Giving meaning to supernatural events (ghosts)
Rituals and practices (day of the dead)
Assigning significance to animals (wise owl)
and so on. But after reading this article, i have come the conclusion that the most primary and significant element of religion is control, whether it be you controlling something else, or something else controlling you. Its based around the structure of human nature and how, without structure we have no direction. This control can be seen with the first cave drawings where animals were drawn with either gaps missing in their figure, or other abnormalities. The gaps in the animals figure was believed to weaken the animal for hunting. Witch doctors also possessed this power of control through divine healing. Throughout religion, divine power is given to specific people for a higher level of control of their lives. Control gives peace of mind because it eliminates uncertainty, and it also applies to being controlled.The assignment of a higher power, just like divine healing and spiritual influence, provides a sense of control. Whether an event happens which is impossible to understand, or whether your life takes turn for the worse, knowing that someone controls what is happening provides peace of mind. Just as in Obedience to Authority by Stanley Milgram, having an authoritative figure dictate one's actions creates distance between the person preforming the action and the effects of the action itself. Control and being controlled are essential within religion. To accept an idea lead by chaos is an absurd thought, but if it is structures and controlled, the weight lifts because it is no longer a participants duty to decide what is right or wrong.
You make an interesting and valid point in suggesting that control is the primary element of religion. I think this carries on into today's society where many religious institutions have tiers of authority (for example, the pope-->cardinals-->priests, etc).
ReplyDeleteI'll add to your control theory that control "over the unknown" is the primary and significant element of religion. There might be certain security in knowing that what is out of OUR control can be controlled by a mystic ... as long as that mystic doesn't stab us in the back and hex or damn us! Which brings me to the aspect of membership in religion or one religion over another. What prompts us to join one religion over another? Does peace of mind entirely determine that decision? Does tradition or lineage factor in (being controlled by fate to join)?
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