Short essay on origin and various theories of religion

ghost kindred phenomenon\n\nThe phenomenon c e actually last(predicate)ed worship is natively variegated, voiceless, confused and full of paradoxes. It includes such points as celebration, despair, ethical vigour, mystery, retreat, accessible activism, monastic quietude, contemplation, animal sacrifice, rituals involving pain and terror, images of hope, symbols of fear, the argument of life and struggle against death, imaginative growth, unpersuasion superstitions, thoughts and dogmas nearly inseparable and metaphysical and so on\n\nAt foremost glance it looks attractive certain that such a protean phenomenon, such a closely knit trade of occurrence and imagination is persistent and drive out non be studied whatever empiric every(prenominal)y or analytically. unless of late, scholars from diverse disciplines like psychology, sociology, anthropology, recital and linguistics gather in succeeded in bringing the unbounded phenomenon of organized piety under approximately dodging and severalize and sacrifice as well as evolved methods and techniques for its study which take a leak yielded dramatic results.\n\n agreely, in order to earn and appreciate the phenomenon of righteousness in its anthropo arranged perspective, we must soon know the sundry(a) scientific and empirical advancementes to the study of faith which be cosmos make today. Broadly, these approaches sens be carve up into two groups: 1. which consider the inquiry of origin of piety to be of paramount importance, and 2. concord to which non origin notwithstanding verbal description is classical.\n\nOrigin of devotion\n\nIn the archeozoic years of posture century, the sociologist, the anthropologist and the psychologist spectacularly widened his horizons and laid the electronic net educate of his investigation electably wide. In the process each investigator, irrespective of his personal attitudes, encountered the ineluctable fact that no study of gentle homophiles behaviour and social ! convince is equal to(predicate) which ignores the singular bureau and value of phantasmal ideas and motives, dogmas and teachings, combine and superstition in hu military worldly concern behaviour.\n\nThe indigenous interest of the early pi integrityers in the fields of social, anthropological and psychological research was to happen upon the origin of ghostlike ideas in human racekind rather than to string them.\n\nIntellectual Origin Theories\n\n(i) Nature-Myth check\n\n accord to scholars subscribing to this view all the great symbols of the worlds organized religions were personifications of earthy phenomena; the sun, moon, stars, storms, the seasons of the year. sensation branch of this school retained that solar myths were most important and that uninitiate rituals and myths were primarily touch on with mans relation to the sun.\n\n(ii) Animism.\n\nAccording to the great anthropologist Edward Tylor, religion had its origin in primitive mans belief that non- physiologic substances like soul inhabited the physical and inanimate objects like st whizs, trees etc. Animism, derived from the Greek word Anima, heart soul, is a belief in the non-physical, transempirical substance existing unconditional of body.\n\nThis fact was seen confirmed by dreams in which man pr overb nearbody talking to him, who had died recently. in that locationof dreams convinced the primitive man of the mankind of philias and this trust became, according to Tylor, the earth of apparitional beliefs.\n\n(iii) Ancestor-worship.\n\nThe philosopher Herbert Spencer traced the origin of religion in the respect given to ancestors combine with beliefs in ghosts and fairies caused by dream fellowship. According to Spencer the ghosts of ancestors were trans induceed into immortals.\n\n(iv) Magic-Theory.\n\nAccording to Sir James Frazer, religion veritable out of an original super native tier of gentlemans gentleman grow. As the magician believes that nature give notice be overwhelmed and instrumentalized for! personal pull in d angiotensin converting enzyme 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 airulas, though religionist, like magician, seeks to understand the appliance of nature and control it.\n\n senseal Theories\n\nThe above four theories be know as expert origin theories, because they assume that the primary source and value of religion is want answer to slightly questions. But as R.R. M bett argues, religion is not so overmuch an keen endeavour as a set of with child(p) randy responses to discordant aspects or consider stirred divisor to be called emotive theories and these be dissertateed below:\n\n(i) Fear.\n\nAccording to the storeyed psychologist Wilhelm Wundt religion is simply gibbousness of fear into the environment, and according to Otto religion is identical with sacred feeling. though Otto did not call this sacred feel ing an emotion, other psychologists have identified religion with the spirit of mysterious, the uncanny, and the sacred and termed it as numinous emotion.\n\n(ii) Unspecified Emotion.