The Importance of Religion

By: Chris Gieseke

Posted: 11/27/06

In today's age of science and modern marvels there are many people who ask, "Why do we still need religion?" I mean really. Science has shown a clear path towards answering all kinds of questions that once were the domain of magic and religion. Does that not prove that religion is merely the domain of ignorance and fools who wish to believe in fairy tales purely based on what they refer to as "Faith"? This has long been one of the chief arguments made by atheists against religion. However their bewilderment towards why educated people still believe in religions has rather non-mysterious answers.

The psychological, sociological, and anthropological research on the subject of religion has provided rich information as to why religion is still an important part of many people's lives. One of the chief reasons found was that religion provides what is essentially a security blanket and a sense of certainty in an uncertain world. When an individual has absolute faith in something, for that person it is, for all practical purposes, true. Human beings in just about every culture studied have a tendency to latch on to an ideology or religion as Truth.

The difficulty in dislodging a person's "faith" has to do with how often a person's religion is tied deeply into their culture, family, and heritage. Religion is an important means through which many people form an identity within their society. However of greater importance to understanding why religion is important to people is understanding that religion provides a powerful mechanism for anxiety relief. It also allows people to better cope with personal tragedy and hardships that we all go through in life. A cynic may just say, "Oh go see a shrink and get some Prosac or something." However, not everyone has faith in psychiatry.

As someone with a degree in psychology and with a family member who has been to quite a few psychiatrists, I can attest to the fact that a great number of practicing psychiatrists have serious mental illness themselves. Furthermore, the science of treating mental illness with drugs is extremely fuzzy. There is still a very poor understanding of the human mind and how drugs affect the mind. For that reason, it's not uncommon for drugs proscribed to patients with mental illness, to actually make their condition even worse. I'm not going to go all Tom Cruise and say that psychiatry is all B.S. and that people should never use drugs to treat mental illness. In some cases drugs can be miracles for people with mental illness. What I am saying however is that many have very little faith in psychiatry or simply refuse to use artificial means to alleviate emotional pain.

For many, religion along with support networks (often found through their religion) help tremendously in dealing with emotional pain and trauma.

It also can assist in daily anxiety such as in the form of quiet meditation or daily prayers. As someone who is a Deist, I have participated in the religious ceremonies of many religions. What they all have in common is a very deep anxiety reducing effect. An example is for me, the traditions of Christmas Mass in the Catholic Church where myrrh and frankincense are burned. The aroma along with the beautiful music evokes very deep, warm, and soothing emotions in me. In a similar fashion, participating in the beautiful group chanting of Sufi Muslims known as dhiker produces an almost trance like state of tranquility and a feeling of closeness with the creator through love.

Finally there is the simple fact that none of us knows with 100% certainty what will happen to our consciousness after we die. Religion offers hope that this life is but one stage of existence.

If all that sounds like a bunch of romantic nonsense and self-delusion, then indeed perhaps it is. But for those of us who believe in a religion (or like myself who love all of them) they provide us with a feeling of contentment and hope that nothing else in this world provides. For that reason, I don't see religion disappearing anytime soon.