What are the benefits of religion?

[New Atheist]

Lets step back for a moment and say religion is man-made. (Please note this OP is not about whether religion is man made or not) If so, does it benefit the every day man? Is it hope that keeps man's mind from collapsing under the pressure of everyday life?

 

[Wisdom_Seeker]

Some people cannot cope with life as it is, and they need religion to get rid of anxiety and uncertainty. So for some it may be beneficial.

Not for everyone though, I think in the big picture, organized religion is like a vampire of humanity; feeding on the blood of the innocent and the poor, supporting the political establishment and the rich.

 

[Rav]

Religion provides emotional and psychological support mechanisms, and generally gives some people a better chance to reach their full potential as human beings. This is why I find it impossible to justify a global condemnation of it. Surely it is better for a person who would be otherwise miserable to embrace a set of beliefs that alleviate that misery, even if those beliefs may be false?

Of course I do feel that the benefits derived from religion by the individual should be weighed carefully against any possible impact upon the happiness of other individuals and society as a whole when trying to make a determination about the overall benefit of religion.

 

[spidergoat]

1. Provides a common narrative, useful as shortcuts in conversation.
2. Provides a social focus and meeting point.
3. Answers questions about life and death (even if wrong, we often prefer some answer to none at all)
4. There is some literary value in the King James Bible, couldn't understand Shakespeare without it.
5. As a social institution, often cares for the sick and poor.
6. The dead are often buried near churches.

 

[cosmictraveler]

Religion gives you someone else to lay the blame upon, the devil made me do it, God works in mysterious ways and on and on.

 

[origin]

It has helped the economy of the near east. Explosive manufacturers and funeral directors are having an economic boom.

 

[Yazata]

Lets step back for a moment and say religion is man-made. (Please note this OP is not about whether religion is man made or not)

I think that religiosity in general comes from human beings, and not from deities or transcendental planes of being. But that doesn't imply that religion was consciously and intentionally created. I see it as the byproduct of other innate human cognitive processes that leave people kind of predisposed and primed to think in religious ways.

If so, does it benefit the every day man?

The cognitive processes that generate it do.

One of them is obviously our ability to imagine objects and states of affairs that aren't actually present. That allows us to plan ahead and to critique past actions. But it also allows us to become imaginative and fanciful.

Another is our being born instinctually prepared to use language and to read, interpret and interact with other human beings. Those highly evolved abilities make it easier and more comfortable for us to relate to people than inanimate objects and abstractions, so human beings naturally tend to conceive of non-human objects and events as if they were human, in anthropomorphic ways.

And there's the psychological principle of closure. Despite how little people actually know about the world that they inhabit, they always have the subjective feeling that they are clued in, comprehend the big picture and are consequently ready for action. So there's an accompanying tendency to fill in the many gaps imaginatively.

Is it hope that keeps man's mind from collapsing under the pressure of everyday life?

Religious ideas still provide the foundation for ethics for most people. Religion gives people hope that they will be reunited with lost loved ones and that their own inevitable deaths won't simply be the end. It makes people's personal suffering seem meaningful. Religion creates the impression that history has a purpose, that the events that occur in our lives can be read for meaning and intention like human actions can, and that all of this noisy turbulence around us is actually headed somewhere, towards some ideal conclusion, towards something better. And religion makes the universe all around, the endless heavens above, seem comprehensible someow, friendly, purposeful and emotionally accessible, more like a work of art than a cold and uncaring machine.

 

[wynn]

And no religious people replying?

 

[praty]

It was needed before, when humanity was at it's infancy. It's useless now and a burden to free society and future of mankind.

 

[lightgigantic]

Lets step back for a moment and say religion is man-made. (Please note this OP is not about whether religion is man made or not) If so, does it benefit the every day man? Is it hope that keeps man's mind from collapsing under the pressure of everyday life?

If you want to deem religion as man made then it simply the same as any other man made thing - namely for as long as one keeps the term "benefit" vague enough, it can be seen to "benefit" some and not others

 

[New Atheist]

If you want to deem religion as man made then it simply the same as any other man made thing - namely for as long as one keeps the term "benefit" vague enough, it can be seen to "benefit" some and not others

How bout if we suppose for a second 0 that religion was not man made, would that alter your response in any way?

