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<blockquote class="definition">'''Religion''' is an [[Ideological Institution]] setup and organized by the [[Accumulating Class]]es to satisfy our [[Cognitive Needs|Cognitive Need]] to know and understand (one of our [[Seven Essential Needs]]) by providing [[The System|System]] friendly answers to life's [[Big Questions]].
<blockquote class="definition">'''Religion''' is an institution that, like all [[Institutions]] is, designed to meet certain individual and societal needs. Individually, religions meet certain of the [[Seven Essential Needs]], like cognitive needs for truth, and inner needs for alignment and connection.     </blockquote>
</blockquote>


==Related Terms==
==Concept Map==
 
===Key Concepts===
[[Avatar.GLOBAL Knowledge System]] > {{#ask:[[Is a key term::Avatar.GLOBAL Knowledge System]]|format=ul|sort=Has sort AG}}
 
[[Spiritual Theory]] > {{#ask:[[Is a keyword::Spiritual Theory]]}}
 
[[Religion]] > {{#ask:[[Is a subclass of::Religion]]}}
 
==Syncretic Terms==
 
[[Religion]] > {{#ask:[[Is a syncretic term::Religion]]}}
 
==Related LP Terms==
 
[[Religion]] > {{#ask:[[Is a related term::Religion]]}}
 
==Non-LP Related Terms==


[[Religion]] > {{#ask:[[Is a related term::Religion]]}}
[[Religion]] > {{#ask:[[Is a related term::Religion]]}}


==Definitions==
== Notes ==
 
=== What it is ===
Like all institutions, religion is designed meet several of humanity's [[Seven Essential Needs]]. Individually, it is designed to meet  for


We can break sociological definitions of religion into two categories ''substantive'' and ''functional.''
* cognitive needs for truth and understanding, particularly of oneself and one's relationship to the cosmos,
* emotional needs for belongingness, inclusion, love,
* inner needs for [[alignment]], and [[connection]].  


'''Substantive definitions''' revolve around the content (or substance) of a religion. Like, religion is the belief in spiritual beings<ref>Tylor, Edward. ''Primitive Culture''. London: John Murray, 1903. Note, Tylor's theory later criticized as evolutionary and ethnocentric (not all religions believe in or emphasize "spiritual beings" (Confucianism). Distinguished between "primitive" and "modern" spirituality, lower versus higher forms.</ref> '''What religion is.'''
It does this within a conceptual framework that provides answers to to life's [[Big Questions]], thereby ostensibly satisfying our need for truth.  


Sociologists and others who have provided substantive definitions -> {{#ask:[[Had a substantive definition of::Religion]]}}
At a societal level, as  [[Emile Durkheim]] said, religion also helps maintain and stabilize the social order social solidarity. 


'''Functional definitions''' "describe the utility of the effect of that religion" on individuals and society.<ref>Furseth, Inger, and Pål Repstad. ''An Introduction to the Sociology of Religion: Classical and Contemporary Perspectives''. Aldershot, England: Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2006. p. 16.</ref> '''What religion does.'''
Religions may be more or less successful at meeting individual and societal needs.


Sociologists and others who have provided functional definitions -> {{#ask:[[Had a functional definition of::Religion]]}}
Whether or not a particular religion, or religion in general, is successful at meeting these essential needs in an authentic and open question. Note that truth is not equal to fantasy and any religion that offers a fantasy orientation based only in faith ''fails'' out of the gate.


== Notes ==
=== Colonization ===
Religion may or may not have, at one time or another, been an authentic effort to meet essential needs. these days, the various religions that exist are colonized institutions. Colonization occurred at various time. Zoroastrianism, for example, was colonized by emperor Aradashir.<ref>Mike Sosteric, “From Zoroaster to Star Wars, Jesus to Marx: The Art, Science, and Technology of Mass Human Manipulation,” ''Athens Journal of Philosophy'', 2024, doi:10.30958/ajphil.3-4-1.</ref> He took control of the grass-roots, anti-elite spirituality of the mystic [[Zoroaster]] and turned it into a thing that supported his imperial ambitions.<ref>Mary Boyce, ''Zoroastrians: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices'' (Routledge, 2001).</ref>  Centuries later Emperor Constantine did exactly the same thing, colonized the grass roots spirituality of [[Jesus Christ]],<ref>Sosteric, Mike. Rethinking the Origins and Purpose of Religion: Jesus, Constantine, and the Containment of Global Revolution.” ''Athens Journal of Social Sciences'' 9, no. 1 (2020): 69–88. doi:10.30958/ajss.9-1-4.</ref> dethorned it, and used it to help control the population and build a post-roman empire.
 
