Religion

[[File:Alone-out-here.png|thumb|right|300px|A brief history of religion.<ref>http://poorlydrawnlines.com/comic/alone-out-here/</ref>]]
{{religion}}
{{cquote| Were it not for religion’s influence, we would never approve of qualities such as: celibacy, fasting, penance, mortification, self-denial, humility, silence, solitude, and the whole train of monkish virtues. The delusive glosses of superstition and religion, can cause us to approve of such qualities despite the fact that they are neither useful nor agreeable.<br />
His divinity is nowise beholden to him; because these acts of justice are what he was bound to perform, and what many would have performed, were there no god in the universe. But if he fast a day, or give himself a sound whipping; this has a direct reference, in his opinion, to the service of God. No other motive could engage him to such austerities.|20px|20px|[[David Hume]], ''An Enquiry concerning the Principles of Morals'' (§9.1.3) }}{{cquote|When a Religion is good, I conceive that it will support itself; and when it cannot support itself, and God does not take care to support, so that its Professors are oblig’d to call for the help of the Civil Power, ’tis a Sign, I apprehend, of its being a bad one.|||[[Benjamin Franklin]]<ref>[https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-33-02-0330 From Benjamin Franklin to Richard Price, 9 October 1780] ''National Archives''.</ref>}}
A '''religion''' is a systematic set of [[belief]]s, rituals, and codifications of behaviour that make up a particular group's [[worldview]] (views about the world at large and [[humanity]]'s place in the world). Typically, these beliefs and practices center around some aspect of the [[supernatural]] (also often referred to as the "divine"), most often expressed as some form of [[deity]], i.e., one or more [[god]]s and [[goddess]]es.

To the extent that the system of beliefs and rules is codified, it is called [[dogma]]; different religions vary in how much dogma they include and how strictly they define it and enforce it. Religious [[mythology]] consists of the stories that develop, largely from oral [[tradition]], to explain and describe the worldview of given religions. Religious beliefs tend to arise from humanity's attempts to explain their world, and where possible, to control it.

As a result, the distinction between a "supernatural religious belief" and [[superstition]] tends to be only in the bias of the one applying the label. In other words: "My religion's rituals and beliefs are real, yours are just silly superstition."

==Definition and identification==
[[File:Religion Denominations 2008 Infographic.png|thumb|right|An infographic exploring the sizes of various religions and religious denominations.]]
{{cquote|It is said that men may not be the dreams of the gods, but rather that the gods are the dreams of men.|||[[Carl Sagan]], ''The Edge of Forever''}}

Like "beauty" and "[[porn]]", it is very easy to recognize a given mainstream [[Western]] religion as a religion; the term "religion" 
was created
 originated to identify a distinctly Western phenomenon. As you move away from Western [[polytheist]] and [[monotheist]] religions into Eastern religions and some indigenous religions, the line becomes a bit blurred. Theravada [[Buddhism]], for example is sometimes called a religion, other times a [[philosophy]]. Some religions have subgroups which are called ''denominations'', such as [[Shiite]]s and [[Sunni]]s.<ref>Focus on Islamic Issues - Page 15, Cofie D. Malbouisson - 2007</ref>

The following (incomplete) list includes things which [[academic]]s look for in the attempt to define a set of beliefs and practices as a religion. Of course, for every rule, there are exceptions, but in general:

