Mason Warling Draft 1 Eng 201 10/30/11 Religion and Society Religion is a concept almost as old as man itself,

and the different religions have guided different cultures down the paths to what they are today. Religion, to define the word for the purposes of this paper, refers to a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs. (Dictionary.com) The question this paper seeks to answer is, Is religion useful to a developed, modern society? Sigmund Freud speaks some on this topic in his work Civilization and its Discontents, describing religion as a false belief that confers a benefit to society. This paper will explore the role of religion in shaping civilization's development, and judge its usefulness to a modern society, that is, whether it runs counter to the goals of civilization. First, we will explore the role of religion in shaping a civilization in its infancy, that is, that it shapes the moral fibre of an unshaped civilization into an image in line with its tenets. Religions, at any rate, have never overlooked the part played in civilization by a sense of guilt. Furthermore a point which I failed to appreciate elsewhere they claim to redeem mankind from this sense of guilt, which they call sin... we have been able to infer what the first occasion may have been on which this primal guilt, which was also the beginning of civilization, was acquired. (Freud 83, ch. 8) Freud posits that religions seek to exploit the guilt inherent in the human psyche for actions it perceives as dishonorable or wrong. The religious hierarchy then uses that sense of guilt and the promise of divine absolution from that guilt as a tool of order, as Freud illustrates they claim to redeem mankind from this sense of guilt by offering them the chance to live by the tenets of their

religion. By providing a code of ethics that can lead to an orderly and productive life (as the more successful religions do) the religious authority shapes an orderly society which can prosper and become populous, with comparatively low crime problems, fertile and large families, and a clear hierarchy of power (assuming that the religious institution does indeed attempt to influence matters of state,) owing to the control of the guilt instinct of man. The laws set forth in the Christian bible, for example, dictate such things as the execution of unfaithful spouses, homosexuals, criminals, and heretics (people who would sow dissenting messages that would lessen the power of the church by which it maintains order.) These mandates codify the practices put in place to govern the smooth operation of Christian nations, owing to high birth rates and large families, low crime, and fairly homogenous populations which keeps unrest at a minimum, moving civilizations toward modernity over the millenniums. These are likely important benefits that Freud seemed to be conscious of when he wrote that religion was distorting the picture of the world in a delusional manner. Various religions certainly had the effect of keeping civilization on track in the early years, unifying nations to reduce infighting (Though admittedly the great majority of wars following the rise of theocracy, up until the signing of the Peace of Westphalia and indeed beyond it were at least partly religious in nature.) Secondly, does society have any further use for religious institutions in the modern era, or has civilization reached a point at which religion is no longer a requisite component of progress? Freud wrote in Civilization, Religion restricts [the] play of choice and adaptation, since it imposes equally on everyone its own path to the acquisition of happiness and protection from suffering. Freud recognizes religion as a set of guidelines and rules that will help adherents gain happiness and avert suffering. He goes on to write, At this price, by forcibly fixing them in a state of psychical infantilism and by drawing them into a mass-delusion, religion succeeds in sparing many people and individual neurosis. But hardly anything more, and, If civilization imposes such great sacrifices not only on mans sexuality but on his aggressivity, we can understand better why it is hard for him to be happy in that civilization. The sacrifices mentioned by Freud are almost always inextricable from religious

ideals and morality, for example the prohibition of homosexuality. The prohibition makes sense from the point of view of someone trying to create a multitudinous society: everyone should be part of a breeding pair, not indulging whatever natural passion they may have willy-nilly. Thus, society will multiply rapidly. However, fixing [men] in a state of psychical infantilism will create unrealized opportunities for happiness by restricting thought and action to what is instructed by the codes of behavior set forth by the churches. Is it not the goal of civilization, as Freud outlined in Civilization, to avert suffering and thereby ease the acquisition of happiness? As Freud wrote, It is a certain fact that all the things with which we seek to protect ourselves against the threats that emanate from the sources of suffering are part of that very civilization. Freud further wrote, If civilization imposes such great sacrifices not only on mans sexuality but on his aggressivity, we can understand better why it is hard for him to be happy in that civilization. If the sacrifices required of civilized man make him unhappy, then why enter in to civilization at all? As mentioned earlier, these sacrifices are inextricable from the codes of behavior set forth by religious authority. Religion then seems to run counter to the ideals of society, creating unhappiness and causing suffering under the iron fist with which it governs. Would, then, these sacrifices be made obsolete by the extrication of religion from civilization (or at least from its governance) and allow man to be truly free of its influence and happy in his liberty? Surely, this is a question that can and will be asked for decades to come. However many oppose the bedding of civilization with religious concepts, the religious will retort by extolling the merits they confer upon society. Freud might say that once man has learned to feel guilt reflexively for unjust acts, the guiding hand of religion is redundant. I would hope that enough of society has that sense of decency, and thereby have no need for religion in the future, as religion seems at current to be hurting more than it is helping, see; homosexuals, members of other faiths, scientific and medical progress, and compromise in government.