• Welcome to Tamil Brahmins forums.

    You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our Free Brahmin Community you will have access to post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join our community today!

    If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact contact us.

Religion is Arbitrarily Inherited

In most countries on Earth, most people are religious. But why? The main reason is that children assume the religion of their parents[SUB]7[/SUB] and they are unlikely to ever switch[SUB]8[/SUB], or, if they do convert, it will be to become a member of a different religion that is also popular where they live[SUB]9[/SUB]. In "Social Psychology" by David Myers (1999)[SUB]10[/SUB]the word "religion" enters the index from the chapters on "conformity" and "indoctrination"[SUB]11[/SUB]. Other researchers have found that "fewer than 1% [of Americans] convert to an entirely new religion"[SUB]12[/SUB] and in some places children are not exposed to non-belief until college[SUB]13[/SUB] and it is easy to imagine that in the current-day Middle East and in historical times, the only comments ever heard about non-believers are intensely negative. In this sense, most people's religion is arbitrary and it is clear that most religious people did not choose their religion, nor have they seriously compared religions to ascertain which one(s) were most likely to be true. Most people confuse their heritage for their religion.”
 

Individuals will often adopt a religious position for social reasons. Associating with a group of like-minded folk feels good, and can engender a feeling of empowerment and worth. Examples of this abound, and include the sectarian strife in Northern Ireland, the embrace of alternative religions by teenagers, the embrace of Eastern mysticism by intellectuals and students at the turn of the twentieth century, and the reaction against Western materialism through the embrace of anti-commercialist religions.

Religion thus serves a functional purpose quite separate from its actual religious content. Many people adhere to a religious life because it helps combat loneliness, helps them stay off of alcohol, helps them oppress sexual urges, or helps them cope with anxiety or depression.

Pascal Boyer in
"Religion Explained" listed many of the commonly theorized explanations for the success of religion, and, most of the list consisted of items that described functional roles of religion such as "religion holds society together" and "religion allays anxiety and makes for a comfortable world". But what the functional influences lack is a genuine appraisal of the pros or cons of the theological dogmas of the religion in terms of their truth or falsity. I.e., functional elements of religion can remain fully operational even if the underlying belief system contains serious flaws.

Some people join religions because "a cohesive, supportive church plays a central role [in] providing social network". Many times it is not even structured that appeals - the very fact of joining a group can be uplifting. In analysing the growth of evangelical Christianity from 1940 in South Korea, for example, the sociologist D. Martin notes that the basis for the spectacular growth is partially the same as in South America and Asia in general; 'success can be attributed to a combination of vibrant Pentecostal worship ... and personal support' and 'the chief pastor/executive combines many secular roles, as, indeed he does in Brazil. He is a social worker and employment exchange official, a kind of store manager and a broker, an educator and a fixer". I.e., such motivated people attract flocks of followers for their general function in society.

The same purely pragmatic approach to religion can be found amongst Cantonese coverts to Mormonism (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) in Hong Kong. Caroline Plüss studied this and in 1999 reported the following:
Chinese residents in Hong Kong joined this church despite [a] negative perception of the church ... because [it] offered potential recruits help with learning English by, for example, operating a tutorial college. It also helped Chinese converts gain financial support for studying in the universities it operates in the United States.”
"Migration and the Globalization of Religion" by Caroline Plüss.

Religion attracts some people because of the usefulness of the organization and not because of the underlying truth of the religion. Religious leaders know this and their hope is, of course, that some people caught in this way will develop a genuine interest at some later date.


 
Last edited:
Religion is often used as a collective political and racial identity regardless of whether people agree with the actual tenets of a religion. To be a proper member of an ethnic group in many cases means adopting a certain religion. Or the opposite - some people join a symbolic opposition religion to signal rebellion and dissatisfaction with their own community. Studies have found that many people join a religion not because they agree with its theological arguments, but because religion endows "people with an enhanced sense of solidarity to advance collective, often political intentions".

Migration is often a trigger for adopting a religion. This works in two ways, together called "cultural transition and defence" by sociologist Steve Bruce:
Once removed from a community that they come to miss, some adopt a religion common in that community as a way of boosting their identification with it, regardless of whether they have started believing in the tenets of the faith.

When faced with immigration, some take up more extreme forms of what they perceive to be the 'proper' religion of their own culture.
 
