Whether to have a religion
I astonishingly find that nearly everyone in this country has a religion. It comes to me as astonishment because in China seldom do we believe in a religion. And I think people here may also feel astonished when they are told that Chinese people even don’t have a religion. So you see it is culture difference that distinguishes people’s view on religion. Now we have come to a world with different culture backgrounds from China, and we should blend ourselves into the new culture. But does that mean we should have a religion? I think it depends.
I will first say something about the two main factors that contributed to the forming of religions. The first one is that the science in ancient times was not advanced as it is today. As a result, there were many natural phenomena that people couldn’t explain at that time. So they began to imagine that there gods control all of these phenomena. The second one is that people then were not equipped with modern things, and they appeared to be weak in front of the nature. So they believed the existence of gods and prayed for safety.
But now, both the science and the technology are advanced. As a result, human beings can explain most of the natural phenomena, as well as fight against the nature. So why do they still have a religion? In my opinion, the meaning of a religion has changed. People now believe in a religion because they want something to attend to their souls. So if you need to entrust your soul to something, you can believe a religion. But if you think your mind is strong and you can be independent mentally, perhaps you don’t need to believe in a religion.
I'm still a free-thinker, so it's hard for me to agree\disagree with you on religional topics.
ReplyDeleteHowever, it's good for us to know more about the world including religions. Maybe we try to comphrehen riligions first if we had enough time.
I used to think that religion is a remote thing, but now I begin to think about the importance of religion. I find those who have a religion are more optimistic and enthusiastic about life and people, perhaps once you believe in something, you have more persuits in life
ReplyDeleteOn some points, I have some different ideas. You said "human beings can explain most of the natural phenomena, as well as fight against the nature." I don't think so. Even until now, human beings' knowledge of universe is very very little. There are still large numbers of unknown things for people to figure out. However, I don’t think our ignorance should be the reason of believing in religion. Because in this way, we can never find the truth. What we should do is to explore instead of to create answers from imagination and simply believe in.
ReplyDeleteI quiet agree with your idea that “People now believe in a religion because they want something to attend to their souls.” One of my host family members has also told me the function of religion is to teach people how to be a man, meaning teach people the way to deal with different situations in life. And I have the same opinion as you that religion is not obligatory. We do not have to ask a God to teach us such things. It’s ok to be strong enough and just keep our souls by ourselves.
haha , having a religion may sometimes can encourage us to insist on something and give the energy to do what they like.however, i prefer to be a free thinker,haha ,what about you ??
ReplyDeleteI think having a religion is not a Yes or No question and you are not choosing whether to have a religion or not. One has his religion when he truly believes in it, not he chooses which religion to believe in. You are a free-thinker, and it is fine, there is no need to consider if you need a religion, when you find that you believe in something you have already have a religion, so do not to worry about this problem anymore.
ReplyDeleteThis topic is really a tough and sensitive one, appreciate your courage and thinking! As for whether to have a religion, I think it varies from countries and families, and we'd better combine interest and considering of background.
ReplyDeleteMost China Chinese do not have a religion - believe in a God or gods - because of political and social development. There are about one billion Muslims, perhaps another billion Christians/Catholics and one more billion Hindus not countinig the other religions - Buddhism, Judaism, Taosim, and others - in this world. So, you see there are more people who profess to have a religion than those that don't. We all need physical sustenance and nobody will argue against it. Many of us also need spiritual sustenance: most worship God; some worship money.
ReplyDeleteit is obvious that we should have respect to people who has a religion. but for me, there is no enough reason to convince me the existence of god.and it is not necessary to had a religion to believe in good things.
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