The Institution Of Religion And Its Main Aims - Essay Example

The Institution Of Religion And Its Main Aims Human existence has been a perplexing question that philosophers and scientists alike are trying to comprehend and to put into concrete words. Yet, many of the brilliant minds have utterly failed to completely understand and grasp the underlying mechanism and functioning of the unknown. The elusiveness of the world beyond human rationality was the powerful impetus to the emergence of a widely accepted form of mysticism, which is religion. The technological society, even until now, is incapable of providing answers to the most far-fetched questions that humanity was able to produce, namely, the purpose of life and the destination of life after death. The institution of religion shoulders all these human concerns through explaining the unexplainable through applying more intangible terms such as the holy trinity, the purgatory, the reincarnated soul and others. Moreover, the concepts of heaven and hell that myriad of people believe in are social control mechanisms that the church put up in order to spawn a high degree of compliance from its devotees. The latent objectives of religion were the usual departure of anti-religion philosophers such as Karl Marx, Max Weber and the most controversial of all Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche. Many atheists or non-believers question the accuracy and truthfulness of the most illustrious literary work produced before the advent of humanity’s incessant malevolence, the Bible. Most atheists believe that the Bible is a compiled forged testimony of people who have lived thousands of years ago. For the empirical mind, oral history is value-laden and much susceptible to manipulation hence making its correctness objectionable. Yet, many non-believers do not entirely discard the truthfulness of the Bible; instead they are clamoring for a thorough revisiting of the past through speculations coupled with scientific methods to verify the precision of the stories narrated in the holy book. On the other hand, existentialist philosophers not merely disregard the Bible but also the existence of a Supreme Being that is the invincible creator of all. Key figures in the history of humanity’s intellectual tradition placed them in their current position as thinkers to be venerated by their controversial and eccentric ideas, particularly against one of the most influential institutions in the world, religion; it in this argument that I will establish my defiant stance against religion. Reading the disputes created by leading philosophers, one might think that religion is nothing but another mechanism erected by the privileged few who aims to preserve the status quo or the social hierarchy. Moreover, aside from its manipulating function, religion can also be seen as an instrument of the weak that do not have the power to assert themselves against the formidable forces of nature. Religion is such a diverse subject matter. Its abstractness, diversity and universality prevent people from acquiring a general view of the concept and significance of it. In order to provide a clear perspective on religion, philosophers chose to put much emphasis on the effect of religion on individual identity and self-determination. The versatile thinker, Karl Marx, is popular in his adage, “religion is the opiate of the masses”. This statement alone blatantly points out that Marx is entirely opposed to the effect of religion in people’s economic condition. Marx argued that religion has been successful in propagating doctrines that attract the attention of the impoverished away from their factual condition. Religious beliefs, according to Marx, only fabricates illusions that are rather unconstructive than helpful. Religion tells people that the prosperity during their earthly life will not count after death. For the poor, it simply means that their current condition is nothing compared to the true happiness that they will receive in the afterlife. In other words, for Marx, religion persuades the ill-fated to continue living with the deprived circumstances that they presently have. It gives justification to social inequality or the widening disparity between the opportune and the underprivileged. Yet, Marx acknowledged the fact that religion is valuable in times of life’s crises because it offers solace and sympathy to those who are deeply offended which explains why he termed religion as an opiate of the masses (Schaefer 396). In the contemporary period, it is evident that Marx’s perspective of religion is precise. It is most evident in locales that are still in the command of faith particularly the developing nations. It cannot be confirmed if Christianity has the most restraining power compared to other proclaimed religion yet it is known that impoverished countries such as those in African and Asian countries are under the sway of this most pervasive institution of faith. Christianity has been an advocate of asceticism and gratification towards one’s destiny. These two Christian doctrines apparently educate the people to halt any effort to achieve a better life since the most important thing is that they have lived the life that the Creator planned them to. Going against one’s destiny, according to the Christians, is a serious transgression to the will of the Lord. Hence, it is no doubt that these poor nations that settled in the fringes of historical development are constantly baffled by scientific advances and technological wonders. On the contrary, Max Weber, the prominent German political thinker, firmly believes that not all religion contributes to the poverty of the many and the dominance of the few. He concretely studied one of the largest denominations in Europe, Calvinism. Weber was perplexed when he gained the knowledge that this religion encourages people to accumulate savings and profits through any economic way suitable to their abilities. Specifically, the doctrine of predestination upheld by the Calvinist states that individuals who lived prosperously during their lifetime are the only ones who will be permitted to enter heaven whereas those who were lazy and poor will be thrown to the fires of hell. Weber then concluded through his findings that Calvinism could be one of the most potent factors that can explain the emergence of capitalism. Yet, Weber did not regard Calvinism as a favorable religion because its effects to the human society are still repulsive. Weber detested the elements of capitalism such as