* Religions are generally shared [[social]] systems. A solitary follower of a set of beliefs he or she made up is generally not considered part of a religion.
* Religions have mythologies, often containing [[supernatural]] themes.  
* Religions address a person's path in [[life]]<ref>{{wpa|journey}}</ref> through rites of passage, with examples including rites of [[marriage]], coming of age, and [[death]] (funerary rites). Most religions have some form of rite for those who wish or are pressured to follow the religion more intimately (including [[priest]]s, [[Healing|healers]], [[monk]]s, [[nun]]s, [[shaman]]s, etc.)
* Religions explore and attempt to answer life's unanswered questions (What happens before life and after death? What is the [[meaning of life]]? Where do lost socks go?<ref group=note>Note that religion previously provided answers to questions that today, science explains. "What is thunder?" "Why is there a drought?" See [[god of the gaps]] for more on this.</ref> [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lm6YnAqPv4w Where do all the toasters go?])
* Religions generally address, or even attempt to explain, the allegedly burning questions about the [[Creation myths|beginning]] and [[Eschatology|ending]] of the world, even if their answer is "no one knows" or "look to [[science]] for answers".
* Religions, being social, provide guidelines for [[morality]] or [[ethics]] and how to best live in the world. These views are usually supported by the mythology and [[holy text]]s and may be recorded as part of the dogma.
* Beyond the rites of passage, religions generally have other ritual acts of worship, especially social ones.
* Religions often lay out a set of [[taboo]]s — "things which must not be done... ever. They are truly unthinkable." These are typically so ingrained with the [[culture]] at large that even in societies where two very different religions exist, the taboos are often the same. [[Homosexuality]] might be wrong, or a [[sin]], but [[cannibalism]] is taboo.
* Religions have often defined the calendar, intertwining with the needs of the agrarian, social, or [[business]] nature of any individual civilization. At harvest time, for example, many cultures had rites around death and harvest festivals (including praise or even [[sacrifice]]s to the gods for their bounty). Major weather events like floods, [[hurricane]]s, or drought call forth religious ceremonial appeasements (by sacrifice or festival) to gods.

To what extent, if at all, each religion has the above features varies widely.

==History of religion (including events and dates)==
{{cquote|Of all the animosities which have existed among mankind those which are caused by a difference of sentiment in Religion appear to be the most inveterate and distressing and ought most to be deprecated.|||[[George Washington]], 1792.<ref>[https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-11-02-0132 From George Washington to Edward Newenham, 20 October 1792]. National Archives.</ref>}}

===In the beginning...===
It is impossible to know when the human experience/sense of religion began. [[Archeology|Archeological]] evidence suggests that the first primitive expressions of religious ideas date to the paleolithic era, 100,000 years ago. The most compelling evidence are burial sites which suggest a belief in some kind of "[[afterlife]]", as evidenced from items found with the deceased, paintings on the body, and placement of the body itself. As with most ancient archeological finds, not all experts agree about the significance.

Some important findings include:
*230,000 [[BCE]] – Pontnewydd Neanderthal cave burial in Wales.<ref>[http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/1963/ The Cave Men of Ice Age Wales]</ref>
*98,000 BCE – [[Homo neanderthalensis|Neanderthal]] burial sites
*25,000 BCE – Burials showing indications of more ceremony in the ornamentation, painting with red ocher

The earliest [[evidence]] of organized religions dates to the Neolithic era.<ref>
Compare: 
{{cite book
| last1 = McMahon
| first1 = Robin
| chapter = 10: Diversity and the evolutionary tree of religion
| title = On the Origin of Diversity
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=6Cnxm4BgGqAC
| location = Croydon, Surrey
| publisher = Filament Publishing Ltd
| publication-date = 2011
| page = 73
| isbn = 9781905493876
| access-date = 2017-06-05
| quote = Organised religion traces its roots to the Neolithic revolution, which began 11,000 years ago.
}}
</ref>
There is great debate whether religion allows the expansion of social groups from bands to tribes to chiefdom,<ref>
Compare: 
{{cite book
| last1 = McMahon
| first1 = Robin
| chapter = 10: Diversity and the evolutionary tree of religion
| title = On the Origin of Diversity
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=6Cnxm4BgGqAC
| location = Croydon, Surrey
| publisher = Filament Publishing Ltd
| publication-date = 2011
| page = 73
| isbn = 9781905493876
| access-date = 2017-06-05
| quote = [...] While bands and small tribes often possess supernatural beliefs, these beliefs do not serve to justify a central authority, justify transfer of wealth or maintain peace between related individuals. Organized religion emerges as a means of providing social and economic stability through justifying the central authority [...]. Organised religion served to provide a bond between unrelated individuals who would otherwise be more prone to enmity. [...] Religions that revolved around moralising gods may have facilitated the rise of large cooperative groups of unrelated individuals.
}}
</ref> or if the opposite is true — a set level of social structure is necessary to allow a religion to grow. It is undeniable that virtually every society larger than a tribe had a complex religious structure that either empowered the leadership or was itself the governance of the chiefdom.<ref>
Compare: 
{{cite book
| last1 = McMahon
| first1 = Robin
| chapter = 10: Diversity and the evolutionary tree of religion
| title = On the Origin of Diversity
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=6Cnxm4BgGqAC
| location = Croydon, Surrey
| publisher = Filament Publishing Ltd
| publication-date = 2011
| page = 73
| isbn = 9781905493876
| access-date = 2017-06-05
| quote = Anthropologists have found that virtually all state societies and chiefdoms [...] around the world [...] justify political power through divine authority.
}}</ref> Control of a society appears to have been largely dependent upon control of the religion and of the associated worldview.

