I presented on the topic of, “Do we need a God?”, by looking at the essays, “Dear God, Are You There?” by George Yancy and “What Religion Gives Us (That Science Can’t)” by Stephen T. Asma. One of my discussion questions that I asked was, “If religion has a positive effect on society, does it matter if God exists?” I think the answer is no, it doesn't matter if God really exists. With all it’s flaws and faults, religion still seems to prove to be beneficial to society as a whole. Stephen Asma gives the example of his student’s mother who was driven to an emotional breakdown by her son’s death, but found hope in the idea that she would see him again in the afterlife. This is just one example of the countless people religion has helped get through a tragic event. Many people have turned to a God for comfort during hard times. Religion is not just mentally therapeutic, it’s also physically therapeutic, claims Stephen Asma. In his essay he writes, “When you’ve lost a loved one, religion provides a therapeutic framework of rituals and beliefs that produce the oxytocin, internal opioids, dopamine, and other positive affects that can help with coping and surviving.” This goes to show that religion is therapeutic in multiple ways, offering different benefits to different people. Not only does religion help us emotionally, it also releases chemicals that can help us tolerate issues better.
Another benefit of religion, Stephen adds, is that it provides us with a community. In times of despair, it’s important to have people around you to listen. Religion gives us with that social circle. In the essay, “What Religion Gives Us (That Science Can’t), Asma writes, “Religious rituals, for example, surround the bereaved person with our most important resource—other people.” I agree with Asma that other people are our most important recourse when we have feelings that are difficult to deal with on our own. Humans crave social connection and contact, especially when dealing with difficult things, religion gives us that connection.
Another positive factor of religion is that it gives us an outlet to deal with our emotions. It’s important to have somewhere to direct your negative feelings when you're experiencing them. Holding on to undesirable emotions can have negative effects. Stephen Asma claims that, “religious practice (rituals, devotional activities, songs, prayer, and story) manage our emotions, giving us opportunities to express care for each other in grief, providing us with the alleviation of stress and anxiety, or giving us direction and an outlet for rage.” Without having a place to put negative feelings, they build up and cause us stress and anxiety, religion is an escape from that. For a lot of people, simply praying and telling God what's going on is enough. For others, they require a deeper understanding and connection to God. Either way, having God as an outlet proves to be helpful to many people.
Another positive of religion is that it applies to human emotional life better than science. Stephen Asma claims, “Scientists say our minds are motivated primarily by ancient emotional systems, like fear, rage, lust, love, and grief. These forces are adaptive and help us survive if they are managed properly. My claim is that religion can provide direct access to this emotional life in ways that science does not.” I think he makes a great point here that religion actually helps us access our emotional life better than science. Science can’t tell us how to get through a loss or a tragedy. It can’t give us any sort of hope. However, religion has a way of infiltrating the emotional mind and alleviating some of the negative emotions we’re experiencing. Stephen Asma also makes a good point when he says, “there are many forms of human suffering that are beyond the reach of any scientific alleviation.” I agree with this, because scientific facts don’t provide us with the same comfort that reading a sacred text, going to church, or being around a group of supportive people does. We as humans need the safety net of a God to feel safe and secure. Opening a textbook of scientific information will not alleviate emotional pain and turmoil.
Lastly, Karl Marx called religion, “the opium of the people,” making that analogy to say that religion is a distraction from whats really going on. His view is that people settle for undesirable lives with the hope of eternal peace, and that we need to be fighting for better lives now. Stephen Asmadisagrees by writing, “...religion is energizing as often as it is anesthetizing. As often as it numbs or sedates, religion also riles up and invigorates the believer. This animating quality of religion can make it more hazardous to the state than it is tranquilizing, and it also inspires a lot of altruistic philanthropy.” I agree with this opinion. I think that religion actually inspires people to take action and make change. The Bible calls to be generous and treat everyone equally. I think these are positive qualities that are important to have when facing unjust politicians. Overall, I think religion has a lot of positive benefits that should be considered in the debate of whether or not we need religion.
No comments:
Post a Comment