as well. The same applies to many
tribal religions don’t have any written sacred scripture. Nevertheless, we refer to all of them as
religions. Therefore, a question arises, what characteristic must be included for something to be
a religion? Starting with the roots of the term religion, the word originates from the Latin words
re which means again, “lig” meaning either “join” or “connect”. As a result, the translation of
the word religion is “to join-reconnect again” which most likely refers to the connection of this
world to the sacred one. In classical Latin the term religion meant awe for the gods and the
need for the appropriate rituals. Even though, religion as a word describes the reconnection of
the people to the god, we must also acknowledge that the word itself arose from the West and
it could not properly describe the notion of religion in the Eastern world. Spiritual path, is one
term that would be more fitting when we refer to other religious systems. Molloy, M. 1998.Even
if religions differ they have a couple of common elements such as the fact that people always
try to define them, also they work as a answers to questions that human beings are unable to
answer on their own and they teach certain moral codes to people in order to achieve a more
peaceful society
To begin with, people have always tried to comprehend and put into words what religion
actually is, usually the definitions focus on the sense of the dependence on a higher power or
the nature, life etc. It could also refer to the rituals and how important their meaning is, the
structure of time or the moral rules of each religion, however none of the definitions can
completely cover the meaning of the term religion. Religions must provide questions to the
questions that humanity cannot comprehend and explain, whether that is the creation of the
universe and its’ purpose or its end. Furthermore, there are other unanswered questions such
as the notion of time, what should our relationship with nature be or even deeper for example,
why were human beings created and how can they reach salvation? Why is there suffering in
the world and what is the right thing to do about it, what happens after death? When it comes
to the universe, there are several religions that consider a certain creator to have created the
universe and guide everything according to a cosmic plan. In this case, the center of the
sacredness is the deity who created the universe and human beings imitate the creator by
changing the world. Ausloos, M. and Petroni, F., 2007. However, there are religions who consider
the universe vast and eternal, in that case the universe itself is sacred and nothing should be
changed. Apart from the universe, time is also perceived to pass differently from religion to
religion. Religions that emphasize a creation, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, think of
time in a linear order with a beginning and an end whereas time Buddhism is perceived in a
cyclical order. That means that everything constantly changes and repeats themselves over
huge periods of time. Additionally, the world’s most dominant religions emphasize three
dominant orientations. Firstly, we can notice the sacramental orientation that suggests to
regularly performing rituals and ceremonies in order to reach salvation. Moreover, there is the
prophetic orientation where ensures to attain the proper believe by the use of moral rules. The
third orientation is the mystical orientation which seeks the union of one’s with something
greater than himself such as the universe, God etc. Every religion, sees what the deepest level
of reality is through its own scope but for the majority of them the origin of everything is sacred
and remains a mystery. This mystery is called by each religion by another name, due to the fact
that they see it with different lenses. Molloy, M. 1998, Some of those names are : Brahman, Dao,
Great Mother, Divine Parent, Great Spirit, Ground of Being, Great Mysterious, the Ultimate, the
Absolute, the Divine, the Holy the speak of the sacred and they attempt to express truth
through the use of symbols in order for every single individual to be able to comprehend the
meaning, whether they are educated, young or anything.