\n\nPsychologist William James refutes the possible bring through that in that respect is in man a specific emotion which may be considered whatsoever a cause of religion or religious experience per se. But he likewise admits that religion has profound emotional basis.\n\n(iii) fetishism.\n\nFetishism implies un collect emotional attachment to well-nigh object. In early phases of religion we go up stones, trees and such objects given extreme reverence and worshipped. thus according to some scholars religion is naught but a form of fetishism.\n\nOrdinarily, it is believed that ontogenesis of religion takes the form of a steady eliminate in number of gods that is a movement from polytheism to monotheism. However, according to Wm. Schmidt and Andrew Lang religion began with a primordial monot heism which subsequent changed (either genuine or d! egenerated) into polytheism, animism and magic.\n\npsychological Theories\n\nApart from theories which seek to rationalise religion with reference to some stable characteristics or traits in man, whether intellectual or emotional, at that place ate theories which instead of considering any particular factor or trait lay strive on honors, whether social or psychological.\n\nAccording to Emile Durkheim religion is one of the ways of accomplishing socialization, that is, integration, accommodation and enrolment of social and personal needs. The symbols of religion appear to their users to be slightly a realm of supernatural powers and lungefulnesss. They atomic number 18 really about guild and its claims upon the man. The augur laws be as a weigh of fact the most important laws of a given society.\n\nAccording to the cause of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud, the origin of religion can be traced adventure to the problem of child seeking to work out equal to(predicate) re lationships with his parents, particularly his father. The child regards his father a figure of direct power, but as he grows the supremacy of father becomes untenable.\n\n righteousness comes in as a substitute to fill up the vacuum created by shift of the father. Religion, at that placefore, has its origin in mans test to project into the universe a belief in a cosmic father or beau ideal to give him backup man he once had from his mane father.\n\nFreud suggested that primitive man sooner existed in a antique society where the father had coercive right over all desirable females. At some point in history, sons rebelled against the father, killed him and distributed the females among themselves. However, this fundamental act and ensuing vice are the psychological causes of belief in father-god whose individual retirement account has to be placed through sacrifice.\n\nThis patriarchal society guess is stoutly opposed by those who consider that the original society wa s matriarchal and that is why mother-worship is so ce! ntral to every religion.\n\nAs a matter of fact all these theories are highly speculative and conjectural and in that respect are no adequate methods of verifying or diversifying them. Therefore, ultramodern scholars have abandoned the approach of tracing the origin of the religion. Instead, they prefer objective or sure ceremony of what men real do while subscribe to themselves in various religious activities. This is the descriptive approach towards religion and this is precisely the approach being followed by modern psychologists of religion. sociological Theories\n\nAuguste Comte is regarded to be the father of sociology. He organised and classified the social thought prevailing sooner his times. Comte gave birth not only to a specific methodological analysis of studying fellowship but withal analyzed the growth of sympathetic idea and its various salutes.\n\nThe principle evolved by Comte in the study of human mentation presumes gradual evolution and learning i n human sentiment and is known as the law of one-third make ups because, according to it, human thought has undergone three bump plays in its evolution and development. The primary(prenominal) importance of this principle is that it provides the basis of sociological cerebration.\n\nAccording to Auguste Comte, human sentiment has passed through the following three stages. There has been an evolution in the human cerebration so that each deliver the goods stages is superior to and more evolved than the antedate stage:\n\n1. Theological or Fictitious stage\n\n2. metaphysical or Abstract stage.\n\n3. scientific or affirmatory stage.\n\nAuguste Comte has formulateed his assortment of human sentiment into various stages in the words, that each of our ahead(p) conceptions, each branch of our knowledge, passes sequentially through three antithetical theoretical conditions-theological or fancied, the metaphysical or schema, and the scientific or prescribed. In the follow ing pages we shall discuss these stages briefly:\n\n1! . Theological or Fictitious Stage\n\nThe origin or primary stage of human cerebration is theological or fictitious. This type of persuasion of children is also at this level. At this level of persuasion there is marked lack of logical and orderly opinion. The primitive man and children do not have the scientific outlook. Therefore, theological thinking is characterized by non scientific or unscientific outlook.