History of Religion: In a nutshell
Just shared some vivid thoughts in my mind, nothing more.
Humans and religions have a long history. Longer than all the books of revelation were revealed to us. Some may not believe in evolution but we thought about our origin.
Despite all our firm beliefs we still sometimes think about ourselves and all the processes of life and the world. Yuval Noah Harari in his book “Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind” narrates,
“Religion can thus be defined as a system of human norms and values that is founded on a belief in a superhuman order.”
Myths like that humans were first hermaphrodites that’s why one is seeking another makes us feel more stupid and confused.
Religions and our ideologies
Humans evolve and the earliest form of religion came was animism based on plants and rocks. They explain the origin and complexities of life in this way,
“Children arrive animists. They learn about the life, themselves, and empathy by imagining the liveliness of everything they come into contact with.”
Gradually animism evolved into polytheism. Polytheism gives us the ideas of many gods and powerful entities.
“Animists thought that humans were just one of many creatures inhabiting the world. Polytheists, on the other hand, increasingly saw the world as a reflection of the relationship between gods and humans.”
Although there are godless religions, one popular example is Buddhism where their goal is to achieve nirvana.
Nirvana is a place of perfect peace and happiness, like heaven.
However, it is a fact that even 99% of Buddhists cannot achieve it.
Monotheism
Monotheism is referred to as the Abrahamic religion. Religions are mostly celebrated and practised throughout the world.
- Judaism
- Christianity
- Islam
Although the main purpose of religion is to attain peace and social sustainability but history books are filled with religious wars.
Anyway back to our topic monotheist religions are derived from one another. These religions rarely spend a decade to bale and launch attacks on other religions. Islamophobia is a product of such skirmishes. Anti-Semitism was the product of such skirmishes in Hitler’s era.
Religions other than monotheists did not force others for forced conversions. As Harari had given the example of Rome which was polytheist with different gods for different purposes. And when Emperor Constantine came by invading and conquering, he said
“In the 300 years from the crucifixion of Christ to the conversion of Emperor Constantine”.
The Vatican was the product of such an invasion.
P.S. Just as I talk about invasion I thought humans haven’t learned anything from history as the invasions are still going on.
Dualism: Same concept in every Religion
Apart from religious differences and religions every ideology or every religion is based on the concept of dualism.
Good VS Bad
This is a little funny because religions have their own good and bad. Even Hitler was a hero in his own eyes. Every militant thinks of themselves as the saviour of god and society. As if God needs their help.
“Countless Christians, Muslims and Jews have gone so far as to imagine that the good God even needs our help in its struggle against the Devil, which inspired among other things the call for jihads and crusades.”
Even if there is no purpose they create purpose themselves For example Ku Klux Klan, TTP, Zionism, etc.
Zoroastrianism is another religion itself based on dualism. May you deny that but most concepts of monotheist religions are introduced to Zoroastrianism.
“In fact, monotheism, as it has played out in history, is a kaleidoscope of monotheist, dualist, polytheist and animist legacies, jumbling together under a single divine umbrella. The average Christian believes in the monotheist God, but also in the dualist Devil, in polytheist saints, and in animist ghosts. Scholars of religion have a name for this simultaneous avowal of different and even contradictory ideas and the combination of rituals and practices taken from different sources. It’s called syncretism. Syncretism might, in fact, be the single great world religion.”
What exactly is Religion nowadays?
Once a man had a vision that he wanted to change the world. He wrote a book over the years. He did not stay in his city instead he travel around the world to propagate his ideas of equality among human beings.
Gradually he started to get some following. As in the words of Malcolm X,
“Early in my life, I had learned that if you want something, you had better make some noise.”
His ideas began to be acknowledged and accepted by human beings. And his books become one of the holiest books in history. But like everything it also fell and turned into history.
This was ‘socialism’ introduced by ‘Karl Marx’ in his book “Das Kapital”.
If Religion is,
a pursuit or interest followed with great devotion.
Then, aren’t Socialism, Capitalism, Medicine, Communism, Physics, and Liberalism religions too? They are practised even though people have devoted their lives to them. Then even money is a religion too.
P.S. I have written on that too. You can read the given link.
You sure have heard stories of people selling everything for money even their dignity.
My story
I have my own ways. Sometimes from extreme Muslim to lazy idiot. To extremism or Liberalism, I hated both. But what should we do? Million comes and go; oppressors, CEOs, presidents, and emperors come and go. BTW the elite remained elite.
Sometimes I pray and feel calm. Sometimes read the Quran and hadiths to seek guidance, and sometimes I feel useless also.
But Religion is important it gives you hope which is essential. It gives you the power to sustain. It gives you purpose.