Despite trying to understand what is religion or the various religions and their differences there
is also the question ,why do they exist ? The most apparent answer is that it serves the
numerous needs of humans. One of the most essential needs is having a way to manage our
mortality. Since we all must perish, we need to meet the agony of death, and the unavoidable
questions it gets whether there's any spirit, life after death, or resurrection. Individuals
constantly seek religion as response. Religion can assist us to adapt with death, and religion
practices can bid us comfort. Individuals as well, wanted to be healthy, have sufficient food
supplies, and good climates to assure those. Prior to the improvement of modern day science,
individuals looked to religion to achieve these practical advantages, and still regularly do.
Individuals are likewise social by nature, and religion offers fellowship and satisfaction that
come by being part of the group. (Supp-Montgomerie, 2015) In addition, religion regularly gives
structure for caring for the poor. Religion restoring art, music, and dance, and it has been the
source of innovation of most creative buildings on earth. Religion's multiple arts are also
assimilate into living.Maybe the most fundamental purpose of religion is to answer to our
natural wonder about our own and the contemplation of universe.
The English anthropologist E. B. Tylor (1832–1917), for instance, accepted religion was
established in spirit worship. He noticed how regularly religions see "spirits" as having some
power over natural forces, and how generally religions see the individuals who pass away, as
ancestors who enter the spirit world. The fear of how powerful the spirits can be, he thought,
made it essential for individuals to discover ways to satisfy their ancestors. Religion provides
the option to the living to change the negative-dangerous power of the spirits and to transform
it into a power that would benefit them. Likewise, the Scottish anthropologist James Frazer
(1854–1941), creator of The Golden Bough, noticed the roots of religion in early endeavours by
individuals to impact nature, and he distinguished religion as a middle road between magic and
science. Sigmund Freud (1856–1939) conjectured that faith in a God or divine beings emerges
from the impressions made on grown-ups by their youth encounters, in which their parents
have a significant impact. (Molloy, 2015)These grown-ups then project the feeling of their
parents into their picture of their God or divine beings. As indicated by Freud, these encounters
of fear and security—are the reason for adults'attempts to manage the tensions of a confused
present and an obscure future. As indicated by Freud, these encounters of fear and security—
are the reason for adults'attempts to manage the tensions of a confused present and an
obscure future. Freud contended that since partially the duty of religion is to provide people
with a sense of safety in a hazardous universe, religion turns out to be less essential as
individuals increase more prominent physical and mental security Freud's most significant feats
on religion incorporate The Future of an Illusion, Moses and Monotheism, and Totem and
Taboo. The German scholar Rudolf Otto (1869–1937) argued in his book The Idea of the Holy
that religions develop when individuals experience the part of reality that is basically a mystery.
He named it the "secret that causes trembling and fascination" (mysterium tremendum et
fascinans) . Generally, we do not comprehend the fact that our days are numbered.
Periodically, however, something changes our conventional perspective on the real world. For
instance, a solid appearance of nature, for example, lightning or a brutal rainstorm—may
surprise us. It is a part of reality that is startling, driving us to tremble (tremendum). It could
also give us a feeling of fascination(fascinans).
To sum up, all the religions, try to preserve and teach various moral codes through their
teachings in order to improve the quality of a person’s character and create a peaceful society.
One of the ways this is done is through rewards such as Karma The general Hindu notion of
resurrection expects that individuals have at some time point existed as a "lower" life form, for
example, animal, insect, and potentially even plant. Hinduism likewise perceives evaluations of
human life, from constrained and excruciating to particularly wonderful and free. People are
capable of accomplishing "higher" types of forms of life , such as, superhumans and diving
beings. Rebirth can move in either course, and the human stage is a perilous one in light of the
fact that every person must settle on emotional decisions about how to live. In case that an
individual doesn't live appropriately, the person might be reawakened into an exceptionally
poor or pitiless human family—or conceivably in a type of life that might be considerably
increasingly constrained and difficult, for example, a dog, a pig, or an insect. One person can
likewise get past the human level to a superhuman presence or even past—to absolute
freedom. One different example is The Noble Eightfold Path: The Way to Inner Peace The eight
"steps" of the way really structure a program that the Buddha encouraged will lead us toward
freedom from the suffering and enduring of the real world. Together, they portray three
fundamental objectives: to confront life impartially, to live sympathetic, and to develop inner
harmony. As the theologian Paul Tillich claimed religion is the substance of culture, and culture
the form of religion. Molloy, M. 1998,Those two will always affect each other and religion apart
from the question if the god really exists, supports people mentally and is a fundamental part of
each culture.

Bibliography
Ausloos, M. and Petroni, F., 2007. Statistical dynamics of religions and adherents. Europhysics Letters
(EPL), 77(3), p.38002.

Molloy, M., 2015. Experiencing The World's Religions + Connect Access Card. McGraw-Hill College.

Molloy, M. 1998, Experiencing the World's Religions, 7th Edition, [Insert City of Publication]. Available
from: VitalSource Bookshelf.

Supp-Montgomerie, J., 2015. Affect and the Study of Religion. Religion Compass, 9(10), pp.335-345.