2 upvotes, 2 direct replies (showing 2)
View submission: /r/philosophy Open Discussion Thread | February 10, 2025
People often say religions emerged because of existential dread however what about religions that don't offer a afterlife ?
It isn't clear to me the underlying reason why humans developed religions since l see it as a very complex phenomenon that merely saying it was because of existential dread doesn't complete the entire picture even if it does have some truth to it
Comment by checkdateusercreated at 13/02/2025 at 22:35 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
The most persistent and immediately useful philosophy will always start with self-examination. You make a claim about your own beliefs:
l see it as a very complex phenomenon
and I think you could develop that idea more. What does it mean that religion is a very complex phenomenon, to you? What does religion, as you understand it, do? How do you define religion? What is the simplest form of religion?
Asking yourself questions about things you already think is so powerful because it's always relevant. These are things you already care about. These ideas, somehow, have already made their way into your mind. Examine them. Examine yourself.
Comment by Shield_Lyger at 11/02/2025 at 22:49 UTC
3 upvotes, 1 direct replies
People often say religions emerged because of existential dread
People being whom, precisely? "People" can say whatever they want... that doesn't mean that they understand the subject matter. I would submit that many people don't really have a working definition of what religion means, outside of that their own specific culture defines as such. So I see what you're saying, but "people often say" simply isn't a good reason to engage with a topic, if that's all it is. It's not something that many laypeople find important to get right. Because they have day jobs and all that.