High School Philosophy L5 God and Religion
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ScribdTranslationsINTRODUCTION
Of all living beings, man is the only one who practices religion. This is to say
that religiosity is an essential characteristic of humanity. One is then entitled
to question the meaning of this practice.
What are its different implications?
Does it truly contribute to the freedom of man and his development?
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I - GOD AS THE FOUNDATION OF RELIGION
A- God, sacred being
For ANDRE LALANDE, religion is defined as: "a social institution
characterized by the existence of a community of individuals united by a belief in a
absolute value: God." Thus, religion relates to beliefs and practices.
having God as the object. In religion, God is a supernatural being, sacred, the object of
deference. God is the object of admiration, respect, or veneration and his qualities that
are omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence, goodness, perfection, etc. These
qualities make him a transcendent being who can reveal himself to humans. According to
Durkheim said, 'a religion is a cohesive system of beliefs and practices concerning'
to sacred things, that is to say separated, forbidden, beliefs and practices that
unite into a single moral community (...) all those who adhere to it." The forms
elementary aspects of religious life
However, in the history of philosophy, the existence of God has been the subject of several
critiques and even today still raises doubts.
B- The criticisms of the existence of God
It is first important to clearly distinguish here between "the concept or idea of God" and "
the existence of God. Thus for E. KANT (1724-1804), that God is conceived as
A perfect being does not mean and does not prove that it necessarily exists. Because
the existence of a being or a thing does not derive from its essence. In the Critique of
Pure Reason, he writes: "When I conceive of a thing, regardless of and if
many are the predicates by which I think of her, adding moreover,
that this thing exists, I add nothing to this thing (...) Whatever the
nature and the scope of the concept of an object, we must, however, go beyond this
concept to attribute existence to the object. Consequently, any evidence of
The existence of God is a speculation and an illusion of reason.
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The existence of God would therefore be a product of human imagination and what more
contains contradictions. For it is difficult to understand that God is perfect, that He
has created the universe and the world in the same way and that evil is inscribed in it.
The existence of evil would contradict the perfection of God. All this analysis justifies the
conviction of atheists who deny the existence of God.
Despite these challenges to the existence of God, religious practice has
further developed in the history of humanity.
II- THE DIFFERENT ROLES OF RELIGION IN SOCIETY
A- Religion, a factor of social cohesion and liberation
Derived from the Latin word "religio", religion refers on one hand to the relationship of man
to God (vertical link) and on the other hand to the relationship that men have with each other
(horizontal link). The primary function of religion is therefore to unite, to
gathering men around an ideal of communal living. It is thus
generator of social organization. Through the rites and myths it teaches and imposes,
it ensures social cohesion. Joseph Proudhon expresses this idea in these terms:
It is religion that cemented the foundations of societies, that gave unity and the
personality in the nations "On the creation of order in humanity or principle
of political organization
In the same vein, Bergson, in The Two Sources of Morality and the
religion emphasizes that religion serves a threefold social function: it provides a
insurance against disorganization thanks to the prohibitions it imposes; it is a
protection against depression and death anxiety; it provides reassurance in the face of
the unpredictability of existence.
In this sense, faith in God creates in man a relief, a tranquility and a
feeling of freedom. Religion carves the furrows of the conquest of freedom, that is what
What did Hegel think when he said: 'Religion is the true liberation of man.' Lessons
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on the philosophy of religion. Furthermore, according to the words of FREUD, religion "
explains the origin and the formation of the universe (…) assures us in the midst of
the vicissitudes of existence, divine protection, and final beatitude. The future of a
Illusion. In clear terms, religion satisfies our curiosity by answering questions.
such as: where do we come from? And where are we going? It also eases our fears of
the next day promising us the assurance of a future life, which has the advantage of
to enable men to fully live in the present time.
B- Religion, source of the moralization of man
Morality is the set of rules of conduct and customs considered as
good and must be applied in society. It is based on the knowledge of good and
the evil that finds its foundation in religion. The religious teachings
recommend to men the love of others, sharing, fraternal communion.
By putting these principles into practice, the believer becomes more human. Religion always puts
in relief the values, duties or obligations that the individual must conform to.
For the believer, no one other than God is better placed to define Good.
Immanuel Kant
(1724-1804) clearly shows that there is no difference between morality and religion.
Better for him, "Religion is the knowledge of all our duties as of
divine commandments. (…) Man draws from this source the clear vision that his
Good conduct alone makes one worthy of happiness. Religion within the limits of the
simple reason.
III- THE IMPACT OF RELIGIOUS PRACTICE ON FREEDOM
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A- Religion, a source of alienation
Religious practice that is primarily based on rites and precepts requires.
Faith requires a lot of sacrifices, renunciations, and deprivations. Religion compels
the man with unconditional obedience. It is in this perspective that it appears
as a factor of alienation. "Men have organized their relationships based on
representations they had of God (...) these products of their brain have
large enough to dominate them in all their height. Creators, they bowed down
in front of their own creations." Karl MARX noted in the Ideology
German.
For him, true freedom and happiness will only be possible in a society where he
there will be no more religion to mystify, lull the conscience and remove man from
his responsibilities.
B- The relationship between freedom and moral obligation
The moral obligations prescribed by religion are not in contradiction with the
freedom. They presuppose it. Indeed, man being a conscious being exercises his
free will in the practice of his faith. He chooses to believe or not to believe, to do the
good or evil. Now in principle, religion recommends good and instructs him in this
effect. The moral obligation is therefore a duty to which the conscious and free subject can adhere.
subtract. With Emmanuel KANT (1724-1804), duty is an imperative.
categorical. It is an imperative as it presents itself to consciousness as a
command
That is why the moral imperative is not a constraint to which we are forced.
It therefore assumes an authority, God, who is the supreme value to which we must
to obey. This imperative is said to be categorical in the sense that this duty imposes itself without
condition, opposite to the hypothetical imperative subordinated to a condition
empirical, to a need, to a utility, to a particular interest. In total, at
Kant, it is the fear of the punishment foreseen by God that can lead the individual to...
submit to the moral obligation. As one can see, moral obligation and freedom do not
are not incompatible.
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CONCLUSION
Religion is natural and necessary for man. It is fundamentally based on
the idea of God.
Despite the obligations imposed on man, it is a factor of freedom. Religion
serves a double psychological and social function, as it provides man with a
absolute knowledge of the origin of things calms his anxieties and teaches him the
necessary virtues for life in society. Religion is therefore a factor of social balance.
and moral for man.
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