=== What it currently does ===
In the hands of the [[Accumulating Class]], religion functions as
 
* an opiate,<ref>[[Karl Marx]]</ref>
* a wish-fulfilling, behaviour controlling "illusion,"<ref>That's [[Sigmund Freud]]</ref>
* [[Mechanisms of Reproduction|Mechanism of Reproduction]] an ideological tool designed to help create a [[Moral Order|moral]], [[Intellectual Order|intellectual]], and [[Social Order|societal order]]<ref>[[August Comte]] talked about these various orders as part of a [[Comprehensive Framework]] used to shape society and control behaviour. See Comte, August, ''The Catechism of Positivism; or, Summary Exposition of the Universal Religion,'' trans. Richard Congreve (London: John Chapman, 1852). <nowiki>https://archive.org/details/artofcreationess00carp</nowiki></ref> conducive to the operation of any particular [[Regime of Accumulation]]. In this case, religion functions as an [[Ideological Institution]] (and sometimes [[Symbol Factory]] designed to help propagate a specific [[Existential Narrative]].
 
Does humanity need religion to understand the cosmos? No. But a well organized, grounded, decolonized [[Knowledge System]] maintained by expert [[Human Steward|Human Stewards]] with the symbiotic assistance of evolving [[Consciousness-Potential System|CPS]] systems can help.
 
=== Classes ===
Religion may be broken down into two sub-classes, [[Elite Religion]] and [[Authentic Religion]].
 
==== '''Elite Religion''' ====
Elite Religion serves the agenda of the [[AC]], helping to create the social order required for operation of their [[Regime of Accumulation|regime]].
 
Elite religion may be broken down into [[Esoteric Religion|Esoteric]] and [[Exoteric Religion|Exoteric]] categories.
 
* [[Esoteric Religion]] is is aimed to teach members of the accumulating class the narratives they need to operate the social order.
* '''[[Exoteric Religion]]''' is aimed at the masses and use to teach them narratives designed so that they can serve that control and shape their behaviour. taught to the masses.
 
==== Authentic Religion ====
[[Authentic Religion]] services the agenda of humanity by helping to meet, in a grounded, ethical, inclusive, humanistic way,, the [[Seven Essential Needs]] of humanity, including but not limited to humanity's need for [[Connection]].
 
To be clear, authentic Religion is an [[Institution]] devoted to the satisfaction of [[Seven Essential Needs|essential needs]].
 
=== Additional Comments ===
[[Sigmund Freud]] believed that religion arises as a consequence of
# an expression of the son-father relationship (see totem and taboo, related to religions where "totem animals" become sacred)<ref>Freud, Sigmund. ''The Future of an Illusion''. New York: Anchor Books, 1961. p. 21</ref>
# the need to defend oneself against the "crushingly superior force of nature."<ref>Freud, Sigmund. ''The Future of an Illusion''. New York: Anchor Books, 1961. p. 21</ref>
# The "urge to rectify the shortcoming of civilization..."<ref>Freud, Sigmund. ''The Future of an Illusion''. New York: Anchor Books, 1961. p. 21</ref>
This is no partly true in the sense that most humans have a need
 
=== Other Definitions ===


This definition excludes grass roots [[Connection Framework]], spiritual systems rooted in [[Connection Experience]]. As soon as a [[Connection Framework]]  is infiltrated and co-opted by members of the [[Accumulating Class]], the spiritual system transforms into a [[Religion]].
"Religion tends to be conceptualized as an external, community-based phenomena in which a particular organized set of beliefs, behaviors, and rituals are institutionalized by individuals sharing similar spiritualities."<ref>Hodge, David R. “The Intrinsic Spirituality Scale: A New Six-Item Instrument for Assessing the Salience of Spirituality as a Motivational Construct.” ''Journal of Social Service Research'' 30, no. 1 (January 1, 2003): 41–61. <nowiki>https://doi.org/10.1300/J079v30n01_03</nowiki>. 42</ref>


==Definitions==
'''Erich Fromm:''' Religion is an "group-shared system of thought and action that offers the individual a frame of orientation and an object of devotion."<ref>Erich Fromm, ''To Have or to Be?'' (New York: Harper & Row, 1976), 135.</ref>


[[William James]] "Were one asked to characterize the life of religion in the broadest and most general terms possible, one might say that it consists of the belief that there is an unseen order, and that our supreme good lies in harmoniously adjusting ourselves thereto."<ref>James, William. Varieties of Religious Experience, a Study in Human Nature (p. 53). Kindle Edition.</ref>
==Quotes==


[[Clifford Geertz]] "...a religion is:
"Every fully developed religion exists simultaneously on several different levels. It exists as a set of abstract concepts about the world and its governance. It exists as a set of rites and sacraments, as a traditional method for manipulating the symbols, by means of which beliefs  about the cosmic order are expressed. It exists as the feelings of love, fear and devotion evoked by this manipulation of symbols.


