5 different theories on the origin of religion 5 different theories on the origin of religion

By repression Freud meant that civilized society demands that we not fulfill all our desires immediately, but that they have to be repressed. Frazer added to this by purporting that religion evolved in phases and would eventually be replaced by science within the evolved mind. Types of religions around the world. To Kant, religious beliefs are unprovable. The Nuer had had an abstract monotheistic faith, somewhat similar to Christianity and Judaism, though it included lesser spirits. The word "tragedy' seems to have come from . A god figure steps in and gives humans a father in whom they can trust. Charles Taylor, A Secular Age, Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 2007, cultures and religions tend to grow more sophisticated, magic relied on an uncritical belief of primitive people in contact and imitation, the method of historians studying history, which has been criticized as unscientific, functionalist school in sociology and anthropology, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, The Religion of China: Confucianism and Taoism, The Religion of India: The Sociology of Hinduism and Buddhism, his 1920 treatment of the religion in China, Sociological classifications of religious movements The church-sect typology, The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life, "Clifford Geertz, Cultural Anthropologist, Is Dead at 80", "Reading 'Opium of the People': Expression, Protest and the Dialectics of Religion", "Elementary Forms of the Metaphorical Life: Tropes at Work in Durkheim's Theory of the Religious", Peddlers and Princes: Social Development and Economic Change in Two Indonesian Towns, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Theories_about_religion&oldid=1138388444, Social relational theories of religion that focus on the, "insider" versus "outsider" perspectives (roughly corresponding to, This page was last edited on 9 February 2023, at 11:57. from your Reading List will also remove any These religions were accepted by thousands of followers because they appealed to many different people from all social classes and occupations. However One possibility is that by about 100 BCE, the population in Afro-Eurasia had climbed to over a million. It was a period of many theories. If you're seeing this message, it means we're having trouble loading external resources on our website. From a completely different perspective, Freud linked the origin of religion to man's need for a father figure in whom he could trust. It is simply the body of beliefs and practices connected to some supernatural which unites people. Loss of faith in the fundamental tenets could not be endured because of its social importance and hence they had an elaborate system of explanations (or excuses) against disproving evidence. The points on which neodarwinism or synthetic . In true Freudian style, he theorized that this need led men to create religion. Hosted by Aranya Iyer. According to this model, the origin of life occurred in two steps: Fig: Steps to The Origin of Life According to Oparin-Haldane Model. Both provided a pathway and documents (texts) on how to earn salvation in this case, by ending the cycle of reincarnation. There are various sociological theories of religion, but the ones with a strong influence are that of sociology's three classical theorists. Example: Consider how the notion of Mother Nature came into being. In fact, they are the attempts of some famous philosophers, like Kant, Muller, Frazer, Marx and Freud, to make sense of the human desire to reach for something beyond ourselves. He advocated what he called thick descriptions to interpret symbols by observing them in use, and for this work, he was known as a founder of symbolic anthropology. Usually, these feelings are connected with the supernatural, for . If you're not religious, then you see how a lot of people celebrate Christmas. Though he used more or less the same methodology as Evans-Pritchard, he did not share Evans-Pritchard's hope that a theory of religion could ever be found. Francesco Redi took pieces of meat or flesh and cooked then packed those pieces in various jars. Origins of the Universe 101. Rational people and philosophers and scientists in particular wanted to understand how it is that supposedly reasoning beings would come to hold beliefs in what was not . Religion, or more appropriately religions, are cultural phenomena comprised of social institutions, traditions of practice, literatures, sacred texts and stories, and sacred places that identify and convey an understanding of ultimate meaning. If you follow the Eight-Fold Path then you can eliminate your Geography and culture have an effect on the establishment and development of religions. Among some of Freud's most famous quotes on religion, in his book "New Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis" (1933), he suggested that "religion is an illusion and it derives its strength from its readiness to fit in with our instinctual wishful impulses." In "The Future of an Illusion," Freud wrote that "religion is comparable to a . Primal Religions | Beliefs, Spirituality & Culture, Jewish Denominations | Examples & History, Karl Marx on Religion & Social Inequality | Beliefs & Quotes, The Jewish Belief System | Description, Elements & History, African Religions & Spirituality | History, Beliefs & Gods, Meroe Civilization | Overview, Summary & Achievements. These were all investigators who had a religious background themselves, thus they looked at religion from the inside. Through most of human history, cosmology and religion have been closely intertwined, and such was still the case during the scientific revolution. Right Concentration: Increase your peacefulness and calmness, in particular through meditation. This method left them open to criticism for lack of universality, which many freely admitted. Metropolitan Area, Physical City & City Center | What Is a Metropolitan Area? Still, he predicted that traditional religion would one day pass away. When explaining religion they reject divine or supernatural explanations for the status or origins of religions because they are not scientifically testable. Their fundamental assumptions, however, are quite different; notably, they apply methodological naturalism. Witchcraft and oracles played a great role in solving disputes among the Azande. He was born into a Ksatriya Hindu family, which was the warrior/ruler class. Although people commonly assume that Marx saw no place for religion, this assumption is not entirely true. Archaic man wishes to escape the terror of time and saw time as cyclic. The new religious beliefs are compensators for the failure to achieve the original goals. [32], He was heavily critical about earlier theorists of primitive religion with the exception of Lucien Lvy-Bruhl, asserting that they made statements about primitive people without having enough inside knowledge to make more than a guess. Adding to these theories of origin, the famous Karl Marx believed religion was man's attempt to deal with the difficulties of social class. This young man from the upper class of society gave up his status and position when he saw the effects his status was having on people outside of his palace walls. There were no human observers to the origin of the universe, the origin of life, or, as a matter of fact, to the origin of a single type of living organism. [45] He saw religion as a reflection of the concern for society. . Marx once declared that religion is the opium of the people. He viewed religion as teaching people to accept their current lot in life, no matter how bad, while postponing rewards and happiness to some afterlife. He avoided the subjective and vague concept of group attitude as used by Ruth Benedict by using the analysis of society as proposed by Talcott Parsons who in turn had adapted it from Max Weber. Potential converts vary in their level of social connection. Tylor saw practices and beliefs in modern societies that were similar to those of primitive societies as survivals, but he did not explain why they survived. Marx held that religion served as a sanctuary from the harshness of everyday life and oppression by the powerful. The best books on Atheism, recommended by Susan Jacoby. Geertz proposed methodology was not the scientific method of the natural science, but the method of historians studying history. [21] The dichotomy between the two fundamental presumptions - and the question of what data can be considered valid - continues. She has a Master's degree in History. Each faith has its own answers to questions about humanity and each one has different practices. (to want what you do not have). Presentation Transcript. Abstract. As we delve into the theories of its origin, we will treat them as such. Different from Kant, the 19th century Max Muller held to the nature-worship theory. Theorists assert that a true religious economy is the result of religious pluralism, giving the population a wider variety of choices in religion. [23][24] Like Durkheim, he saw the sacred as central to religion, but differing from Durkheim, he views the sacred as often dealing with the supernatural, not with the clan or society. [28] According to Eliade, man had a nostalgia (longing) for an otherworldly perfection. Euhemerus (about 330 - 264 BCE) regarded gods as excellent historical persons whom admirers eventually came to worship.. Scientific theories, inferred and tested by the comparative method, emerged after data from . Think about the religion you're in. Sir Richard Paget, influenced by Darwin, believed that body movement preceded language. It is also commonly regarded as consisting of the way people deal with ultimate concerns about their lives and their fate after death. One origin could explain, in simple terms, the beginning of the universe. Right Living: Make sure that your livelihood does not harm others. Mainstream established groups are called denominations. Converts who are marginal with few friends are easy to convert, but having few friends to convert they cannot add much to the further growth of the organization. The rituals and practices of religion began as an expression of the creature's desire to worship the Creator. He deemed it a contingent part of human culture, that would have disappeared after the abolition of class society. Muller's nature-worship theory is closely tied to animism. While he was meditating, he became enlightened, or saw the truth. Psychological Research & Experimental Design, All Teacher Certification Test Prep Courses, What Is Religion? As children are born into the cult or sect, members begin to demand a more stable life. Proponents of this theory believe, as in the subjective theory, that religion originates with man. Right Awareness: Exercise control over your mind and increase [43] Although Freud's attempt to explain the historical origins of religions have not been accepted, his generalized view that all religions originate from unfulfilled psychological needs is still seen as offering a credible explanation in some cases.