 

[New Atheist]

It was needed before, when humanity was at it's infancy. It's useless now and a burden to free society and future of mankind.

I tend to agree with you. But ther eis one problem with that though - Who would we argu with if everyone saw things our way and second (seriously now) wouldn't is simply CRUSH those who live really tough lives?

 

[wynn]

Religion provides emotional and psychological support mechanisms,

I am not at all convinced by that.

Some studies of PTSD in rape victims suggest that even adaptive coping strategies have no positive effect on mitigating PTSD.
(See Journal of Traumatic Stress, Vol. 24, No.2, April 2011.)

 

[The Esotericist]

The thing I believe most atheists don't understand is the philosophical difference between the religious, and the spiritually aware. Unless you have spiritual awareness, it is a pointless discussion really. One need not really "believe" or have faith in a supernatural deity to understand philosophical constructs and be humble in the face of the unknown. Only the arrogant believe that all of nature can be measured, quantified, and understood through physical means. Being humble, grateful, and in a state of grace is a virtuous moral that hardly any atheist possesses. . . . although I could be wrong. Studying the principles of consciousness is the primary focus of the spiritually aware and awake seeker looking to gain a clearer understanding of one's true place in the cosmos. This does not come by being lazy and believing in the rantings of some "religious" leader. Or by blindly following the words written down in only one specific ancient tomb that is recognized by the ancients as "the truth."

This comes by seeking a personal truth. It matters not if one calls oneself an atheist, or if one calls oneself the religion of ones family. Nor does it matter if one calls one self a philosopher. It only matters that one not disregard truth and wisdom where it rings true to the person seeking. The universe is a mysterious place. To make up one's mind how it works and to remain dogmatic about it, is to be religious. No matter what one calls one self, even if it is. . . "atheist."

 

[spidergoat]

"state of grace"... a nonsensical phrase.

 

[chimpkin]

Lets step back for a moment and say religion is man-made. (Please note this OP is not about whether religion is man made or not) If so, does it benefit the every day man? Is it hope that keeps man's mind from collapsing under the pressure of everyday life?

That's why I'm not an atheist. Being spiritual greases the gears.

Just honest enough to admit I might well be full of crap.
But the crap makes me happy.

"state of grace"... a nonsensical phrase.

I live in the state of Texas myself. In a trailer park. Definitely not a State of Grace.

 

[Dywyddyr]

The thing I believe most atheists don't understand is the philosophical difference between the religious, and the spiritually aware.

Define "spiritually aware".

One need not really "believe" or have faith in a supernatural deity to understand philosophical constructs and be humble in the face of the unknown.

Why should we be humble?

Only the arrogant believe that all of nature can be measured, quantified, and understood through physical means.

Or maybe it's the ones who say it can't be that are arrogant.

Studying the principles of consciousness is the primary focus of the spiritually aware

Yeah? In my experience those who claim to be "spiritually aware" spend of their time waffling inanely about the ineffability of it all, not studying the principle of consciousness. They tend to make shit up rather than go study.

This comes by seeking a personal truth.

In other words "I like it, therefore it must be true". Brilliant.

 

[chimpkin]

Some studies of PTSD in rape victims suggest that even adaptive coping strategies have no positive effect on mitigating PTSD.
(See Journal of Traumatic Stress, Vol. 24, No.2, April 2011.)

Adaptive coping strategies do help PTSD victims.
You just won't be all better.
You manage the misery.
Still going to be miserable.
:shrug:

 

[lightgigantic]

How bout if we suppose for a second 0 that religion was not man made, would that alter your response in any way?

then you have a slightly different scenario, since it would then (If I assume correctly what you mean) be attributed to an omnipotent personality primarily for directing the living entity out of their state of ignorance - IOW you would have a benefit that is literally incomparable to whatever benefit one can dream up in a temporal world.

 

[The Esotericist]

"state of grace"... a nonsensical phrase.

fair enough