TITLE:
Religion: Its Origins, Social Role and Sources of Variation
AUTHORS:
Richard Startup
KEYWORDS:
Origins of Religion, Religion and Politics, Dualist and Non-Dualist Perspectives, Need for Religion, Ubiquity of Religion
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Philosophy,
Vol.10 No.3,
August
25,
2020
ABSTRACT: Religion emerged among early humans because both purposive and non-purposive
explanations were being employed but understanding was lacking of their precise
scope and limits. Given also a context of very limited human power, the
resultant foregrounding of agency and purposive explanation expressed itself in
religion’s marked tendency towards anthropomorphism and its key role in
legitimizing behaviour. The inevitability of death also structures the
religious outlook; with ancestors sometimes assigned a role in relation to the
living. Subjective elements such as the experience of dreams and the
internalization of moral precepts also play their part. Two important sources
of variation among religions concern the adoption of a dualist or non-dualist
perspective, and whether or not the religion’s early political experience is
such as to generate a systematic doctrine subordinating politics to religion.
The near ubiquity and endurance of religion are further illuminated by analysis
of its functions and ideological role. Religion tends to be socially
conservative but has the potential to be revolutionary.