Why is Religion Important in a civilized society 1

Why is Religion Important in a civilized society?

The Psychology of Believing in Something Bigger Than Yourself

Religion exists in different forms all across the world. It plays an important role in how laws are created, how social structures are maintained, and how society views morals and politics.

Religion plays a significant role in society by influencing social relationships, promoting tolerance, and providing moral values for civilization and development . It is considered the cornerstone of every civilization and is essential for communal membership and togetherness.

The famed psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud described religion as a form of wish fulfillment. However, modern psychology recognizes that religion can play an important role in an individual’s life and experiences and can even improve health and well-being. In fact, studies have shown that religion can help people develop healthy habits, regulate their behaviors, and understand their emotions all factors that can affect your mental health.

Types of Religion

There are many different types of religions, including the major world religious traditions that are widely known as well as much lesser-known belief systems of smaller populations. Some of these represent monotheism, or the belief in a single god, while others are examples of polytheism, or the belief in multiple gods

Impact of Religion

Religion can contribute to a sense of community, provide support, and offer guidance. It has also been shown to impact both physical and mental health.

Some of the types of religions include but are certainly not limited to:

• Baha’i
• Buddhism
• Christianity
• Confucianism
• Hinduism
• Indigenous American religions
• Islam
• Jainism
• Judaism
• Rastafarianism
• Shinto
• Sikhism
• Taoism
• Traditional African religions
• Zoroastrianism
• Related to religion, animism is the belief in divine non-human beings, while totemism involves the belief in a divine connection between humans and the natural world. On the other end of the religious spectrum is atheism, which involves a belief in no god or gods, and agnosticism, which holds that the existence of god or gods is unknown or unknowable.

Religion vs. Spirituality

While religion and spirituality are related, there are differences between the two. Spirituality is an individual practice and belief, whereas religion is centered on a set of organized practices that a larger group shares. It is possible to be spiritual without being religious.

Why People Believe in Religion

The reasons why people believe in religion are not fully understood, but researchers have suggested a number of possible explanations.

The Psychology of Religious Belief

According to the most recent Gallup poll, 47% of adults in the U.S. have some type of religious membership.4 As to why people believe in religion, psychologists have proposed several theories.

Researchers have proposed that how the human brain works often predisposes people to believe. The human mind looks for patterns, purpose, and meaning, which may influence why people turn to religion to guide their belief systems.

Parenting and cultural influences also play an important role since people tend to belong to the religion in which they were raised.

The human need to belong, combined with the desire for social connection, also contributes to the desire to be part of something larger than oneself.

The Purpose of Religion

Religion can serve a wide range of purposes. Religion can be a source of comfort and guidance. It can provide a basis for moral beliefs and behaviors. It can also provide a sense of community and connection to tradition. Some research even suggests that it may affect health.

The impact of religion on health and life expectancy has always been a tricky area of research. It seems (to some) that religious people defined here as people who attend religious services regularly seem to be healthier than those who don’t attend.

This has led to a line of research looking into the impact of religion on health to determine what, if any, positive benefit religion could have on life expectancy. This research is tricky, however, because of several factors that are difficult to control for, including

People who attend religious services may simply be healthier than those who cannot attend.

The benefits may have more to do with social contact than religion itself.

Certain religions may encourage healthy behaviors.

As researchers look into the impact of religion, all these factors must be considered along with the possibility that religion itself influences health.

Impact of Religion

Religion can contribute to a sense of community, provide support, and offer guidance. It has also been shown to impact both physical and mental health.

Religion and Physical Health

One series of studies found that participants who were either religious or spiritual had a decreased risk of coronary heart disease (CHD), lower blood pressure (BP), better immune function, and longer lifespans when compared to people who were not religious or spiritual.

Researchers found that the participants who were religious or spiritual tended to eat more nutritious diets, engage in more physical exercise, and have better cognitive function compared to people who were not religious or spiritual.

In these studies, people who were religious were also less likely to smoke, which put them at a lower risk of smoking-related illnesses such as all cancers, cardiovascular disease, and lung disease. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is linked with a better quality of life as well as a greater lifespan.

Religion and Mental Health

Religion can also influence mental health in both positive and negative ways. Religion can serve as a source of comfort and strength when people are under stress. At other times, this connection may be less helpful or even harmful if it creates stress or acts as a barrier to treatment.

Studies suggest that religion has both the potential to help and harm mental health and well-being.On the positive side, religion and spirituality can help promote positive beliefs, foster community support, and provide positive coping skills. On the other hand, negative religious coping, miscommunication, and harmful negative beliefs that actually be detrimental to mental health.

Key Mental Health Benefits

Some mental health benefits of religion include:

• Giving people structure
• Building a community with a group
• Creating a sense of belonging
• Helping people cope with stressful events
• Can encourage forgiveness, compassion, and gratitude

Religion can also play a role in helping people cope with mental health conditions. People often turn to their religious beliefs in order to cope with symptoms of mental illness and to help manage stress.

Research has also shown that religious people often first turn to religious clergy when they need treatment for mental health conditions. Religious and pastoral counseling can be an important resource for people of faith who want to incorporate their religious and spiritual beliefs into their treatment. Twelve-step addiction treatment programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous  also sometimes take a faith-based approach to treatment.

Pastoral counseling is provided by religious clergy who have been psychologically trained to provide therapy services. These counselors integrate modern psychological practices with theological teaching to address problems that their clients are experiencing