The Evolution of Religion

A famous proverb author, William Scott Downey stated that: "Religion is the clearest telescope through which we can behold the beauty of creation.". There are many theories put forward by various psychological scientists that explain the evolution of religion. Today, religion is undoubtedly a constitutive element of society. Religion plays an inevitable role in three major aspects of society; optimism for each person of the society, their unity, and their basis of morality.

First, religion gives hope and a sense of optimism to every religious person. Regardless of the nature of people, religion has its own unique way of convincing and satisfying everyone. Some might get an assurance of their better future by praying in front of the idol they idolize while others might find the exact same peace by meditating underneath some holy trees. Religion helps people become secure and optimistic. Although people are unknown of the exact facts and the truth of religion, they choose to believe that there is always some superior power guarding us against negativity and having faith in this idea, they will become confident enough to lead their lives towards a beautiful tomorrow. Thus, religion gives people support and courage to look forward to a better day, every morning and a better future, every day.

Next, religion helps to keep up cohesion among people in the society. The people of the same religion develop an automatic connection between them. They have mutual topics to talk about and similar ideas to discuss. One person considers the other of their own kind. In a society, they celebrate Deepawali together if they are Hindus, they celebrate Eid together if they are Muslims, they celebrate Christmas together if they are Christians and so on. They get an immense number of opportunities to express their brotherhood, share their warmth and get along with each other. If necessary, they unified raise their voice if somebody else tries to question their religion and beliefs. The people of the same religion involuntarily become part of the same vast group and they are unified by the term ‘religion'. However, many terror cases have been met where religion has brought together small groups of people, but however, these small groups have stood against all the remaining population. These circumstances have made this aspect of religion questionable. Thus, it can be said that unless the religious act puts humanity at stake, religion surely helps keep up unity in a society.

Finally, in society, religion also forms the basis of morality. People's belief in religion compels them to refrain from sinful activities and motivates them to do things that are praiseworthy. Various religious books have listed a lot of do's and don'ts. For instance, let us take an example of the Hindu's holy book "Bhagwat Gita". It says that there are three main gates of injustice to hell; anger, lust, and greed and souls passing through these gates are constantly dragged for punishment. So, if the act they are going to do lies in the don'ts, they will not commit it. Similarly, although people can perform many daring acts, most religious people fear God. This fear also makes sure that any unwanted acts are not committed. Thus, religion behaves as a decent teacher and teaches people good moral values and etiquettes such that a cooperative and blissful environment is created in a society.

Hence, religion has stood strong and high as a pillar since ages and played an unavoidable role to keep everyone optimistic and maintain unity and proper moral values in the society. However, many people believe that religion has become the prime pretext for all the violence, terrorism and chaos all around the world. An individual's definition of religion is based on what impact it has had on their lives and thus, it can be dynamic. The human mind is capable of arbitrating right from the wrong. Thus, it's in their hands, whether to take religion as a tremendous force for good and respect each religion, regardless of their variances or to symbolize religion as a source of terror and violence. If we believe in the former one, we certainly will agree with the statement quoted by Anglo-Irish author Edmund Burke that: "Religion is the basis of society, the source of all good and of all comfort."