Blog by Stephanie F-I.
When my teacher shared the competition details with our class, I was not immediately drawn to the subject. Yet once I began to read the contents, I was promptly fascinated by the topic on religion; ‘Humans are by nature religious beings.’ As I began researching, I discovered that the topic itself had not been explored a great deal, thus information available was somewhat limited.
At first, I found it frustrating – as I wasn’t sure where or how I should start- nevertheless, it encouraged me to dig deeper into my own perspective and understanding of the topic. Gradually, I found a few sources to base my explanation on – for clarity and evidence – and the essay began to take shape with paragraphs flowing naturally into the next and the writing process came together on its own.
Finishing the essay felt rewarding in itself, so I didn’t really expect anything more. That’s why finding out I’d been awarded second place meant so much – it showed me what can happen when you take chances, persevere and commit to something with raw determination.
All things considered, the main advice I want to give is that what began as hesitation turned into achievement – sometimes, determination isn’t just about working hard but trusting that the effort you put in will lead you somewhere worthwhile.
So, I would encourage anyone to take opportunities like this when they come around, even if it feels challenging at first! Always be mindful of how a little ambition and effort you put in can open doors you didn’t even know were there.
(Read the essay below).
‘Are Humans by Nature Religious Beings?’
From illustrations created on cave walls to the extravagant cathedrals built around Europe, humanity has always sought a purpose for their existence, yet we find that there is considerable ambiguity surrounding whether humans have a ‘religious instinct’ or not. This essay intends to outline the most argued theories and thoughts which scholars, scientists, religious individuals and philosophers have contemplated for so long, broadening our understanding of how humanity has evolved through time and how our ‘religious instinct’ has grown, declined and changed.
The beginning of time; prehistoric belief in the afterlife, bear cults and the earliest known burial of a child in East Africa. Religion has played a crucial role in evolution since the Middle Palaeolithic times (200,000BC – 50,000BC), forming the backbone of our spiritual evolution and how we view religion. Between 3000 – 2500BC the development of Stonehenge comes to an end and became one of the first cremation cemeteries in the British Isles. Soon after, with the rise of the Vedic period and the collapse of the Indus Valley Civillisation*, Hinduism- widely considered the worlds first organised religion – emerged. After this, an explosion of different religions come rushing in, Judaism follows after the first five books of the Torah is compiled and the birth of Siddhartha Gautama- the founder of Buddhism- is born (563BCE-400BCE). Humans have been intuitively religious since the beginning of time, and we still are. This fact alone serves as evidence to our naturally religious instinct, with the human brain habitually always being curious while we consistently look for answers to the meaning of our existence. Humans are inherently drawn toward religious beliefs and practices, clearly demonstrating our inclination towards understanding the origin of humanity- which consequently, showcases our naturally religious instinct. In addition to this, religion as a form of cultural connection, plays a crucial component when studying the link between relationships and social cohesion. Most commonly, shared beliefs and activities that are practiced in harmony with one another, lead to bonds and connections, forming friendships and maturing our brains through evolution as we learn to work together. Our survival instincts are also influenced by what we implement into our religious practice – for instance, the Ten Commandments keep humans from turning against each other whilst we are fearful of the outcomes God may intend for us if we kill, steal or lie.
Experiments on the human brain indicated to scientists that the act of practicing a religion released similar chemicals in the brain to that of an individual on drugs. In a way, it essentially taught them that God can give you all the “positive benefits” of substance abuse, but without inducing any harmful side effects**. The BBC published a news article which quoted Andrew Newberg***, stating that when someone meditates on God for long enough, “new dendrites are formed, new synaptic connections are made, and the brain becomes more sensitive to subtle realms of experience” and that “if God has meaning for you, then God becomes neurologically real”. Hence, if God and the spiritual practice of a religion can alter our minds and how we feel, surely there is some sort of built-in mechanism that forms these mental states of euphoria.
On the other hand, psychologists and scientists have argued that as humans we have simply created a religion for survival. Humans may not naturally have a religious instinct as the belief in the supernatural appears to have become a byproduct of other past experiences that we have recollected. For example, many of the Norse myths told in storytelling, straightforwardly explained the certain unknown weather patterns, evil doings or harvests that occurred in normal life, permitting people to try and make sense of the world around them, allowing us to create what is unknown into superstitions. Furthermore, humans have no straightforward answer as to whether it is rational to believe in God, or not. Without a God or someone/something to idolise, religion would be defective. Sigmund Freud had strong beliefs against the idea of God, perceiving it as a phsycological illusion to help us cope with an ever changing world, in other words, he viewed that a faith in God was like a warm blanket that hides reality away, forcing us to put aside the truth and try to make life seem more positive and fulfilled.
In addition to this, roughly 30% of individuals in Western countries have now moved to atheism and secularism, and about 37.8% of the UK population identified themselves atheists (recorded in the 2021 UK census). Still, there is further vagueness as to whether this proves if humanity is by nature irreligious, as certain reports state that there is a possible decline in global atheism as a large proportion of them converted back into a religion in 2015-2017 in comparison to the higher percentage of atheism recorded in 2012. Therefore, if this pattern continued, surely – with the year being 2025 – this percentage would have declined even further. However, a large proportion of atheists do argue that humanity is not meant to be religious, but rather, they are meant to recognise patterns in the world which may have led us to creating a supernatural illusion of God, purpose, life after death, spirits etc. Hence, atheists believe that religion may not be a ‘natural’ process but rather a ‘cultural innovation’ that was simply built on top of the psychological patterns and instincts seen in the world.
Whilst it is unquestionable that not everyone will share the same belief, I personally feel that we are, at our core, naturally religious beings. The evidence that we find since the beginning of time can only tell us how humanity has always looked and lived for an existence, a meaning, a connection. From my perspective, this universal impulse of belief is not only entwined with our cultural identity but of what humanity is; who we all are. As humans, we long for that rush of euphoria, something that makes us feel fulfilled and have a purpose to live, pointing to something utterly human at the heart of religion.
*The Indus Valley Civilisation was one of the worlds first major societies and showed early evidence of religious practice through artefacts with animal symbols, ritual baths and possibly the worship of nature and fertility Gods.
**Nonetheless, it is salient to note that when we consider the religious violence throughout the past, it would be irrational to presume that beliefs in God come with completely no destructive consequences.
*** Andrew Newberg is a neuroscientist who investigated the relationship between our brain and religious practice.
By Stephanie F-I.
