Results 1 to 4 of 4

Thread: Religion, a prerequisite of a united society?

  1. #1
    Just Myself Apricity Funding Member
    "Friend of Apricity"

    Skandi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    Last Online
    05-22-2023 @ 02:02 PM
    Location
    a rock
    Meta-Ethnicity
    CeltoGermanic
    Ethnicity
    igneous
    Ancestry
    Lewisian gneiss
    Country
    Denmark
    Taxonomy
    Pebble
    Politics
    it's MY rock
    Religion
    Heathen
    Gender
    Posts
    2,668
    Blog Entries
    5
    Thumbs Up
    Received: 23
    Given: 1

    0 Not allowed!

    Default Religion, a prerequisite of a united society?

    Taking some points made by Psy here
    And pretty much pinched straight from that post, with minor rewording

    Is religion purely a private matter, or does it extend into the familial and social spheres as well?

    Should a function of religion be to assist in ethnic cohesion? This was certainly the case in our ancestors' day.

    I think this may have been asked before, but do you need a religion to create a strong, united front. By religion I mean any form of belief/worship, whether that be hero worship of a dictator, or a "recognised" religion.

    Or is it sufficient to bash other peoples religion while not holding one yourself?
    Cattle die, kinsmen die,
    the self must also die;
    but glory never dies,
    For the one who is able to achieve it.

    Sayings of the High One.

  2. #2
    The earless Dionysus Lutiferre's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Last Online
    02-27-2012 @ 12:52 PM
    Meta-Ethnicity
    Germanic
    Ethnicity
    Jute
    Region
    Aboriginal
    Politics
    Freegress
    Religion
    Potatoism
    Age
    18
    Gender
    Posts
    1,400
    Thumbs Up
    Received: 11
    Given: 0

    0 Not allowed!

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Thrymheim View Post
    Is religion purely a private matter, or does it extend into the familial and social spheres as well?
    Of course it's not strictly private. That is just unrealistic.
    Quote Originally Posted by Thrymheim View Post
    Should a function of religion be to assist in ethnic cohesion? This was certainly the case in our ancestors' day.
    It does do so, whether it "should" be it's function or not. I would say it's not it's function, but a side-effect of the unity in culture and mindset that results from the same religious practices and beliefs. If a religon is merely ethnic or merely for the sake of ethnicity, then it is no longer religion. Religion minimally implies a sense of connection with the divine.
    A man who fights for a cause thereby affirms the cause of the fight.

  3. #3
    Inactive Account Loddfafner's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Last Online
    07-08-2012 @ 11:21 PM
    Location
    Back East
    Meta-Ethnicity
    Celtogermanic
    Ethnicity
    European Blood, American Soil
    Ancestry
    Barbarians the Romans couldn't handle
    Country
    United States
    Region
    Philadelphia
    Politics
    Tradition and improvisation
    Religion
    Heathen
    Gender
    Posts
    4,249
    Thumbs Up
    Received: 33
    Given: 0

    0 Not allowed!

    Default

    Islam has sure done a great job of ensuring the cohesiveness of Middle Eastern societies...

    More seriously, the question conflates several very different kinds of functions a religion could fulfill.

    1) It describes a few out of a much larger set of ideologies that could provide a sense of 'us' opposed to a 'them'. Sports might be more effective at this.

    2) It provides a common set of images to focus the attention of a people. Flags and celebrities do this just as well.

    3) It is a convenient label for a stock of stories and metaphors that provide tools for handling a range of crises. Grimm's Fairy Tales do this, too.

    4) It comes with a calendar of holidays that give the community an excuse to come together.

  4. #4
    Endure To Be Man Liffrea's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Last Online
    02-15-2011 @ 11:01 PM
    Location
    Derby, Deorbyscire, Mierce
    Meta-Ethnicity
    English
    Ethnicity
    English
    Ancestry
    England, mostly East Midlands.
    Country
    England
    Region
    Mercia
    Politics
    Life Affirmation
    Religion
    Life Affirmation
    Age
    29
    Gender
    Posts
    2,533
    Thumbs Up
    Received: 13
    Given: 0

    0 Not allowed!

    Default

    Originally Posted by Thrymheim
    Is religion purely a private matter, or does it extend into the familial and social spheres as well?
    Religion can only function on a communal level, if we take religion to mean the ritual and the material trappings of a particular creed.

    If we are speaking of our own personal beliefs regarding the divine then that is a different matter entirely.

    Should a function of religion be to assist in ethnic cohesion?
    Not really, any cult or creed will do if all you want is to enforce conformity.

    This was certainly the case in our ancestors' day.
    Really? All the time?……there have been enforced creeds, the cult of the Emperor in Roman society, the enforced Church of England rites in the late 16th and 17th centuries, but that’s different from genuine belief. How many people actually are truly genuinely spiritual and how many accept societal norms?

    I think the question is more do we need a common focus (religious or not) for a society to function?
    I believe that legends and myth are largely made of
    “truth”, and indeed present aspects of it that can only be received in this mode; and long ago certain truths and modes of this kind were discovered and must always reappear.

    J.R.R. Tolkien

    Indeed it might be a basic characteristic of existence that those who would know it completely would perish, in which case the strength of a spirit should be measured according to how much of the “truth” one could still barely endure-or to put it more clearly, to what degree one would require it to be thinned down, shrouded, sweetened, blunted, falsified.
    Nietzsche

    To God everything is beautiful, good, and just; humans, however, think some things are unjust and others just.
    Heraclitus

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •