did religion start from (a) a desire to regulate behaviors on a mass scale eg instate laws, or (b) fear of death and the unknown so creating stories to cope?
new religions begin to occur when one population dislikes or stops doing a ritual or practice held by another population, or stops using their philosophies.
what were the principles and themes of the original ancient religions that set the tone for what people wanted out of religions going forward?
- the need to cement social bonds WITHOUT relying on language or necessarily appearance. If you go to a new country, you may not speak the language or look the same, but you’d feel reassured seeing your religious idols displayed and knowing those around you are “good christians” who obey the same ‘laws’ you do
- explanation of death. death resulting form “the loss of the soul” or something similar, then an explanation of what HAPPENS to this soul.
- a need to explain change, movement. ancient religions may have equated essentially ‘movement or change’ with an inner ‘spirit or god’. eg, the sun moves due to a god, the tides move, ants move, rain occurs, etc.
What is the main impetus for the global decline in religion? Is it science? Does this draw then a correlation between lack of scientific factual understanding about the world and the prevalence of religion? The less people knew about science, the more they relied on religion?
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