Religion and culture

[el nopal]

Ok, here is a poll. What do you believe?

[eugene40]

Ok, here is a poll. What do you believe?

1. religion originates from culture.

2. culture originates from religion.

3. religion and culture developed together through society.

4. Religion is an adaptation within culture to deal with the unexplainable.

5. Culture and religion are expressions within a larger social group.

6. Culture and religion are a unique human belief, unknown in other lifeforms.


1. Religion originated from fear
2. Religious culture can originate from religion,,, other cultures have originated with no religion.
3. Culture developed first,,, religion developed second.
4. Religion is a sect of culture to deal with fear and the unknown and ignorance.
5. Culture is a expression of both a large and even small group(subcultures) religion is still an expression of fear, and dealing with the unknown and ignorance... :)
6. I don't agree so much with culture in other species... I would say the little idiosyncratic actions of pack animals could be considered a culture.... Religion is strictly human,,, though I dunno that whole south park where the woodland animals worshiped satan was some food for thought :)

that ought to get the ball rolling.... have fun

[el nopal]

That episode was pretty good.

Especially the evil Bambi character.

[eugene40]

That episode was pretty good.

Especially the evil Bambi character.


Oh yes,,,, is there nothing that show can't do.... freaking geniuses the both of them...

the hippie episode was funny last night too...

[Craig]

Well, as you can judge by my responses, I believe that all the statements here are true. I believe that all religions originate from cultures (1) and one of its chief goals is to explain the unexplainable (4). Certainly, if we posit an absolutist view where only one religion can possible be the true one, all the other religions are products of a particular culture from which they emerged. If we look at many myths, both pagan and Christian, they attempt either to explain some feature of the natural world or man and woman's relation to the divine or the socio-cosmic order.

Both religion and culture developed over time through society (3). We need only look at Christianity, for example, to see that religious doctrines developed from the commentary of various writers, such as St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, John Milton, etc. and these changed the understanding of Christianity. At the same time, we can see numerous examples of the Christian faith in the literary culture, the architecture of many historical buildings, the attitudes and beliefs of peoples, and all of these have changed over time in response to new religious, scientific and social developments. In fact, in this part of my discussion I have also illustrated that culture originates from religion (2).

Culture and religion are both expressions within a larger social group (5). If we look at the various immigrants in Canada, for example, we can see that many of them have different cultures and religions that they bring here. For example, there is East Indian culture and Hinduism, Chinese culture and Buddhism, Arabic or Middle Eastern culture and Islamicism, and more European culture and Christianity. Yet, each of these groups functions within a larger, heterogeneous social group and context.

Finally, to the best of my knowledge, culture and religion are unique to humanity (6). I am not aware of any animal that has culture, (at least not in the human understanding of the term), nor is there any clear evidence that animals have a belief in some sort of ultimate divine reality. Of course, this final response has to be tempered by the possibility that there is a very good chance that there are one or more intelligent extra-terrestrial organisms alive in the universe who have both cultural and religous beliefs. However, to the best of my knowledge, we do not know of any such organisms at this point, thus my answer that we are unique.

[el nopal]

Well, as you can judge by my responses, I believe that all the statements here are true. I believe that all religions originate from cultures (1) and one of its chief goals is to explain the unexplainable (4). Certainly, if we posit an absolutist view where only one religion can possible be the true one, all the other religions are products of a particular culture from which they emerged. If we look at many myths, both pagan and Christian, they attempt either to explain some feature of the natural world or man and woman's relation to the divine or the socio-cosmic order.

Both religion and culture developed over time through society (3). We need only look at Christianity, for example, to see that religious doctrines developed from the commentary of various writers, such as St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, John Milton, etc. and these changed the understanding of Christianity. At the same time, we can see numerous examples of the Christian faith in the literary culture, the architecture of many historical buildings, the attitudes and beliefs of peoples, and all of these have changed over time in response to new religious, scientific and social developments. In fact, in this part of my discussion I have also illustrated that culture originates from religion (2).

Culture and religion are both expressions within a larger social group (5). If we look at the various immigrants in Canada, for example, we can see that many of them have different cultures and religions that they bring here. For example, there is East Indian culture and Hinduism, Chinese culture and Buddhism, Arabic or Middle Eastern culture and Islamicism, and more European culture and Christianity. Yet, each of these groups functions within a larger, heterogeneous social group and context.