When I was at University, I took a Master's Degree course called Cultural Ecology. It showed how the values, dietary habits, and taboos are a society's response to its environment. This is clear in Eastern culture, where the warmer weather climates welcomes large temples and their dark, cool passages of black granite. Contrast this with the high mountain retreats of Tibet, where colored drapes contrast the stark environment outdoors.

Unfortunately, our understanding of Eastern thought has been very much clouded by Western definitions of religion.
 
In most countries on Earth, most people are religious. But why? The main reason is that children assume the religion of their parents[SUB]7[/SUB] and they are unlikely to ever switch[SUB]8[/SUB], or, if they do convert, it will be to become a member of a different religion that is also popular where they live[SUB]9[/SUB]

So what? Religion is inherited like Nationality and race. So there is nothing unique about this. It is a statement of the obvious.

Religion is retained after understanding and thinking. Some people do not think or try to understand and so stick to the inherited religion for whatever it is worth.

Like nationality and race religion is exploited to the hilt by politicians.

Large masses of people are organized in the name of religion and invariably this solidarity is used to put down other religionists and nations and people.

As many people do not understand the religion and its underlying philosophies etc., they just join the crowd looking for the collective security and spoils. Once you have identified yourself as an active member of the crowd, a clever politician can take control of you and manipulate you. To a still reluctant member he can even offer large quantities of the opiate called hatred and enslave him. Hitler did it, and even wrote a thesis on the subject of the camouflaged hatred opium. In India today we have many politicians doing it. Thus Ram Mandir, however reasonable it may be to rebuild, has to go through gyrations to keep the hatred and counter hatred simmering. Thus triple talaq, however outlandish it may be, has to be fought till the last stage in the parliament so that protagonists and their crowd is kept appeased. Same is the case with Brahmin Superiority/domination/descrimination (there are several adjectives available), so called "social justice"with eternal and increasing percentage of reservation etc., have to be harped on repeatedly so that the crowd remains fed on the hatred opiate and is asking for more.

The day politicians get reformed-may be after a catostraphic French Revolution type of a gory incident, the society will learn what religion really means. Till then true religion will be the preserve/resort of a few enlightened souls only. They know what they are doing irrespective and inspite of their inheritance and just do not bother about what the rest of the politicised masses and their leaders have to say.
 
Last edited:
Another arbitrary thread about arbitrariness !!

If one goes back before religion, one finds that Birth itself is arbitrary, one egg gets fertilized out of million drops or so of sperm.

Sex of the subject is arbitrary - the newborn had no choice whether to be born as male or female or neuter

The siblings of the subject are arbitrary - I do not get to choose my brother or sister or my cousins.

The time it takes for earth to revolve around itself is arbitrary and can at best be approximated to 24 hours.

The time taken by earth to revolve around the sun is also arbitrary.

One should admire the social scientists of JNU type who somehow or the other tie everything to religion or God or faith and keep on beating around the bush.

Religion was a medium for ancients to understand and reconcile with nature and to have a social cohesion for them to live with the least friction possible among the tribemates.
 
I do not see any problem in inherited faith because all faith teach only positive things. It is science and technology which has a deleterious effect by using a system of logic that is at best quackish in nature and in the worst case leading to dangerous knowledge. The fault mostly lies in the axioms and assumptions made.
 
Last edited:
Another arbitrary thread about arbitrariness !!

If one goes back before religion, one finds that Birth itself is arbitrary, one egg gets fertilized out of million drops or so of sperm.

Sex of the subject is arbitrary - the newborn had no choice whether to be born as male or female or neuter

The siblings of the subject are arbitrary - I do not get to choose my brother or sister or my cousins.

The time it takes for earth to revolve around itself is arbitrary and can at best be approximated to 24 hours.

The time taken by earth to revolve around the sun is also arbitrary.

One should admire the social scientists of JNU type who somehow or the other tie everything to religion or God or faith and keep on beating around the bush.

Religion was a medium for ancients to understand and reconcile with nature and to have a social cohesion for them to live with the least friction possible among the tribemates.


Yes, there are a lot more arbitrary things in life. But not all "arbitrary thing" is same, just as there are various shades of gray.
Secondly, our knowledge about anything and everything is just rudimentary, and not complete.

Mankind thought that The Sun revolves around the Earth, now we know better. So what we thought we knew has to change.

Similarly, according to Karma theory, our life on this earth is not arbitrary, it is based on our past karmas.


According to Christianity, life on this earth is by "intelligent design" and not arbitrary.

Elohim (the Hebrew generic word for God) creates the heavens and the earth in six days, then rests on, blesses and sanctifies the seventh.

