In the past, (by past I mean pre-teen years) I believed that there was a God/heaven/hell, but now I wonder what the purpose of religion is. It is a fact that all religion is manmade, and that there is no direct ties to any God writing any religious texts (i.e. bible/Koran), and that the bible, for example, was written by many men, over a long period of time and is extremely inconsistent with itself. Further, it is also an undeniable FACT (not theory) that evolution has occurred over millions of years. Just go to a natural museum of history. Also, if there is a God, then why are there so many religions? Which is the “true” religion if there is one? Why are there so many holy wars that have been conflicting for thousands of years, over which religion is superior? What it seems like to me, is that it’s essentially a war about what happens after you die! Absurd!! Also, are there actually people out there that still believe in talking snakes? That a man actually came back from the dead? Or about a man who convinced thousands of animals to go on a boat without conflict for 40 days/nights? What did these animals eat? It scares me to believe there are men running the country/world who believe in these stories. It appears to me that religion is nothing short of stories to help comfort the population about the realization that everybody dies, and what might happen afterwards. So my question to you is what does religion seek to accomplish? I apologize if I seem offensive (I am really not trying to be), but I am constantly searching for answers along life’s path.
Religion is as old as humankind. Yet the purpose of religion has varied from time to time and from place to place. Even at the same time and place, different groups have had different expectations from religion.
One of the oldest purposes of religion was to explain the mysteries of nature. In a sense this purpose still exists. Only the mysteries are now more mystifying. In A Brief History of Time Stephen Hawking elucidates, “Why does the universe go to all the bother of existing? Is the unified theory so compelling that it brings about its own existence? Or does it need a creator, and, if so, does he have any other effect on the universe? And who created him?”