Finally, to the best of my knowledge, culture and religion are unique to humanity (6). I am not aware of any animal that has culture, (at least not in the human understanding of the term), nor is there any clear evidence that animals have a belief in some sort of ultimate divine reality. Of course, this final response has to be tempered by the possibility that there is a very good chance that there are one or more intelligent extra-terrestrial organisms alive in the universe who have both cultural and religous beliefs. However, to the best of my knowledge, we do not know of any such organisms at this point, thus my answer that we are unique.

Please explain in detail how you came to your conclusion for each of the 6 answers. One at a time please.

[Craig]

Please explain in detail how you came to your conclusion for each of the 6 answers. One at a time please.

I felt that my explanation in the above post was sufficient. What about it was unclear or insufficient, in your estimation?

[el nopal]

I felt that my explanation in the above post was sufficient. What about it was unclear or insufficient, in your estimation?

Please explain how you can agree with all six statements, with clearer examples. Number 1 contradicts 2, and so forth.

Additionally, your examples use already established societies with complex structures, and religions.

[Craig]

Actually, there isn't a contradiction between number 1 and number 2. The simple reason for this is that neither one nor two was qualified to state "All religion originates from culture" or "All culture originates from religon". Thus, both statements can be true at the same time. In the first case, religions originate from cultures insofar that they reflect the cultural beliefs and attitudes of the people. For example, the tragedy of ancient Greek myths reflected attitudes that Greek people had about hubris and human limitation in general. In the second case, culture originates from religion insofar that a huge amount of a societies culture is due to the religious influence. In the previous discussion, I explained that God and Christianity appear in written culture, that Christianity has influenced architecture, such as churches, which is part of the material culture, and that Christian beliefs influence how people think, react and respond in western society.

What else, if anything, was unclear?

[el nopal]

Actually, there isn't a contradiction between number 1 and number 2. The simple reason for this is that neither one nor two was qualified to state "All religion originates from culture" or "All culture originates from religon". Thus, both statements can be true at the same time. In the first case, religions originate from cultures insofar that they reflect the cultural beliefs and attitudes of the people. For example, the tragedy of ancient Greek myths reflected attitudes that Greek people had about hubris and human limitation in general. In the second case, culture originates from religion insofar that a huge amount of a societies culture is due to the religious influence. In the previous discussion, I explained that God and Christianity appear in written culture, that Christianity has influenced architecture, such as churches, which is part of the material culture, and that Christian beliefs influence how people think, react and respond in western society.

What else, if anything, was unclear?

I understand that structures are built and people have certain behaviors. What I am interested in knowing is "where did the idea to build a structure come from? Why did a society form? Was it through culture or religion?

[Craig]

I understand that structures are built and people have certain behaviors. What I am interested in knowing is "where did the idea to build a structure come from? Why did a society form? Was it through culture or religion?

You mean to say that you wanted to know why a society formed? It wasn't immediately clear by your six questions that this is what you were trying to ask.

As for the answer, it seems reasonable to suggest that societies themselves, (and I presume you mean very eary socieities) did not form out of religion. Presupposing an evolutionary model of history, or at least a non-literal interpretation of Genesis, early humans were living and functioning in some form of basic society long before there is any evidence or indication that they had religious beliefs. As religions by and large are group activities, it is reasonable to suggest that the first religions arose once the group and basic society had been established already.

As for the second question, the answer is more obscure and uncertain. It depends, in part, as to how one defines "society" and "culture". If one defines society in the sense that I have, that is to say a group of humans or early humans living together, culture itself is a product of society. That is to say, human culture only begins to develop in a meangingful way by the time we have organized ourselves into groups, or simplistic societies, if you will. In that sense then, society neither forms through religion nor culture, but rather is a necessary prerequisite for both.

[el nopal]

Well, no, I don't think it's possible to know how societies form, just in that they form because of social need. What I am interested in is whether religion or culture (Which came first to develop the later) helped to form society, does in fact form society, or did society shape it?

I have read a few different theories that talk about culture and society.

Whether culture allowed for society to develop, or whether society developed from culture, and where does religion fall into the mix.

I am not sure what to believe about this whole concept. Maybe it is different for each group, time, and environment.

If some cultures, religions and societies have a completely different concept of time, then what does this say about religion?