The Argument For Religion

[BABY1]

TweetTake a look at society today and you may get the idea that religion, in many people’s opinion, is an old idea -- something irrelevant in an age graced with scientifically based knowledge obtainable from any web-connected computer. But this is far from the truth. While "people" may brush away spirituality as a delusional state of mind, every "person" has spiritual beliefs. Any person you speak to has their own view on the meaning of life and whether or not a Supreme Being exists. It may not strike you as so important, but your religious views and practice can provide stability and strength for you as an individual, helping you become centered in your sense of self and at peace with the world around you. Being religious is simply acting according to the beliefs you hold; this may involve collective worship at a church, mosque or synagogue, or it could mean taking in the scent of incense at home with some relaxation and breathing techniques. It may simply mean giving to charity.

You may feel a bit self-conscious about becoming "religious" and, unfortunately, this can often be the butt of jokes, but this owes more to misunderstanding than to anything else. For all its value and worth, the general public often misquotes science as being entirely fact-based and reliable. In actual fact, science only claims knowledge up to a point -- after that, it’s the shaky ground of theory and supposition.

Ultimately, it is unhelpful to place science and religion against one another. Whereas science looks to physical and objective evidence, religion looks mainly to spiritual and subjective evidence; they are two disciplines looking in different places for the same thing: the truth about life. In this search, both make statements on what they believe to be true, speaking from their gathered evidence and by faith or theory that fills in the gaps of their knowledge. The key thing to remember is that, in the absence of absolute knowledge, both science and religion are faith-based belief systems that serve to provide answers for our deeper questions of life.

What do you believe -- right now? If you’re leaning toward a religious point of view, don’t push it away; a religious lifestyle actually holds many benefits for the believer. Following is our argument for religion, grounded in three of the many benefits of living out your religious beliefs as a man in the 21st century.

Religion gives you a sense of your place in the grand scheme

Having religious beliefs serves to answer all, or most, of those difficult "life questions": How did we get here? What is the purpose of life? What comes after death? Am I important or valued? These are all very powerful questions that can heavily affect our mental stability, self-esteem and sense of purpose.

Believing in a spirituality, be it a single Supreme Being who loves and cares for his followers, such as the Christian, Jewish or Islamic beliefs, or a faith that ancestors and loved ones can guide us from the grave, as many spiritualists would propose, is to place yourself in the bigger picture. According to your spiritual beliefs, the cosmos has a purpose and meaning, your life has a goal and the support of spiritual guidance, and your choices in life have eternal relevance. This is beneficial to mental health and can calm the anguish you may have about mortality and death; it also helps to focus you positively on your purpose and goals in life.

Religion gives you the tools to act upon your beliefs

A surprising number of people are passive believers, in that they believe in a spiritual dimension and even have specific ideas and faiths, without allowing it to impact their day-to-day lives. For example, 10% of the UK population attend weekly Christian church services, while about 50% believe in God. This is less helpful than it may seem.

To have spiritual beliefs, of whatever faith, often entails belief in standards and principles that differ from societal values. Those twinges of guilt or moral battles are a confrontation between inner values and your outward, peer-led conduct; let’s not be misled into thinking we escape peer pressure after college.

Your religious beliefs offer a strong sense of purpose and reasoned arguments for why you should act on the values you believe to be right -- even if it means you’re swimming against the flow of colleagues and friends who hold different standards.

Likely, in sticking to your guns and living the life you feel, deep down, is right, you will emerge with a greater sense of calm and inner peace. Religion can help a person articulate and express his inner self, as well as help him to be comfortable and courageous enough to do just that.

Religion gives you a community

One of the great aspects of religion is that even those faiths that are practiced on a more individual basis, such as Hinduism and Buddhism, all require community to some degree. This is central to the argument for religion.

Being part of a community offers a sense of belonging, support and value that has been proven in studies to benefit physical and mental health by lowering blood pressure, the likelihood of colds, alcoholism, and mental illness. Being part of a community also lowers stress. A religious community offers multiple social opportunities through various clubs, meet-ups and gatherings -- from small group studies to beach barbecues. In addition, the shared values within this group result in a sense of support for your deeper human needs; there’s always someone you can talk to in confidence.

be true to yourself

When it comes down to it, we can control what we believe no more than we can control and choose what we like or dislike; whether it's a result of lifelong enculturation or just that we've always had a leaning toward something we're exposed to, we somehow make very quick and involuntary decisions about preference. Stick a chunk of mashed potato in your mouth and it's not so much that you decide whether you like it or not, you're more informed in your consciousness about whether you'll push the plate away or pull it closer. As a guy, you may never admit to liking a Lady GaGa song, but if it comes on the radio when you're driving along, you either like it or you don't -- and chances are you do.

So it is with spirituality; either the idea of a Supreme Being seems plausible or it doesn't, either you believe our ancestors and relatives walk the earth in spiritual form or you don't, but our argument for religion is that being true to yourself about what you believe and living according to those beliefs is much more beneficial, both physically and mentally, than living your life according to the values of your friends and peers.

[deepsouth]

TweetVery nice post Baby1- glad to see this here

[Klash]

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...both science and religion are faith-based belief systems...

^One of the most destructive beliefs you can hold; once you proclaim everything is based on faith, their is no persuasion, reason cannot win even over lunacy. Thus we get presidents that promise everything for nothing. You can't reason with those who deny it and we are living in a society where many do.

[diablo]

TweetYou know its funny, I find people who dont believe in religion only start to believe when it benifits them or when they aknowledge the Lord when they want someone to blame for problems they cant solve.

[Dzone]

TweetIt all started with adam and eve and a talking snake in an apple tree. Now everybody is going to hell unless they get some good ol time religion.

[deepsouth]

TweetInteresting view there D. I think it may have a little to do with accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior as well as being born again, but hey -what do I know

[Dzone]

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Interesting view there D. I think it may have a little to do with accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior as well as being born again, but hey -what do I know

I know bro. I was just goofin around there. That whole idea of hell just floors me.

[daved150]

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You know its funny, I find people who dont believe in religion only start to believe when it benifits them or when they aknowledge the Lord when they want someone to blame for problems they cant solve.

huh...sounds like "atheists".
but i dont believe in them

[jipped genes]

Tweetno disrespect to any religion but from what i see they have many negatives too.