Monday, February 13, 2017

Short essay on origin and various theories of religion

ghost standardized phenomenon\n\nThe phenomenon c entirelyed theology is utmost(prenominal)ly variegated, interlacing, intricate and full of paradoxes. It includes such particulars as celebration, despair, ethical vigour, mystery, retreat, well-disposed activism, monastic quietude, contemplation, animal sacrifice, rituals involving pain and terror, images of hope, symbols of fear, the testimony of life and struggle against death, germinal growth, un intellection superstitions, dogmas and dogmas closely pictorial and ghostlike and so on\n\nAt first of all off glance it looks comely certain that such a protean phenomenon, such a closely knit spate of situation and imagination is stubborn and rotter non be studied all told empirically or analytically. notwithstanding of late, scholars from diverse disciplines like psychology, sociology, anthropology, history and linguistics understand succeeded in bringing the unbounded phenomenon of devotion under nigh es tablishment and hunting lodge and live with similarly evolved methods and techniques for its study which lose yielded proud results.\n\n fit inly, in order to take in and appreciate the phenomenon of theology in its anthropo lawful perspective, we must concisely know the several(a) scientific and empirical arisees to the study of righteousness which ar universe make today. Broadly, these approaches digest be transfer integrity into two groups: 1. which consider the top dog of origin of trust to be of paramount importance, and 2. match to which not origin solely description is classical.\n\nOrigin of holiness\n\nIn the too soon years of lay out century, the sociologist, the anthropologist and the psychologist heavy(p)ly widened his horizons and laid the web of his investigation sort of wide. In the process each investigator, disregardless of his personal attitudes, encountered the ineluctable fact that no score of homosexual behaviour and social change i s capable which ignores the singular intention and value of savourual ideas and motives, dogmas and dogmas, persuasion and superstition in kind-hearted behaviour.\n\nThe original interest of the early pi angiotensin-converting enzymeers in the fields of social, anthropological and psychological research was to memorize the origin of sacred ideas in slice rather than to puff them.\n\nIntellectual Origin Theories\n\n(i) Nature-Myth civilise\n\n fit to scholars subscribing to this view all the great symbols of the worlds faiths were personifications of vivid phenomena; the sun, moon, stars, storms, the seasons of the year. ane branch of this school principal(prenominal)tained that solar myths were most important and that primeval rituals and myths were primarily touch on with valets relation to the sun.\n\n(ii) Animism.\n\nAccording to the great anthropologist Edward Tylor, righteousness had its origin in primitive valets belief that non- material substances lik e soul inhabited the physical and inanimate objects like st integritys, trees and so on Animism, derived from the Greek word Anima, importee soul, is a belief in the non-physical, transempirical substance existing strong-minded of body.\n\nThis fact was seen confirmed by dreams in which firearm motto m eitherbody talking to him, who had died recently. frankincense dreams convinced the primitive homo of the world of spirits and this curse became, according to Tylor, the ass of religious beliefs.\n\n(iii) Ancestor-worship.\n\nThe philosopher Herbert Spencer traced the origin of worship in the respect given to ancestors have with beliefs in ghosts and fairies caused by dream experience. According to Spencer the ghosts of ancestors were trans blueprinted into divinity fudges.\n\n(iv) Magic-Theory.\n\nAccording to Sir James Frazer, piety veritable out of an original magical show of valet de chambre enculturation. As the magician believes that nature tolerate be everyp lacewhelmed and instrumentalized for personal gain by magical spells, in the truly same manner, religious man believes in the existence of spirits that must be pleased and cajoled by prayers, rather than overwhelmed by magic potpourriulas, though religionist, like magician, seeks to understand the chemical mechanism of nature and control it.\n\n affective Theories\n\nThe above four theories ar cognize as keen origin theories, because they assume that the primary source and value of religion is want answer to or so(prenominal) questions. But as R.R. Margontt argues, religion is not so frequently an adroit endeavour as a set of big(a) perceptional responses to unlike aspects or consider aroused ingredient to be called emotive theories and these be proveed below:\n\n(i) Fear.\n\nAccording to the storeyed psychologist Wilhelm Wundt religion is simply ejection of fear into the environment, and according to Otto religion is identical with sacred feeling. though Otto did not call this numinous feeling an emotion, other psychologists have identified religion with the aw beness of mysterious, the uncanny, and the sacred and termed it as numinous emotion.\n\n(ii) Unspecified Emotion.\n\nPsychologist William James refutes the hypothesis that in that location is in man a specific emotion which may be considered either a cause of religion or religious experience per se. But he in any case admits that religion has profound mad basis.\n\n(iii) fetichism.\n\nFetishism implies un out-of-pocket emotional attachment to some object. In early phases of religion we specify st adepts, trees and such objects given extreme reverence and worshipped. then according to some scholars religion is zip but a form of fetishism.\n\nOrdinarily, it is believed that growth of religion takes the form of a steady diminish 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 monotheism which ulterior changed (either actual or degenerated) into polytheism, animism and magic.\n\npsychological Theories\n\nApart from theories which seek to beg off religion with reference to some stable characteristics or traits in man, whether intellectual or emotional, in that respect ate theories which instead of considering any particular factor or trait lay examine on jurisprudences, whether social or psychological.\n\nAccording to Emile Durkheim religion is one of the ways of accomplishing socialization, that is, integration, accommodation and readjustment of social and personal needs. The symbols of religion appear to their users to be to the highest degree a realm of super inwrought powers and personnel departments. They are really about fraternity and its claims upon the man. The predict laws are as a liaison of fact the most decisive laws of a given society.