my answer to this question:

[ProScribe]

Why do we need religion?

Because it gives meaning and purpose in life.

. .

 

[awitch]

My answer is: I don't

 

[Kufffar]

My answer is: I don't

Quack, quack.

 

[Eudaimonist]

I think that question would be far more productive and make fewer assumptions if it were phrased: "Why do I need, or not need, religion?" Bonus points for defining "religion" first.

My answer is that I have a nontheistic philosophical and spiritual path that gives me what I need.


eudaimionia,

Mark

 

[Jane_the_Bane]

Religion is a complex cultural phenomenon that even defies attempts at defining it conclusively. Accordingly, there's more than one reason why people have created and sustained such systems.

One starting point has certainly been Man's hunger to understand, to somehow relate to the numinous universe that surrounds us in a meaningful fashion, and to be more than just a helpless, clueless grain of sand in the grip of mysterious forces.
This motivation gave rise to spirituality, philosophy, even the natural sciences. But "religion" is something more than that: an organized social system.
When the first stratified societies formed in the neolithic period, people did not distinguish between statecraft, legal codes and religion: they were all rolled into one. Religion was used to order society, codifying its customs, attaching specific roles to individuals and groups, and giving its adherence a sense of shared identity. Nationalism was unknown back then, so people rallied around a deity rather than the flag.

 

[Montalban]

Because it gives meaning and purpose in life.

. .

It explains why we're here


(on this forum)

 

[maizer]

Because it gives meaning and purpose in life.

. .

I'd say the right kind of religion does that, and add a disclaimer that just because it's Christian does not mean it's good.

 

[dewaddict84]

Meaning and purpose in life is pretty easy to get. In fact, a lot of people in places of power are more then willing to tell you what to do with your life. Some even insist.

If you want to trust them, that's no skin off my teeth. (Uh. Unless you vote within my democracy, then it kind of bungs up the works.) But personally I'd prefer to work towards my own purpose and interpret my own meaning.

 

[The4thrider]

I find my own meaning. Or make it if necessary.

 

[Lord Emsworth]

Why do we need religion?

A: Because some people are rather fond of it.