Connecting Us to the World

I think another important element of religion and one of the candidates for why religion began is connections. The function of religion or more broadly one's set of beliefs is to connect the person to the world, other people, nature, etc. Religion and beliefs not only connect people to each other and their surrounding, but also put everything in context. Religion provides a framework for how to look at the world. This framework can be seen by the "dividing line" between nature and man that we discussed in class. One could explain different people's actions by understanding their religion. For example a religion whose gods or god are/is part of the environment, like gods of the sun or moon or animals, will look and treat the world differently than a religion whose god is removed from the environment. Christianity serves as a good example of this. For Christian's God is in a far removed place called heaven or resides within a person therefore the relationship is between God and the person, and the environment doesn't affect it. This removal causes a disconnect between people and their surroundings; however, part of this disconnect also comes from living removed from nature. It is interesting to look at how religion changes as societies become more complex, stratified, and urban. In hunting-gathering tribes one finds beliefs in zoomorphic gods (animals/plants) for example totems, and they worship natural phenomena. These tribes identify with instead of worship spiritual beings. In societies that practice horticulture, where the people have more control over their environment, one finds beliefs in anthropomorphic (humanlike) gods. Here man manages plants and animals and deities control natural phenomena. Finally in religions found in states, the gods are more powerful. Only in states is the belief in an omnipresent, all-knowing,all-powerful god present. State religions enforce social order and stratification. Commonly they stress the brevity of life with promises of reward in the afterlife, so the oppressed turn to religion and the hope that afterlife holds better things. It is clear that these different belief systems cause their followers to view the world differently and illicit different responses because of how the religion has connected the person to the world. Grizzly Man illustrates this idea as well in Timothy Treadwell's beliefs. Timothy's beliefs connect him differently to the world, and thus he acts differently. One can also interpret the paleolithic art as an attempt to connect to the world. How religion connects us to the world may be the most important aspect of religion, and possibly that search for a connection led to the advent of religion.