Everyone knows what religion is. The mention of the word Religion brings about such terms as church, mosque, temple, etc. It reminds us of such people like Jesus, Buddha, Mohamed and Krishna. Above all we become aware of God with the mention of the word religion. All over the world people practice several religions. However with the coming of the scientific age many will have thought that religion would have ceased to make any impact in the world today, but surprisingly it still continues, just like before, to renew and to reinforce itself.
Origin
Nobody knows when Religion started. Many scriptures tell us that God created the world. If Religion is all about God, then we can say that it predates the existence of man. The Bible and the Quran for example affirm the fact that God is the creator of the universe. Even non scriptural Religions have myths that confirm this fact. Religion has therefore been with man right from the start to-day.
Many people once predicted that there will be a time that religion will not exist anymore. Some have even gone ahead to prescribe certain measures to eradicate religion from the world. But today, we can say without looking back that they all failed. Some of these people are as follows.
Voltaire
He was a famous French writer and philosopher. He was so mean about religion and religious people. He mocked them publicly. He even declared that in a hundred years time there would not be any Bibles in the world; as people would have come to realise the fact that the Bible does not contain any truth. Wonderfully, hundred years after his death, when his estate was auctioned, it was the Bible society of France that bought it and turned his house into a printing press to produce Bibles for free distribution to people. Just the exact opposite of what he predicted.Karl Max
He is the father of communism. He described Religion as the opium of the masses. He thought that it was a tool that the rich and powerful uses to keep the poor and vulnerable under bondage. To him, Religion prevented the exploited masses from revolting against exploitation because they turn to look to God and to attribute their suffering to him or to the devil. That is why in communist thought there is no place for religion and God. Communist thought that when they would take control of the whole world, Religion would be eliminated. Today, one can say, after looking at the collapse of the Soviet Union that Communism has failed. Yet Religion still continues. I wonder what Karl Max would say if he were alive today. If Religion is really the opium of the masses, then I can hear them crying for more.Sigmund Freud
Arguably the greatest psychiatrist the world has ever known. All that we have today in psychiatry is based on the foundation he laid in this field. He is also the originator of the famous theory of Oedipus and Electra complex. To Freud, Religion can only be compared to madness. He said all religious people, when observed critically, behave like psychotics. They perform repetitive actions, and do not seem to have any logical reason for their religious actions. He explained that Religion is the way perpetrating sexual repression. To him Religion started as a result of some men killing their own father in order have access to the women the father prevented them from accessing. They therefore deified their father and made rules to regulate how sex should be conducted. Despite this people still continue to pride themselves in their religious “madness”. Now the question that one will ask is whether it is all the people who are truly mad or the one who thought they were. The strange person is the one who does not conform. So the people seem to be saying to Freud: “We prefer this madness to your sanity.”
Why Religion persists
If there is any factor that is responsible for the sustenance of religious belief, it should be the fear of the unknown. When confronted with the question of where the soul goes after death, most people resort to religion for the answer. Although the answer provided by Religion may not be very solid, denying the question means denying the existence of the soul which does not make meaning to most people. The religious answer is by far the most satisfactory we have for now so far as life after death is concerned. It is better to be prepared for a better life after here and not have it than not to be prepared and miss it. So people will play it safe.
Religion persists also because of the role it plays in keeping society in form. It provides people the means of getting rid of certain feelings for which there are no other means. What happen in times of loss of loved ones and great calamities? Only religion provides the hope that is needed at this point.
Many of the laws that regulate social behaviour have their roots in religious prescriptions. That is why in certain countries it is recommended that you have some religious knowledge to study law. For that matter even if Religion ceases to be, once there are laws it will still continue to be of some importance to society.
Many of the worlds systems and traditions will pass away, but Religion will still continue so long as the human race exists. The death of Religion will be the end of the human race.