(l) a system of symbols which acts to (2) establish powerful, pervasive, and long-lasting moods and motivations in men by (3) formulating conceptions of a general order of existence and (4) clothing these conceptions with such an aura of factuality that (5) the moods and motivations seem uniquely realistic.<ref>Geertz, Clifford. “Religion as a Cultural System.” In Anthropological Approaches to the Study of Religion, edited by Michael Banton, 1–44. Oxon: Routledge, 2004. p. 4.</ref>
And finally it exists as a special kind of feeling or intuition—a sense of the oneness of all things in their divine principle, a realization (to use the language of Hindu theology) that “thou art That,” a mystical experience of what seems self-evidently to be union with God."<ref>Aldous Huxley, “Chapter Twenty-Four: 1961 Letters,” in Moksha (Rochester, Vermont: Park Street Press, 1999).</ref>
<blockquote>
Geertz also notes religion helps deal with the existential despair caused by "Bafflement, suffering, and a sense of intractable ethical paradox..." <ref>Geertz, Clifford. “Religion as a Cultural System.” In Anthropological Approaches to the Study of Religion, edited by Michael Banton, 1–44. Oxon: Routledge, 2004. p. 14.</ref></blockquote>According to Geertz, religion arises partly in response to the [[Problem of Meaning]]. "The Problem of Meaning...is one of the things that drive men [sic] toward belief in gods, devils, spirits, totemic principles, or the spiritual effiacy of cannibalism..."<ref>Geertz, Clifford. “Religion as a Cultural System.” In ''Anthropological Approaches to the Study of Religion'', edited by Michael Banton, 1–44. Oxon: Routledge, 2004. p. 25</ref>


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[[category:terms]][[Is a related term::Human Spirituality| ]]
[[category:terms]]
[[Is a keyword::Spiritual Theory| ]]
[[Is a related term::Boundary Problem| ]]
[[Is a related term::Spirituality| ]]
[[Is a related term::Exoteric Religion| ]]
[[Is a related term::Esoteric Religion| ]]
[[Is a related term::Elite Religion| ]]
[[Is a related term::Authentic Religion| ]]
[[Is a related term::Elite Spirituality| ]]
[[Is a related term::Authentic Spirituality| ]]
[[Is a related term::Mainstream Spirituality| ]]
[[Is a related term::Colonized Spirituality| ]]
[[Is a related term::Elite Religion| ]]
[[Is an::Ideological Institution| ]]
[[Is a related term::Boundary Fetish| ]]

Latest revision as of 12:47, 31 August 2026

Religion

Religion is an institution that, like all Institutions is, designed to meet certain individual and societal needs. Individually, religions meet certain of the Seven Essential Needs, like cognitive needs for truth, and inner needs for alignment and connection.

Concept Map

Key Concepts

Avatar.GLOBAL Knowledge System >

Spiritual Theory > Religion, Spirituality

Religion > Authentic Religion, Elite Religion

Syncretic Terms

Religion >

Related LP Terms

Religion > Boundary Fetish, Boundary Problem, Sacrilization

Non-LP Related Terms

Religion > Boundary Fetish, Boundary Problem, Sacrilization

Notes

What it is

Like all institutions, religion is designed meet several of humanity's Seven Essential Needs. Individually, it is designed to meet for

  • cognitive needs for truth and understanding, particularly of oneself and one's relationship to the cosmos,
  • emotional needs for belongingness, inclusion, love,
  • inner needs for alignment, and connection.

It does this within a conceptual framework that provides answers to to life's Big Questions, thereby ostensibly satisfying our need for truth.

At a societal level, as Emile Durkheim said, religion also helps maintain and stabilize the social order social solidarity.

Religions may be more or less successful at meeting individual and societal needs.

Whether or not a particular religion, or religion in general, is successful at meeting these essential needs in an authentic and open question. Note that truth is not equal to fantasy and any religion that offers a fantasy orientation based only in faith fails out of the gate.

