Paper Summary:

This paper looks at the origins of religion and how they may have evolved from a basic human need to believe in something that was meta-physical, divine, and omnipotent. The paper also focuses on the indebtedness - if any - of some of today's prominent religions to other sects which have been lost to the mists of time. Furthermore, this paper explores what purposes myths served in the ancient world and how they benefited ancient societies in ways that other forms of socialization perhaps could not. In the final analysis, the paper suggests that religion may have evolved from more primitive forms of morals and maintains that religion is beneficial to the human species.

From the Paper:

"Returning once more to the work of Paul Kurtz, the need for religion is something that all ancient human societies required insofar as it was an ideal (or at least tolerably effective) coping mechanism for dealing with all of the many things early man could not control. For instance, it assuaged the fear of death, gave human beings the comfort of believing that the injustices of this world would be rectified in the next one, was a means by which the tribulations brought about famine, pestilence, terrible weather or warfare could be endured in the hopes of better days to come, and - finally - religion was a palliative that restored hope in instance wherein hope might not be easily revived otherwise. Finally, religion gave early man the faith that the unseen factors shaping the world (for better or for ill) could be propitiated and even brought to serve the needs of the local community (Kurtz, 23)."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Attridge, Harold W. "Beyond Judaism and Hellenism." International Journal of the Classical Tradition, 6.1 (1999): 51-66.
• "Influence of Zorastrianism on other religions." 5 Sept. 2003. Shahriar Shahriari. 19 Mar. 2007 <http://www.zarathushtra.com/z/article/influenc.htm>
• Kurtz, Paul. "Why do people believe or disbelieve? (The Science of Religion)." Free Inquiry 19.3 (1999): 23+. Questia.com. 19 Mar. 2007 <http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5001289309>
• McClenon, James. "Shamanic Healing, Human Evolution, and the Origin of Religion." Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 36.3 (1997): 345-354.
• Shepherd, William C. "Cultural Relativism, Physical Anthropology, and Religion." Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 19.2 (1980): 159-172.

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