Of all things that evoke a strong emotional reaction in people, there is perhaps none that evokes a reaction stronger than religion – a concept that, along with culture and language, has defined civilization since time immemorial. It is a concept that has conceived of, nurtured, and dissolved empires. A concept that has inspired people to great feats of inspiration as also despicable acts of destruction. A concept that induces reactions of blind faith as also abject disdain. A concept that receives no support from our rational thoughts but invokes strong reactions from our irrational. There are those who swear by the healing, benign effects of religion, of the purpose it brings to their lives, the clarity it brings to their thoughts. We hear of stories of survival, of miracles based purely on a concept of faith. And yet we know through history that the same religion has been the cause for the shedding of multitudes of human blood. What gives rise to this paradox? How can we understand the concept of religion better?

What is the purpose of religion?
Religion, as defined by Wikipedia, is an organized approach to spirituality. By attributing the experiences of a persons life to the influence of a higher power, or God, it gives the person a sense of meaning to life. Since the existence of this higher power can not be verified, by its very definition, religion is a concept that belongs to the realm of belief – you either believe in it or you do not. But then, for normal human life, it is true that most experiences can be attributed to outside the realm of belifef – to the realm of knowledge. For instance, if you’re walking on a street and a construction crane drops a block of concrete on you, you may tend to refer the event to the actions of God. However, the logical explanation for this event is that you walked into a construction zone, or the crane operator made a mistake or some such. If the experiences of life can indeed be explained inside the realm of knowledge, what, then, is the purpose of religion?

Religion is a tool that finds use when knowledge can not convincingly explain a particular event, circumstance or phenomenon. It is a bucket into which anything that can not be logically explained by humans is thrown. For instance, have you ever wondered why exactly you were born as the person you were? If you are white, why were you not born black? If you were born in Germany, why were you not born in Guinea? If you were born healthy, why were you not born unhealthy? Such questions, obviously, can not be answered convincingly within the realm of knowledge – mankind simply does not know enough to offer a convincing explanation for such phenomena. In such cases, it is logical for people to seek an alternative explanation, an explanation that is more convincing – that these phenomena are the result of actions of a higher power. Given the fact that this higher power belongs exclusively to the realm of belief, the explanations attributed to this power can be tagged as explanations of convenience. As true as this may be, it is also true that there exist no better alternative explanations. The purpose of religion, as a concept, then, is to ascribe those observations to the realm of belief which can not be attributed to the realm of knowledge.

What are the consequences of religion?
By claiming the unverifiable existence of a higher power – an entity whose form and scope are subjective – religion effectively influences man to accept and acknowledge the limits of his knowledge. By reminding him that his are not the only decisions that matter, religion offers a measure of sobriety, of humility to human existence. By reminding him that his actions are continually watched by a higher power, it influences him to think and act with propriety. Religion, by amplifying the scale of his insignificance in comparison to the higher power, intends to make the believer think beyond himself and towards the greater good.

Religion gives a person a sense inner peace – it allows him to let go of the material world surrounding and to focus on a spiritual world within. By concentrating his thoughts on a higher, imaginary plane it allows him to unshackle from the inconsequentialities of daily life. It gives him a sense of purpose – by reminding him that his time here is very short, and that there will remain all eternity to look back and evaluate, it drives him accomplish the maximum good in the minimum time. It gives a sense of identity – sharing a common belief system induces a minimum common thought process and creates a sense of bonding with his fellow people.

In this sense, sharing as they do a common ends, religion and spirituality are virtually identical. Where they differ is in the identification of a belief system as a religion.

What constitutes a religion?
All religions, by definition, are belief systems. All belief systems, however, are not necessarily religions. It is the failure to make this fundamental distinction that biases opinion concerning religion as a whole. A belief system (simply defined as a particular school of organized beliefs) can be a religion, a philosophy, or an ideology. A philosophy is the approach addressing fundamental matters of human existence using systematic and reason-based arguments i.e. it explains the unknown based on what is known. An ideology is a set of aims and ideas created by an individual or group of individuals that lays out a comprehensive vision for society by addressing every aspect of everyday life i.e. it is an all-encompassing set of rules that govern social conduct and thought.

Religion and ideology
To delve deeper, a religion is a system of thought shared by a community, a people, that is modified and refined by a large number of minds over an extended period of time – generations, centuries, millennia. It evolves from the collective consciousness of its people and is not limited by perspective to a particular geography or circumstance. It is not static and remains continually evolving throughout its existence. Since it arises from popular acceptance among its people, it requires no artificial protection or propagation – the existence of its people is guarantee of the existence of the concept. Since it is a system created by its consumers, it is inherently adaptable and flexible to their needs. It encourages creative thinking, critical reasoning and independent judgement, thereby enriching itself in the process.

On the other hand, an ideology is the distillation of the thought processes of an individual (or a group of individuals). It is based on the circumstances he (they) lived in, the experiences he went through and the judgements he drew from them. Consequently, it is inherently limited to the perspective of that individual and to the time that he lived in. The pronouncements it makes are, therefore, liable to be found inadequate, inapplicable or unacceptable to people who are separated by perspective and circumstance, and is liable to be made obsolete by the passage of time. As a result, in order to survive, the ideology must build within itself clauses to propound and propagate its judgements and to eliminate any challenges that may be posed to it. Further, since it is not a product of natural evolution, it needs to set itself at a competitive advantage w.r.t. other systems of thought in existence – by propounding the notion that it is all-knowing and immutable. For these reasons, it shuns creative thinking, critical reasoning and independent judgement, and necesstitates rigidity, conformity and compliance.

To summarize then, an ideology

• is based on the judgements of an individual
• is dependent on the perspective of that individual and the circumstances he faced at that point of time
• is not universally applicable and is subject to obsolescence over time
• contains clauses to ensure its propagation and survival
• requires conformity and compliance, and is intolerant to critical thinking and independent judgement

As a corollary, any belief system that obeys the above criteria is automatically an ideology. From this realization, it becomes clear that many belief systems (such as Buddhism, Islam etc.) currently being classified as religions are, in fact, ideologies.

The significance of this realization
This realization is significant inasmuch that it allows us to look at entire the concept of religion in a new light. By associating the inappropriate pronouncements and unacceptably bloody histories of certain belief systems to the realm of ideology (where they rightly belong), it allows us to realize that religion, in its true form, is a benign and beneficial concept. It helps us understand that religion is a process of thought that was intended to enrich human life, not to diminish it in any way. This realization helps us understand that religion is a process that is continuously evolving, not one that is frozen in time. That religion is complementary, not contradictory, to knowledge – it only attempts to fill those gaps that knowledge can not. That religion fosters humanity, humility, flexibility and creativity. That religion is an enabling guidebook, not a disabling rulebook.