bureaucracy, division of labor and legal authority because of their attachment to human oppression (Ember & Ember 178). The Calvinist religion could be used by the defenders of religion to substantiate their claims that religion is indeed a valuable possession for many because of its diversity in terms of beliefs. They can say that people concede to a particular religious creed because it coincides with their personal convictions and principles. Religion is purely a human choice and not a coercive device (Schaefer 398). Nevertheless, this argument is faulty because it puts religion into a menu type standpoint. It is like going to a fast food chain to check out for the menu and order foods that best suit one’s appetite. The multiplicity of ecclesiae all throughout the world is only a proof that religion is merely a human creation that bows to the self-interest of the fortunate minority. If religion is a product of human brilliance then just like a mortal it is also fallible or vulnerable to temptations and mistake. Furthermore, basing on Marx and Weber’s account on religion, logic asserts that the benefits of religion are not proportional to its tangible consequences on human lives. Also, the concept of heaven and hell between Marx and Weber are strikingly different. Yet, it points to one fact, that various forms of religion, without regard to their origin and objective, make use of fear as a leeway to strengthen social control mechanisms that would fasten individuals to positions that their fellow human beings have decided for them. Hitherto, these arguments by Marx and Weber on religion are quite flimsy in the standpoint of one of the fieriest and boldest existentialist philosophers, Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche. Nietzsche belligerently criticized the foundations of Christianity which lay on the principle that basic human instincts such as self-preservation and individualism are wicked and malevolent in nature. For Nietzsche, these basic human natures are in reality the fundamental element of inner strength promotion. Christianity, as he succinctly stated it, is a firmly established societal institution which in actuality operates to motivate individuals to be weak physically, emotionally and mentally through the exercise of pity. Nietzsche apparently interpreted the Christian psychology as a doctrine that seeks to diminish humanity’s “will to power”. Human nature can only be affirmed and strengthened through willpower or the tangible attempt to discard the stronghold of church-fabricated identity on individuals which negatively influence one’s disposition and personal improvement. Nietzsche defended humanity against mysticism by asserting that human beings are naturally free and autonomous. This gift of independence guarantees individuals skills and aptitudes to wrestle against enervating emotions such as pity. In order to overcome this insurmountable external force, one should completely grasp the essence of acknowledging one’s inborn motives and feelings. Moreover, Nietzsche advocated that egoism or individualism is not at all immoral but a strategy in which individuals could attain the highest realization of self-worth (Gaarder 241). Nietzsche further contested the prevalence of religion by declaring that the priestly class, with their preoccupation on self-denial or abstinence is comprised of weak and fragile people. He termed this kind of morality “slave morality”. Individuals who chose to restrain their fundamental instincts or drives are pitiable and nauseating for Nietzsche. He then blamed religion for the surfacing of this incapacitating type of morality. Furthermore, Nietzsche became notorious to many because of his statement that “God is dead”. This utterance made by Nietzsche means that God is now obsolete as a source of moral codes that people conform to. The pervasiveness of the notions of God is fundamentally a fetter towards humankind’s realization of their true life. In God’s morality, Nietzsche observed that its basic tenets scrape away the healthy life out of an individual’s being. He advanced this claim through asserting that individuals commonly consider their sin as shameful thus rejecting their instincts such as sexuality and egotism. Moreover, the idea of faith dampens humans’ natural curiosity and skepticism and the sentiment of pity motivates them to cling on their weaknesses and shortcomings. Likewise, Christian morality is founded on the creed of the afterlife which encourages people to undervalue their present life for the everlasting bliss promised by the afterlife. Nietzsche then strongly admitted that Christianity is nothing but an immortal adversary of life (Nietzsche 23). Even though religion is antagonized by some of the unconventional and exemplary thinkers, it never ceases to exist. It is in my opinion that the institution of religion is not valuable anymore. Yes, it bestows solace and sympathy to those who are star-crossed and provides hope and determination to those who are depressed yet when one analyze its deep-seated effects on the individual and the larger human society like those described by the three philosophical thinkers I have discussed, one might question the authenticity of the dogmas and aspirations that a religion ardently propagate. I personally believe that the disadvantages of religion outweigh its advantages. However, people fail to see that because of their preoccupation to religious activities that they suppose will alleviate their sufferings and will reserve the nicest room for them in heaven. Furthermore, organized religion, if we will revisit our history, is actually the impetus or the driving force towards massacres and oppression by the fraudulent empires or organizations that use it as a vehicle to inspire the people through malevolent ideologies. The most horrible crimes committed by humans to humanity are instigated by religion. The most fatal conflicts and rivalries in the history of civilizations had been motivated by archetype religious beliefs. Just like technology, religion also has its termination date. Religion has been misused and overused. To mutate Marx’s adage on capitalism, “religion carries with it the seeds of its own destruction. Works Cited Ember, Carol and Ember, Melvin. Anthropology. Singapore: Prentice Hall Ltd, 1999. Gaarder, Jostein. Sophie's World. Norway: H. Aschehoug & Co., 1991. Nietzsche, Friedrich. The Antichrist. Michigan: Thomson-Shore, Inc. , 1999. Schaefer, Richard T. Sociology. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1995. Read More