Love must have been the 1st belief system. Humans are not even unique in this belief as animals also show a similar selfless belief. Religion is probably the 2nd belief system in the history of Homo sapiens.
“There’s not been a society known to history – or pre-history – that hasn’t had some form of religious belief and practice at its heart“
Nick Spencer, research director at Theos, a theological think tank (CT).
Humanoid sapiens, the future descendant of Homo sapiens, may be the first human species to live without religion:
“We are exceptional. It’s important to know that we are different. In a sense, we are a very unusual society. We are trying to do something that no society has really done. We are trying to live without an agreed narrative of our communal place in the cosmos and in time.”
Recent words by Neil MacGregor, a “British art historian”. Sources: CH, CT, Guardian, Telegraph
Neil MacGregor‘s words focussed on the declining role of religion in western Europe; especially the UK. I would not be surprised if the same trend will take place in the rest of the world within several centuries. There are several explanations for the declining role of religion.
A famous quote by Mahatma Gandhi states: “God has no religion“.
The notion that each religion has its own God is simply absurd. Even atheists would “believe” that there can only be one God, albeit with different names (eg, Allah, God, Yahweh). The Gandhi quote also shows the vast difference between Faith vs Religion. Faith might be taking over from Religion.
The object of worship in Religion has been different over time: from Nature towards animals (eg, bear, calf/cow, lion-man), towards polytheism (multiple gods), towards monotheism (single god). A universal faith in one Supreme Being seems a logical next step. Also see my 2016 blog The origin of beliefs.
The new BBC Radio 4 series Living With the Gods, presented by Neil MacGregor, is about the long human history of religious artifacts.
The separation between Church and State is relatively new. Historically, there was no separation: “Many societies in antiquity had imperial cults where heads of state were worshiped as messiahs, demigods or deities” (Wiki). The Sumerian invention of money (c. 3,000 BC) may have been the root cause for the growing divergence between Politics and Religion.
Wiki: the “unresolved contradiction in ultimate control of the Church led to power struggles and crises of leadership” in Medieval Europe. In the 16th Century, the German monk, priest and professor of theology, Martin Luther proposed a doctrine of the two kingdoms. Ironically, the religiously inspired separation between Church and State caused a declining role for Religion.
In my concept of the 7 Belief systems, Money, Politics and Religion are in its Power dimension. In this context, Money has sided with Politics in western Europe, and Religion lost.
Moreover, Love is in the (1st) Needs stage, while the Power dimension is in the (2nd) Wants stage. The Knowledge dimension is in the current (3rd) Beliefs stage. Please also see my recent blog on the Conceptual framework (4) – drivers of human behaviour.
As a result of both, Religion is losing.
Losing My Religion (1991) by R.E.M.
artists, lyrics, video, Wiki-1, Wiki-2
Note: all markings (bold, italic, underlining) by LO unless stated otherwise
0 Comments