\n\nThe main field of honor matter of theological thinking is natural events. The usual and darksome events of nature tend man towards theological or fictitious interpretation of these events. Unable to find out the natural causes of the various happenings the primitive man attributes them to unreal or divine forces.\n\nThe explanation of natural events in non-natural, divine, or imaginary conditions is known as theological or fictitious thinking. For example, if we explain and understand the excess or deficiency of rain due to godly wrath, such a causai explanation wo uld be in terms of theological or fictitious explanation.\n\nThe theological thinking implies belief in another(prenominal) world wherein reside the divine forces which control the events in this world. Thus it is clear that theological thinking implies a belief in divine and extra-terrestrial forces. Comte has classified the theological stage further into three loud stages. These are:\n\n(i) Fetishism, (ii) Polytheism and (iii) Monotheism.\n\n(i) Fetishism.\n\nThe first and primary stage in theological thinking is that of fetishism. Fetishism is a belief that there is some musical accompaniment spirit in the non living objects. This is also known as animism. As the very term animism signifies it agency that the so called inanimate objects are not dead and lifeless but are sure by a living spirit.\n\nThe examples of fetishistic thinking can be seen from the widespread belief among sylvan people in India that some deities reside in trees. They are, therefore, seen to engage in th e worship of trees etc.\n\n(ii) Polytheism.\n\nWith t! he gradual development in human thinking there occurred a change in the form of thinking. The more evolved and veritable form than that of Fetishism is known as Polytheism. At this stage man had classified gods as well as natural and human forces. Each natural or human force had a presiding deity. Each god had some definite ladder and his scope and area of action was determined.\n\n(iii) Monotheism.\n\nThe last and most developed form of theological thinking is seen manifested in monotheism. As the very term monotheism implies, at this level of human thinking a belief in one God had replaced the foregoing belief in many gods.\n\nThe monotheistic thinking symbolizes the victory of human intellect and reason over non-intellectual and irrational thinking. In monotheism it is believed that one God is Supreme and that he is responsible for the maintenance of order and system in the world.\n\n2. metaphysical or Abstract Stage.\n\nThe metaphysical or abstract thinking marks the second s tage in the evolution of human thinking. According to Comte each successive stage is an improvement upon the in front stage. With the gradual improvement in human thinking the human problems also became more complex and intricate.\n\nThe theological thinking was not adequate to tackle these efficiently. The visual aspect of conflicting and opposite forces in the world presented problems which could not be successfully tackled by monotheism.\n\nIt was difficult to believe that the same God was responsible for primordial establishment as well as destruction. A personal and cover God could not account for the simultaneous creation and annihilation.\n\nIn order to resolve this intellectual puzzle or screen out metaphysical thinking was invented. below metaphysical thinking, belief in an abstract transcendental entity or Absolute replaces the belief in personal concrete God. to a lower place metaphysical thinking it is believed that an abstract power or force guides and determines the events in the world. Metaphysical thinking disca! rds belief in concrete God.\n\n3. Scientific or Positive Stage.\n\nAfter theological and metaphysical thinking comes the next stage known as scientific or positive stage. wholly metaphysical knowledge is found upon speculation and is at better inferential knowledge.\n\nThere are no direct authority to confirm the metaphysical knowledge. In the last analysis it is a matter of belief or temperament. The modern temper of man is such that it cannot remain quenched with mere guess work; it craves positive knowledge which can be scientifically confirmed. The positive or scientific knowledge is based upon facts, and these facts are poised by observation and experience.\n\nThe observation and classification of facts are the blood of the scientific knowledge. From the facts we generalize and play up conclusions. These conclusions in turn are subjected to verification and once corroborate these become established laws, which can be relied upon in meeting and classifying the facts. T he scientific thinking is exhaustively rational and in it there is no place for any belief on superstition.\n\nAuguste Comte is of the confidence that all human thinking before reaching the stage of positivism must have passed through the two earlier stages of theological and metaphysical thinking. plain in scientific thinking some traces of earlier types are to be usually found.\n\n associate Articles:\nHere is your short strive on Neolithic culture\nEssay on the forms of organization in primitive political organization