Your opinion (origin of religion) ( Archived) (10)

According to Dr. Larry Falls, religion implies the existence of some power or powers governing the whole universe, including humanity, possessing the ability to make decisions with unlimited power, in all places at all times, and capable of being influenced by human acts, sacrifices, respect and prayer. It was believed that the worship of these powers or gods was superior to all things. Later, a new doctrine was developed and implied that God is not a personality, but all laws, forces, and manifestations,or pure metaphysic. It was also taken for granted that the idea of admoration and worship of these powers was superior to all things. The means whereby the powers or god could reveal his capabilities were limited by human imagination.

500 years later Muhammed altered the Christian doctrine to invent the modern Koran.

As one who has studied history fairly extensively, and humans as creatures even more, I go along with the idea that RELIGIONS (as opposed to BELIEF IN GOD OR GODS) were developed in exactly the same way that we developed everything else we have done.
I think it started with a few thoughts based on attempts to explain what happened in peoples' lives, and was talked about for a while, before someone pointed out that whatever WAS thought to be true, ought to be used to guide the group. Just as knowledge of how to find reliable sources of food and water and shelter were used to guide the group, so too would conclusions about things that could not be seen, but only deduced.
From there, it branched off in predictable ways: some thought a vague knowledge of common beliefs sufficient to allow one to get through life with reasonable success was enough, some thought it was critical to be VERY specific about it all, some came to be thought of as specialists in the area, and some realized that such beliefs could be used to control and/or protect the group. Religions more or less "cooked out" of all that sort of thing.

I actually have a sort of 'thought experiment'/joke I conjured about the night religion was born:

An exhausted father, trying desperately to get some sleep in the family cave, was pestered by wide awake youngsters making all sorts of squeals and fusses (as youngsters are wont to do). he tried yelling at them to shut up, he tried threatening to smack them (but they ignored that, since they knew by then that he was too tire to actually get up, or he would have smacked them already). When all that failed, he told them a story. That there was an invisible being, who WOULD come and get them, even if HE wouldn't, and that this invisible being was all powerful and all knowing (so the dad ALSO didn't have to figure out WHICH child was the instigator of the trouble).
I figure that the first time a loud noise, or a flash of light happened outside the cave, that he blamed THAT on the invisible being, and thus "proved" to the kids they needed to shut the frick up.

And from there, was eventually built, the Vatican.

Very feasible scenario although somewhat too simple. I started an almost identical thread a few years back. Still no all encompassing answers though. Most likely many factors contributed to the origin of religion. I think mans awareness of his own death played a major role.