As more and more Americans lose their religious faith, I wonder if humans ever needed religion at all. I identify as agnostic now, but throughout my childhood, I went to church and learned of Christianity through my grandparents. Organized religion made me view religion as exclusive, scandalized, and absorbed in politics and money. Mainstream religion today has increasingly been rejected, especially among young people because of its strict rules, practice of instilling fear, and polarization. As I dove deeper into the topic, however, I realized how core to our being theoretical thought really is and how much social belonging, calmness, and order religion brings to people.
Religion is a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices to serve or worship god(s) or the supernatural. Religion has bloomed across the globe for more than 100,000 years, with almost every culture experiencing it and over 85% of the world’s population embracing some sort of religious belief. It’s a trend of humanity that has stood the test of time, an almost primal instinct to make sense of the world around us and to feel a sense of security amongst the unknown. It’s founded the structures of many societies, and there has been an ongoing controversy about whether society should be secular.
Humans are predisposed to find patterns and structures, even in complete randomness. There has been enough research to support that religion may just be a byproduct of the way our brains work, like a survival instinct. This may be why a study in 2009 published by Jordan Grafman, PhD, director of the cognitive neuroscience section at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke presented an fMRI study showing that religious thoughts activate the area of the brain involved in deciphering other people’s emotions and intentions — the ability known as theory of mind. The same area lit up when praying, mentioning god, and meditation. Long-term Buddhist meditation practitioners have been shown to have a stronger and better-organized attention system, and any contemplative spiritual practice may contain many future benefits of better attention and calmer responses to stress.
Knowing that a higher power is watching over and protecting you can have an overwhelming impact on people. There have been studies to show that under pressure, people with more religious zeal and greater belief in god are calmer and more graceful. Religion is the closest thing humans can get to a guidebook of life, as it shows you the morals that you use to respond to situations. It also gives you a solution to any problem: prayer. Even if it’s not effective immediately, it gives you the satisfaction that you’ve done all you can do. Certain religions also carry annual traditions, which can be so exciting and comforting since you know you’ll see the members of your community at that time.
Even though most religions share a common emphasis on good intentions and a general moral compass, you may not agree with every custom. Some religions have justified human sacrifice, colonization, stereotypes, bias, fear-mongering, and many other harmful situations. Although religion can bring people together and form needed close relationships, the restrictions and fear can further cause damage to relationships. It can be destructive for a person to think because of their love for another person, a mean thought they had, or an act that goes against their religion that they are damned to hell and aren’t deserving of their god or their community. If it becomes negative like this, the blessing can turn into a curse and instead of feeling protected they can feel judged, stalked, and excluded.
Some people take advantage of people excluded from their religion and use their charisma and manipulation to bring in more and make almost a religion themselves. When this system of devotion becomes centered on a particular figure, it can become cult-like and may form practices that are seen as strange or sinister. In some cases, this leads to death and abuse. In the 1960s-70 we saw a spike in cults as people grew more upset with the government-organized churches and sought other ideas. The People’s Temple, led by Jim Jones, is one of the most known examples of this, resulting in the tragic mass suicide of 909 people. Cults are an interesting example of how religion can negatively warp human thought, faith, and community.
Whether humans need religion or not is up to the individual. Not every person may need a religion, and some may thrive with it. While I currently do not feel the urge to align myself with a particular religion, the freedom to practice any religion should stay an option for everyone.