Colonization

Religion may or may not have, at one time or another, been an authentic effort to meet essential needs. these days, the various religions that exist are colonized institutions. Colonization occurred at various time. Zoroastrianism, for example, was colonized by emperor Aradashir.[1] He took control of the grass-roots, anti-elite spirituality of the mystic Zoroaster and turned it into a thing that supported his imperial ambitions.[2] Centuries later Emperor Constantine did exactly the same thing, colonized the grass roots spirituality of Jesus Christ,[3] dethorned it, and used it to help control the population and build a post-roman empire.

What it currently does

In the hands of the Accumulating Class, religion functions as

Does humanity need religion to understand the cosmos? No. But a well organized, grounded, decolonized Knowledge System maintained by expert Human Stewards with the symbiotic assistance of evolving CPS systems can help.

Classes

Religion may be broken down into two sub-classes, Elite Religion and Authentic Religion.

Elite Religion

Elite Religion serves the agenda of the AC, helping to create the social order required for operation of their regime.

Elite religion may be broken down into Esoteric and Exoteric categories.

  • Esoteric Religion is is aimed to teach members of the accumulating class the narratives they need to operate the social order.
  • Exoteric Religion is aimed at the masses and use to teach them narratives designed so that they can serve that control and shape their behaviour. taught to the masses.

Authentic Religion

Authentic Religion services the agenda of humanity by helping to meet, in a grounded, ethical, inclusive, humanistic way,, the Seven Essential Needs of humanity, including but not limited to humanity's need for Connection.

To be clear, authentic Religion is an Institution devoted to the satisfaction of essential needs.

Additional Comments

Sigmund Freud believed that religion arises as a consequence of

  1. an expression of the son-father relationship (see totem and taboo, related to religions where "totem animals" become sacred)[7]
  2. the need to defend oneself against the "crushingly superior force of nature."[8]
  3. The "urge to rectify the shortcoming of civilization..."[9]

This is no partly true in the sense that most humans have a need

Other Definitions

"Religion tends to be conceptualized as an external, community-based phenomena in which a particular organized set of beliefs, behaviors, and rituals are institutionalized by individuals sharing similar spiritualities."[10]

Erich Fromm: Religion is an "group-shared system of thought and action that offers the individual a frame of orientation and an object of devotion."[11]

Quotes

"Every fully developed religion exists simultaneously on several different levels. It exists as a set of abstract concepts about the world and its governance. It exists as a set of rites and sacraments, as a traditional method for manipulating the symbols, by means of which beliefs about the cosmic order are expressed. It exists as the feelings of love, fear and devotion evoked by this manipulation of symbols.

And finally it exists as a special kind of feeling or intuition—a sense of the oneness of all things in their divine principle, a realization (to use the language of Hindu theology) that “thou art That,” a mystical experience of what seems self-evidently to be union with God."[12]

Citation and Legal

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Footnotes

  1. ↑ Mike Sosteric, “From Zoroaster to Star Wars, Jesus to Marx: The Art, Science, and Technology of Mass Human Manipulation,” Athens Journal of Philosophy, 2024, doi:10.30958/ajphil.3-4-1.
  2. ↑ Mary Boyce, Zoroastrians: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices (Routledge, 2001).
  3. ↑ Sosteric, Mike. Rethinking the Origins and Purpose of Religion: Jesus, Constantine, and the Containment of Global Revolution.” Athens Journal of Social Sciences 9, no. 1 (2020): 69–88. doi:10.30958/ajss.9-1-4.
  4. ↑ Karl Marx
  5. ↑ That's Sigmund Freud
  6. ↑ August Comte talked about these various orders as part of a Comprehensive Framework used to shape society and control behaviour. See Comte, August, The Catechism of Positivism; or, Summary Exposition of the Universal Religion, trans. Richard Congreve (London: John Chapman, 1852). https://archive.org/details/artofcreationess00carp
  7. ↑ Freud, Sigmund. The Future of an Illusion. New York: Anchor Books, 1961. p. 21
  8. ↑ Freud, Sigmund. The Future of an Illusion. New York: Anchor Books, 1961. p. 21
  9. ↑ Freud, Sigmund. The Future of an Illusion. New York: Anchor Books, 1961. p. 21
  10. ↑ Hodge, David R. “The Intrinsic Spirituality Scale: A New Six-Item Instrument for Assessing the Salience of Spirituality as a Motivational Construct.” Journal of Social Service Research 30, no. 1 (January 1, 2003): 41–61. https://doi.org/10.1300/J079v30n01_03. 42
  11. ↑ Erich Fromm, To Have or to Be? (New York: Harper & Row, 1976), 135.
  12. ↑ Aldous Huxley, “Chapter Twenty-Four: 1961 Letters,” in Moksha (Rochester, Vermont: Park Street Press, 1999).








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