So what seems arbitrary to some seems precious to others.

Just because a table has four legs and a cow has four legs, you can not say a table is a cow.

Meaning of any Word in any language is context driven and does not have a precious meaning.


When 98% of the world inherits "religion" arbitrarily, why do they wear it on their sleeve? People get passionate and carry out genocide in its name.
Maybe few of us in this group think they fall in that 2% category.
But the majority of people are in that larger group and do not realize it.
 
I do not see any problem in inherited faith because all faith teach only positive things. It is science and technology which has a deleterious effect by using a system of logic that is at best quackish in nature and in the worst case leading to dangerous knowledge. The fault mostly lies in the axioms and assumptions made.

Do you really believe that all faiths teach the same thing?
I do not think so.

We have been fightings wars over religion.
I do not believe that there are 72 virgins waiting in heaven for each terrorist.
So let us not gloss the ugliness.
 
Do you really believe that all faiths teach the same thing?
I do not think so.

We have been fightings wars over religion.
I do not believe that there are 72 virgins waiting in heaven for each terrorist.
So let us not gloss the ugliness.
You have to understand the difference between what the religions actually teach and what is actually practiced. Your example of a terrorists beliefs about religion as what the religions teach is totally off the mark.
 
You have to understand the difference between what the religions actually teach and what is actually practiced. Your example of a terrorists beliefs about religion as what the religions teach is totally off the mark.

Briefly said and well said.
 
Yes, there are a lot more arbitrary things in life. But not all "arbitrary thing" is same, just as there are various shades of gray.
Secondly, our knowledge about anything and everything is just rudimentary, and not complete.

Mankind thought that The Sun revolves around the Earth, now we know better. So what we thought we knew has to change.

Similarly, according to Karma theory, our life on this earth is not arbitrary, it is based on our past karmas.


According to Christianity, life on this earth is by "intelligent design" and not arbitrary.

Elohim (the Hebrew generic word for God) creates the heavens and the earth in six days, then rests on, blesses and sanctifies the seventh.

So what seems arbitrary to some seems precious to others.

Just because a table has four legs and a cow has four legs, you can not say a table is a cow.

Meaning of any Word in any language is context driven and does not have a precious meaning.


When 98% of the world inherits "religion" arbitrarily, why do they wear it on their sleeve? People get passionate and carry out genocide in its name.
Maybe few of us in this group think they fall in that 2% category.
But the majority of people are in that larger group and do not realize it.

Simple question...can you give up your beliefs?
As far as I know you subscribe to Brahman concept...can you give that up cos that.too is inherited

None of us have original thought.
 
Simple question...can you give up your beliefs?
As far as I know you subscribe to Brahman concept...can you give that up cos that.too is inherited

None of us have original thought.


Yes, yes, and Yes.

Give me a better concept.
My concept of Brahman is similar to Infinity.
So if you ask me to give up Infinity, show me a better concept.
Again, if you ask me to give up Earth, show me something better.
I gave up Indian Citizenship and acquired US citizenship. That was tough, but it had its advantages.

None of us can have an original thought as everything is Brahman.

But following a religion for 98% of the population is not a matter of choice, they arbitrarily inherited it.
What is more is that they do not realize it nor accept it.


I always kid my American friends that they are the US citizen by birth and they did not have any choice. Whereas I had a choice and I passed the citizenship test, that many of the Native born American would not pass.

Hinduism allows me the liberty of choosing my belief system.
 
Last edited:
You have to understand the difference between what the religions actually teach and what is actually practiced. Your example of a terrorists beliefs about religion as what the religions teach is totally off the mark.


At your plane maybe it is the same.
The average person on the street follows his/her religion as they are indoctrinated. Don't tell that a terrorist who blows himself up in the name "GOD" is not religious.
 
At your plane maybe it is the same.
The average person on the street follows his/her religion as they are indoctrinated. Don't tell that a terrorist who blows himself up in the name "GOD" is not religious.

Yes indeed at a higher plane they are the same. There are some who misuse it and seek advantage from it. but in their true essence , all religions teach only the positive. If you talk of misuse, even technology can be misused . In fact technology is more misused than properly used.
 
Yes indeed at a higher plane they are the same. There are some who misuse it and seek advantage from it. but in their true essence , all religions teach only the positive. If you talk of misuse, even technology can be misused . In fact technology is more misused than properly used.

I am digressing. but I want to put this myth of all religion being same to rest.
Only a person who does not understand any religion will say that.

All religions cannot be true at the same time, because they teach many things completely opposite from one another. They all may be wrong, but
certainly they all cannot be right, for the claims of one will exclude the other. As to matters of salvation and the person of Jesus Christ, only historic Christianity recognizes Him as the eternal God becoming a man who died for the sins of the world and arose again the third day. Salvation is obtained only by putting one’s trust in this Jesus.

The Jesus of Islam is not the Son of God who died for the sins of the world; neither is the Jesus of Mormonism or Christian Science the same Jesus as revealed in the Bible. Salvation is not by grace and through faith in these religions, but it is a matter of works. It can then be observed that we are dealing with different religious ideas that are not compatible with one another
.Even though many religions seem to be the same on the surface, the closer one gets to the central teaching the more apparent the differences become. It is totally incorrect to say that all religions are the same. The God of the Christians is not the same God as that of the Mormons, Muslims, or Christian Scientists.

The conclusion is inevitable. The world’s religions have not brought peace and unity, nor have they led to the same God. On the contrary, they have divided mankind and painted a confusing picture of who God is and how to worship him.


 
Last edited:
yes each religion asks one to put trust in its God. that is because the faith in god has to be very strong to develop positive feelings and allegiance to one God helps in doing that for an average person. If you go beyond the surface you see all teach love. No religion asks you to hate another, show anger towards another, be lustful or practice envy and greed.

Kindly think about this before making sweeping statements about religion.
 
I realized that when people say “All religions lead to the same goal” or “all religions are the same” or “all religions are valid paths up the same mountain” that what they mean by that can be extremely different from how it is interpreted by others. There’s an enormous misunderstanding about this “universalism.”

Many of my friends and family believe that all religions lead to the same goal. Let me tell you what they mean by that.

But first, how it comes across.

When we say all religions are valid ways to access the same divine, that can make it seem like there is no need for a variety of religions. Why should a Hindu stay Hindu? If a Christian asks him to convert, then he has every reason to because they lead to the same place, right?

Since many branches of Christianity are focused on conversion, they are saying that their path is exclusive.

What they usually mean is that the goal of Hinduism is the right one, the goal of Moksha and unity with the divine. That goal can be found in other religions if one studies the mystical branches and digs really deep. Other religions can be interpreted to come out to the same goal as Hinduism.


But it’s not their mainstream interpretations.


It’s hidden. Covered by years of politics and schisms. You have to work hard to find the Truth that is plainly in front of you when you’re Hindu.

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/whitehindu/2014/10/when-we-say-all-religions-are-the-same/
 
yes each religion asks one to put trust in its God. that is because the faith in god has to be very strong to develop positive feelings and allegiance to one God helps in doing that for an average person. If you go beyond the surface you see all teach love. No religion asks you to hate another, show anger towards another, be lustful or practice envy and greed.

Kindly think about this before making sweeping statements about religion.


Sir you need to study more, even an ignorant person can tell you that your logic is ill-advised.

Do Buddhist believe in god?

No, we do not. There are several reasons for this. The Buddha, like modern sociologists and psychologists, believed that religious ideas and especially the god idea have their origin in fear. The Buddha says
:"Gripped by fear men go to the sacred mountains, sacred groves, sacred trees and shrines".


Primitive man found himself in a dangerous and hostile world, the fear of wild animals, of not being able to find enough food, of injury or disease, and of natural phenomena like thunder, lightning and volcanoes was constantly with him. Finding no security, he created the idea of gods in order to give him comfort in good times, courage in times of danger and consolation when things went wrong. To this day, you will notice that people become more religious at times of crises, you will hear them say that the belief in a god or gods gives them the strength they need to deal with life. You will hear them explain that they believe in a particular god because they prayed in time of need and their prayer was answered. All this seems to support the Buddha’s teaching that the god-idea is a response to fear and frustration. The Buddha taught us to try to understand our fears, to lessen our desires and to calmly and courageously accept the things we cannot change. He replaced fear, not with irrational belief but with rational understanding.

The second reason the Buddha did not believe in a god is
because there does not seem to be any evidence to support this idea. There are numerous religions, all claiming that they alone have god’s words preserved in their holy book, that they alone understand god’s nature, that their god exists and that the gods of other religions do not. Some claim that god is masculine, some that she is feminine and others that it is neuter. They are all satisfied that there is ample evidence to prove the existence of their god but they laugh in disbelief at the evidence other religions use to prove the existence of another god. It is not surprising that with so many different religions spending so many centuries trying to prove the existence of their gods that still no real, concrete, substantial or irrefutable evidence has been found. Buddhists suspend judgement until such evidence is forthcoming.