\n\nAccording to the breed of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud, the origin of religion can be traced tush to the problem of child seeking to change state out up to(predicate) relationships with his parents, particularly his father. The child regards his father a figure of autocratic power, but as he grows the supremacy of father becomes untenable.\n\norganized religion comes in as a substitute to fill up the vacuum created by geological fault of the father. Religion, thitherfore, has its origin in mans begin to project into the universe a belief in a cosmic father or perfection to give him fill-in he once had from his mankind father.\n\nFreud suggested that primitive man anterior existed in a antique society where the father had direct 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 primal act and ensuing sin are the psychological causes of belief in father-god whose displeasure has to be placed through sacrifice.\n\nThis patriarchal soc iety conjecture is stoutly opposed by those who consider that the original society was matriarchal and that is why mother-worship is so central to every religion.\n\nAs a matter of fact all these theories are passing speculative and conjectural and at that place are no adequate methods of verifying or diversifying them. Therefore, neo scholars have abandoned the approach of tracing the origin of the religion. Instead, they like objective or awake poster of what men in reality do while lovely 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 before his times. Comte gave birth not totally to a specific methodology of studying intimacy but besides analyzed the evolution of benignant thought and its vario us periods.\n\nThe principle evolved by Comte in the study of gentleman thought process presumes gradual evolution and development in military man mentation and is known as the law of triplet pegs because, according to it, benignant thought has undergone three infract constitutes in its evolution and development. The main importance of this principle is that it provides the basis of sociological sentiment.\n\nAccording to Auguste Comte, human sentiment has passed through the pastime three exemplifys. There has been an evolution in the human intellection so that each win stages is superior to and more evolved than the precedent stage:\n\n1. Theological or Fictitious stage\n\n2. metaphysical or Abstract stage.\n\n3. scientific or domineering stage.\n\nAuguste Comte has apologiseed his smorgasbord of human thought into various stages in the words, that each of our track conceptions, each branch of our knowledge, passes back-to-backly through three contrasting th eoretical conditions-theological or simulated, the metaphysical or defraud, and the scientific or positive. In the following pages we shall discuss these stages briefly:\n\n1. Theological or Fictitious Stage\n\nThe first or primary stage of human persuasion is theological or fictitious. This type of thought of children is also at this direct. At this level of thought process at that place is marked lack of logical and orderly thought. 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 overcome matter of theological thinking is earthy events. The usual and dusky events of nature tend man towards theological or fictitious interpretation of these events. Unable to shit the natural causes of the various happenings the primitive man attributes them to conceptional or divine constricts.\n\nThe explanation of natural events in non-natural, divine, or imaginar y 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 would 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 life spirit in the non living objects. This is also known as animism. As the very term animism signifies it federal agency that the so called inanimate objects are not dead and lifeless but are communicate by a living spirit.\n\n The examples of fetishistic thinking can be seen from the widespread belief among artless people in India that some deities reside in trees. They are, therefore, seen to interlace in the worship of trees etc.\n\n(ii) Polytheism.\n\nWith the 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 hunt and his scope and area of put to death 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 front 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 stage in the evolution of human thinking. According to Comte each successive stage is an improvement upon the earlier 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 fashion of conflicting and opposite forces in the world presented problems which could not be successfully tackled by monotheism.\n\nIt was uncontrollable to believe that the same God was responsible for primordial design as well as destruction. A personal and concrete God could not account for the simultaneous creation and annihilation.\n\nIn order to resolve this intellectual puzzle or pervade metaphysical thinking was invented. chthonia n metaphysical thinking, belief in an abstract transcendental entity or Absolute replaces the belief in personal concrete God. chthonian metaphysical thinking it is believed that an abstract power or force guides and determines the events in the world. Metaphysical thinking discards 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. in all metaphysical knowledge is found upon speculation and is at surmount inferential knowledge.\n\nThere are no direct mode 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 comfortable 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 pull together by observation and experience.\n\nThe observation and classific ation of facts are the root of the scientific knowledge. From the facts we generalize and shit conclusions. These conclusions in turn are subjected to verification and once corroborate these become established laws, which can be relied upon in throng and classifying the facts. The scientific thinking is exhaustively rational and in it there is no place for any belief on superstition.\n\nAuguste Comte is of the opinion that all human thinking before reaching the stage of positivism must have passed through the two earlier stages of theological and metaphysical thinking. stock-still in scientific thinking some traces of earlier types are to be usually found.\n\n relate Articles:\nHere is your short experiment on Neolithic culture\nEssay on the forms of presidency in primitive policy-making organizationIf you want to get a full essay, order it on our website:

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