Religious Belief and Psychological Security
Some form of psychological security is vital to enable a person to cope with the uncertainties of life. Different persons may find their security in different things. Many find their security in some form of religious belief. The actual content of the religious belief is secondary. This content may vary among different religions, e.g.. Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, etc., but the act of belief is essential to all of them.The psychological security of religious belief comes from the act, itself, of believing and not from the particular content of the belief.
No followers of a particular religion can ever present objective proof that they alone are right, based on the content of their religious teaching and belief, and all the others are wrong, despite what their religion may teach, and what they may want to believe. Followers of another religion, with a different belief content, can experience a similar psychological security from following their religion, based on their act of believing, and not on the content of the belief.
In this regard, all religions, whether Christianity, Islam, Hinduism or otherwise, are equal and should be respected as such.
Religious belief is based on faith. Faith itself goes beyond human sense experience. As the Christian bible says in Hebrews 11:1, “...faith is the evidence of things not seen”(in the present). It is also based on expectation as a projection into the future. The same verse also states, “(faith) is the substance of things hoped for...”. There is no way one can establish, here in the present, that what one hopes for, through faith, will actually be realized, despite the intensity of one's belief or faith.
This is illustrated quite effectively in the Lord's Prayer. One prays to God, asking for various things but part of the prayer also states: “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”. The message here is that whatever you have faith and pray for, regardless of the intensity of your faith, it would only be granted if it is God's will.
All religions, whether Christianity, Islam, Hinduism or otherwise, are equal and should be respected as such.
Comments (4)
Thanks for your comment.
However, I wish you would elaborate on it.
Thanks for your concurrence and your statement that all religions are equal and worthy of respect.