The third reason the Buddha did not believe in a god is that the belief is not necessary. Some claim that the belief in a god is necessary in order to explain the origin
on the universe. But this is not so. Science has very convincingly explained how the universe came into being without having to introduce the god-idea. Some claim that belief in god is necessary to have a happy, meaningful life. Again we can see that this is not so. There are millions of atheists and free-thinkers, not to mention many Buddhists, who live useful, happy and meaningful lives without belief in a god. Some claim that belief in god’s power is necessary because humans, being weak, do not have the strength to help themselves. Once again, the evidence indicates the opposite. One often hears of people who have overcome great disabilities and handicaps, enormous odds and difficulties, through their own inner resources, through their own efforts and without belief in a god. Some claim that god is necessary in order to give man salvation. But this argument only holds good if you accept the theological concept of salvation and Buddhists do not accept such a concept. Based on his own experience, the Buddha saw that each human being had the capacity to purify the mind, develop infinite love and compassion and perfect understanding. He shifted attention from the heavens to the heart and encouraged us to find solutions to our problems through self-understanding.

http://www.buddhanet.net/ans73.htm

 
Last edited:
Well that is the problem with literal interpretations. God represents perfection . to the buddhists buddha represents that perfection. You need to believe in something supreme to whom you can always look up to. That fascination of and total belief in something perfect is something that every human does.

by the way does buddha teach anything fundamentally different other than love towards fellow human beings?
 
yes each religion asks one to put trust in its God. that is because the faith in god has to be very strong to develop positive feelings and allegiance to one God helps in doing that for an average person. If you go beyond the surface you see all teach love. No religion asks you to hate another, show anger towards another, be lustful or practice envy and greed.

Kindly think about this before making sweeping statements about religion.

Mr Sravana says
"yes each religion asks one to put trust in its God. that is because the faith in god has to be very strong to develop positive feelings and allegiance to one God helps in doing that for an average person."

Before making sweeping statements about 'every other religions' , one must know something about those religions. Then one must see the logic in the statements put forward.

I used to shoot from the hip when I joined the forum. I do some research online before making a statement or challenging a claim.

A simple search online revealed a Wikipedia page on Atheism. It says

"Jainism believes the universe is eternal and has no need for a creator deity, however Tirthankaras are revered that can transcend space and time and have more power than the god Indra. Secular Buddhism does not advocate belief in gods. Early Buddhism was atheistic as Gautama Buddha's path involved no mention of gods."


What Mr Sravana is doing is making sweeping statement that lacks research or logic. Let us take the next statement

" No religion asks you to hate another, show anger towards another, be lustful or practice envy and greed."

They ALL do not teach love of ALL - they may do so for their followers only.
Their scriptures in some religions tell them that those who do not follow their religions are bound to hell or infidels (hence do the god's work to kill them).

The terrorists is a label by outsiders but those are strong believers of their religion thinking they are doing their God's work.

I am yet to see a logical statement supported by research in what Mr Sravana has written.

It will be illogical to conclude this analysis is an attack on Mr Sravana. It is ONLY a challenge to the statements he has made here. Pointing out lack of facts or logic is not an attack on a person

As a person, I wish Mr Sravana the best of everything.
 
Well that is the problem with literal interpretations. God represents perfection . to the buddhists buddha represents that perfection. You need to believe in something supreme to whom you can always look up to. That fascination of and total belief in something perfect is something that every human does.

by the way does buddha teach anything fundamentally different other than love towards fellow human beings?

One thing people should not do is to look up people who shoot from the hips or claim magical powers to control the weather and people.

You dont need to believe in God. There is now large body of atheists who do not believe in God. They see Nature and its powers and just calls that Nature without the need to call Nature with another word called God.

So every human does not do what you claim. It is yet another non-researched and illogical statement.
 
You know what happens when you stop believing in god. the idea that one is god takes root. we see this happening with the Americans who thought after having some success in science and technology could control and mastermind anything. they harbored an very illconceived notion of superiority and uniqueness about themselves but now i think some reality check is happening with Trump desperately trying to convince his people that they are indeed superior.

these guys have had the worst record in the way of treating other countries and are strictly bounded by their self interests and these guys talking about liberty fraternity and equality and denouncing ego and divisiveness is ludicrous in the least.
 
Last edited:

Latest ads

Back
Top