the religious impulse

All cultures throughout history have had some form of religion. We all agree on that. But on the question of why all cultures have religion, there are many beliefs and opinions:

People who consider themselves Religious (with a capital R) often see it as self-evident that all cultures have religion, the only caveat being that theirs is right and others are missing the boat; folks who describe themselves as ‘spiritual’ often split the difference by believing that “god is one but the paths are different”; Freud (and others) say religion is a universal neurosis that humanity will grow out of someday; Dostoevsky implies (through his Grand Inquisitor in the “Brothers Karamazov”) that religiosity grows out of the human need for “magic, mystery and authority”; anthropologists say religion results from the fact that humans are social animals whose social communications/exchanges are mostly mediated via symbols and rituals. The list goes on.

Why am I thinking about religion today?

Not that one needs a reason to reflect on the role of religion in human life, but it just so happens that this past week:

• I saw the film “The Master” which is said to be based on L. Ron Hubbard and the early days of Scientology.
• Obituaries were everywhere announcing the death of Reverend Sun Myung Moon from South Korea, founder of the Unification Church and famous not only for building a worldwide multi-billion dollar empire, but also for claiming (and getting many followers to believe) that he was the messiah.
• I finally got around to reading Adam Gopnik’s recent article in The New Yorker about the origins of Mormonism in 19th century America.
• The media are rabidly reporting about a newly discovered ancient papyrus where the writer (scroller?) apparently quotes Jesus as saying “my wife”—implying that Jesus was married. (Though one minor detail is that the papyrus is torn leaving it unclear what comes after.)

the human condition & you

The religious impulse seems to be part of the human condition. Leaving aside for the moment the question of “what’s really out there,” I tend to think the impulse itself within us emanates out of an intersection of many human needs. Some of these needs are generally good (for community, inspirational narratives, rites of passage, comfort/security, social structure), and some of them are not so good (for self-righteousness, power and control).

So where does this leave us as individuals?

The religious impulse, like all human impulses, knocks at the door of your heart and mind and demands of you (throughout life) that you recognize and deal with it. And as we know, we ignore our basic human impulses at our own peril. Why? Because doing so (i.e. repressing/denying them) can be like trying to push a beach ball under water—it only results in push back with equal force.

dealing effectively with your own (religious) impulses

Not interested in joining a Church, Synagogue, Mosque, Buddhist Temple, Scientology Center or any other religious institution? Not a problem.

However, you cannot neglect your needs for community, inspirational symbols/narratives and a sense of purpose/identity in the world. Furthermore, you cannot (convincingly) act as though you do not have tendencies toward self-righteousness, power and control. We all have these healthy and unhealthy impulses.

Being beset with the human condition is mandatory; what’s optional is what you ‘do’ with it.