[44]. Like Frazer and Tylor he has also been accused of out-of-context comparisons of religious beliefs of very different societies and cultures. The scientific study of the origin of life, established in the 1920s, required abandoning the idea of a unique chance event and considering a view of life emerging as the result of a long evolutionary process. [50], Durkheim's approach gave rise to functionalist school in sociology and anthropology[51] Functionalism is a sociological paradigm that originally attempted to explain social institutions as collective means to fill individual biological needs, focusing on the ways in which social institutions fill social needs, especially social stability. He described it as mysterium tremendum (terrifying mystery) and mysterium fascinans (awe inspiring, fascinating mystery). Early essentialists, such as Tylor and Frazer, looked for similar beliefs and practices in all societies, especially the more primitive ones, more or less regardless of time and place. [55] The theory of religious economy sees different religious organizations competing for followers in a religious economy, much like the way businesses compete for consumers in a commercial economy. Sacred rituals and ceremonies are especially important for marking occasions such as births, marriages, times of crisis, and deaths. Intellectualism Evolutionism Theory of survivals Diffusion Theory Sociology of Religion Social & Cultural Anthropology. Aristotle suggested that mimesis (imitation) is innate in humans; theatre probably came from the dithyramb, a hymn sung or chanted before religious rituals in honor of Dionysus, the god of wine, rebirth, and fertility. HR publishes fresh and insightful scholarship that is engaged both with . Marxist views strongly influenced individuals' comprehension and conclusions about society, among others the anthropological school of cultural materialism. The five world religions are Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Judaism. Weber and religion: Max Weber (1864-1920) was a German sociologist whose primary concern was to study the origin of rationalization and how religion impacts the economy of any society. Like all religions, Muslims have split up into different sects. In an essay of at least one page, describe Max Muller's nature-worship theory on the origins of religion. and think about more than yourself. [39], Some recent work has suggested that, while the standard account of Marx's analysis of religion is true, it is also only one side of a dialectical account, which takes seriously the disruptive, as well as the pacifying moments of religion [40]. Biogenesis. Removing #book# To him, religion developed out of the human need for a protective father figure. Enrolling in a course lets you earn progress by passing quizzes and exams. Create a poster, chart, or some other type of graphic organizer that compares and contrasts the theories on the origins of religion of Karl Marx and Sigmund Freud. By Anita Ravi. New religions best spread through pre-existing friendship networks. Ranked #80 out of 547 "Religious studies" journals. [59][60] Compensators are a body of language and practices that compensate for some physical lack or frustrated goal. Death is inevitable, and this phenomenon is universal. Hinduism is unique in that it's not a single religion but a compilation of many traditions and . 2. Abstract. Do not promote slavery or the selling of weapons or poisons. They had also totemism, but this was a minor aspect of their religion and hence a corrective to Durkheim's generalizations should be made. It is also interesting that the four paths in life arent just about spirituality and God. I highly recommend you use this site! In status groups the primary motivation is prestige and social cohesion. Belief in spirits grew out of attempts to explain life and death. [42], Freud's view on religion was embedded in his larger theory of psychoanalysis, which has been criticized as unscientific. It says that the earth was made in six days. While it is common for religions to identify the ultimate with a deity . This tendency to explain the natural world through the existence of beings with supernatural powers things like gods, ancestral spirits, goblins and fairies formed the basis for religious . 1. Faith-Based. Field workers deliberately sent out by universities and other institutions to collect specific cultural data made available a much greater database than random reports. But the world religions I know of Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam were bigger than a single city or even a single region of the world. Philosophy of Religion. In the 1930s a kind of big-bang theory . Theories explaining gender differences in religion. As they observed the sun, moon, winds and rains, they began to personify them, sort of like our . A religion is a set of beliefs and rituals practiced by a group of people. Geertz saw religion as one of the cultural systems of a society. [citation needed] The view of a uniform progression in folkways is criticized as unverifiable, as the writer Andrew Lang (18441912) and E. E. Evans-Pritchard assert. The second and third goals are really about daily life specifically, living a pleasurable daily life. In this article, I will classify theories about the origin of religions, distinguishing two groups of theories: those upholding the revealed origin of religion and those denying it. Herbert Spencer (1820-1903), an early advocate of the theory of evolution, maintained that religion belonged to the constitution of social organisms, namely, to societies. Typically they did not practice investigative field work, but used the accidental reports of others. 1. Section 3. He asserted that magic relied on an uncritical belief of primitive people in contact and imitation. He asserted that according to them magic worked through laws. The best candidates for religious conversion are those who are members of or have been associated with religious groups (thereby showing an interest or openness to religion), yet exist on the fringe of these groups, without strong social ties to prevent them from joining a new group. According to Marx, the dynamics of society were determined by the relations of production, that is, the relations that its members needed to enter into to produce their means of survival.[38]. He believed that scientific thinking would likely replace religious thinking, with people giving only minimal attention to rituals and ceremonies. Different Theories of origin of tribal religion 1. Durkheim found that people tend to separate religious symbols, objects, and rituals, which are sacred, from the daily symbols, objects, and routines of existence referred to as the profane. On the contrary, religion is an act of the moral will. As people created more efficient systems of communication and more complex governments in early agrarian civilizations, they also developed what we now call religion. According to Sir James Frazer, religion developed out of an original magical stage of human culture. [13] They relied heavily on reports made by missionaries, discoverers, and colonial civil servants. The scope of much of the work done in philosophy of religion has been limited to the various theistic religions. Paleologic focuses on prehistoric creatures that roamed the earth well before Humans; while diving into potential reasons why they are no longer with us. Right Action: Be faithful and do the right thing; do not kill, steal, or lie. [57] Status groups have differing levels of access to power and prestige and indirectly to economic resources. As the magician believes that nature can be overwhelmed and instrumentalized for personal benefit through magical spells, in the very same manner, religious man believes in the existence of spirits that must be pleased and cajoled by prayers, rather than overwhelmed by magic . As his famous quote is often paraphrased, 'Religion is the opium of the people.'. Both these writers ask why the Victorians were so interested in seeking the origins of religion. In fact, these religions have survived for thousands of years, and all of them seem to have developed around the same time. Adding to this, Frazer believed a highly evolved person will eventually desert the tales of magic and religion in acceptance of science. In spite of his praise of Bruhl's works, Evans-Pritchard disagreed with Bruhl's statement that a member of a "primitive" tribe saying "I am the moon" is prelogical, but that this statement makes perfect sense within their culture if understood metaphorically.[33][34]. Thus because Durkheim viewed society as an "organismic analogy of the body, wherein all the parts work together to maintain the equilibrium of the whole, religion was understood to be the glue that held society together.".[52]. Cults initially can have quite high growth rates; but as the social networks that initially feed them are exhausted, their growth rate falls quickly. succeed. Thus, religion functions to bind society's members by prompting them to affirm their common values and beliefs on a regular basis. Prime candidates for religious conversion are those with an openness to religion, but who do not belong or fit well in any existing religious group. Another criticism supposes that Tylor and Frazer were individualists (unscientific). 5 years, 6 months ago. Sigmund Freud's, focusing on neurosis as a psychological origin of religious beliefs; while Emile Durkheim proposed a theory that focuses on the social function of religions . [22], Mircea Eliade's (19071986) approach grew out of the phenomenology of religion. Myths and deities to explain natural phenomena originated by analogy and an extension of these explanations. Such a perspective does not easily lend itself to making and spending money. There are about 19 major world religions which are subdivided into a total of 270 large religious groups, and many unique faith groups. Unlike the Eastern religions' passive approach, salvation religions like Christianity are active, demanding continuous struggles against sin and the negative aspects of society. Direct link to joslynn.t's post how is there life impacte, Posted a year ago. But similar to Hinduism, Buddhists came to believe that following these steps leads toward nirvana and therefore, stops the cycle of reincarnation. It is therefore the thrust of this paper to unveil the current trends . What a story! ; The tribes believe that the soul continues to exist even after death.It continues to conduct human actions by entering a particular place or substance or determines the success or . The second theory regarding the origin of religion is the evolutionary approach. Answer (1 of 5): Well, there are manyBut, first of all WHAT IS RELIGION ? Early people became aware of theplaces andpeoplebelieved to beholy and sacredbelief in a deity RELIGION rules followed as a result of beliefsway to worship a deity. This often leads to cult leaders giving up after several decades, and withdrawing the cult from the world. He called them "armchair anthropologists". Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism. He observed . This principle has been given by Tyler.According to him, the basic source of tribal religion is the belief in the spirits of the ancestors. In short, as humans age, they begin to see the weaknesses in their earthly fathers. Cults are new groups with a new novel theology, while sects are attempts to return mainstream religions to (what the sect views as) their original purity. Example: Frazer theorized that humans first tried to use magic to control nature. Origins of Theatre -- Theories: No clear evidence, so all theories are conjecture. Sigmund Freud (18561939) saw religion as an illusion, a belief that people very much wanted to be true. Of course, this is just a hypothetical theory, created by the idea of relativity which is from the brain of Albert Einstein. He asserted that these group meeting provided a special kind of energy,[47] which he called effervescence, that made group members lose their individuality and to feel united with the gods and thus with the group. 5:34. Al. The origin of religion and polytheistic systems: Polytheism (a belief in many gods) is . Durkheim saw totemism as the original and simplest form of religion. Religions are very diverse. Since people do not appear to have lacked for religious life on a local scale from very early times, why did several large-scale belief systems emerge between 1200 BCE and 700 CE? In Christianity, the idea of sin and its atonement by God's grace plays a fundamental role. In the book Weber wrote that modern capitalism spread quickly partially due to the Protestant worldly ascetic morale. He used the concept of Verstehen (German for "understanding") to describe his method of interpretation of the intention and context of human action. Rituals are necessary to bind together the members of a religious group, and they allow individuals to escape from the mundane aspects of daily life into higher realms of experience. The fundamental purpose of Weber's research was to discover religion's impact on social change. On the first day God created light and separated the light from the darkness, calling light "day" and darkness "night. Print. [58] They see religions as systems of "compensators", and view human beings as "rational actors, making choices that she or he thinks best, calculating costs and benefits". They believed that religion is essentially an illusion; because culture and location influence religion to such a degree, the idea that religion presents a fundamental truth of existence seemed rather improbable to them. Evolution and Religion. The main reason for the survival of religion is not a desire to live a better life, but our fear of death, says atheist author and independent scholar Susan Jacoby. The Religionsgeschichtliche Schule emerged at a time when scholarly study of the Bible and of . These eight tenets of Buddhism are really about how people should relate to each other and how people develop self-discipline. (2) which acts to establish powerful, pervasive and long-lasting moods and motivations in men. Building on the role of nature, Sir James George Frazer's theories went a step further. Evans-Pritchard saw these people as different, but not primitive. I also learned that after he revealed these ideas, the Buddha stopped worshipping Hindu gods and stopped believing that one caste was better than the others. groups in high tension with the surrounding society, containing different views and beliefs contrary to the societal norm. In his 1920 treatment of the religion in China he saw Confucianism as helping a certain status group, i.e. The second religion Im going to take a look at is Buddhism. religion reinforces group interest that clash very often with individual interests. Web. James George Frazer (18541941) followed Tylor's theories to a great extent in his book The Golden Bough, but he distinguished between magic and religion. While religions have relied on creation stories to explain how life on Earth began, scientists have tried to hypothesize possible ways that inorganic molecules (the building blocks of life) joined together to form living cells. [35] Parsons' adaptation distinguished all human groups on three levels i.e. Theories of the Origin of the Earth. It helped me pass my exam and the test questions are very similar to the practice quizzes on Study.com. The anthropologist Edward Burnett Tylor (18321917) defined religion as belief in spiritual beings and stated that this belief originated as explanations of natural phenomena. Right Effort: Work hard and avoid negative situations. This theory puts forth the idea that religion developed as primitive people groups observed nature. Converts with a large social network are harder to convert, since they tend to have more invested in mainstream society; but once converted they yield many new followers through their friendship network.