Important Neolithic religious sites and dates include:
* 9100–7000 BCE – {{wpl|Göbekli Tepe||,}} generally accepted as a site of worship — the oldest such site found to date
* 3100 BCE – [[Stonehenge]]: initial construction begun

The next major step in the development of religions was writing. With writing came more complex ideas about the world, as well as codification of ethical systems and standardization of [[mythology|mythologies]]. And with writing came the first [[holy text]]s. 

Religions with written texts:
* 3000–2000 BCE – [[Sumer]]ians and Akkadians in Ancient Mesopotamia
* 3100–332 BCE – Ancient Egypt
* 2400 BCE – The oldest known religious texts, the Pyramid Texts, were written
* 2000 BCE – the [[Epic of Gilgamesh]], and by extension the story of [[Noah]], was first written.
* 1700–1100 BCE – the Rigveda of Hinduism
* 1200 BCE – possible date of the oldest fragments of the Torah (generally assumed to be the poetry within the Torah). (The first known mention of "Israel" as a nation occurs on the Merneptah Stele, dated to 1203 BCE.)
* 1000 BCE – Avesta, one of the earliest texts of [[Zoroastrianism]] 

It almost goes without saying that once rules are codified, it becomes easier to control people's behaviors based on those rules; once myths are codified, it can be easier to see your god as the only god, and your "myths" as the only acceptable [[Truth]]. This would be especially true for the monotheistic religions in the ancient Near East, where in the name of their God, wars were fought over whose Truth would reign supreme.

[[Chimps]] have been observed engaging in strange rituals, treating specific trees as a sort of "shrine" by stacking rocks around it (and throwing rocks at it). Scientists believe this may be evidence of ritualistic behavior amongst chimpanzees, and thus have implications for the evolutionary origins of religion.<ref>[https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/chimps-may-be-performing-rituals-shrine-trees-180958301/ Chimps may be performing rituals at "shrine trees"] - ''Smithsonian Magazine''</ref> Chimps have also been observed engaging in strange dancing around fire, perhaps in reverence of it.<ref>[https://www.newscientist.com/article/2079630-what-do-chimp-temples-tell-us-about-the-evolution-of-religion/ What do chimp temples tell us] about the evolution of religion? - ''New Scientist''</ref> However, studying potential animal "spirituality" is unlike the study of human religion, because unlike humans, you can't exactly ask animals what they're doing or thinking. There is a risk of [[anthropomorphism|anthropomorphizing]] animals that we should be mindful of here.<ref>"[https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/cognition-animal/ Animal cognition]" - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy</ref>

===Religion in the West===
For the last thousand years, religious 
[[life]]
 practice in [[the West]] has predominately involved the [[Middle Eastern]] [[Abrahamic religion]]s of [[Judaism]], [[Christianity]], and [[Islam]], the latter two claiming the most followers in recent millennia. These religions have traditionally demanded — at least in theory — that their adherents form a tight and at least somewhat homogeneous bloc, professing or following a non-negotiable set of principles handed down by one or more [[prophet]]s and/or by some magisterium. When adherents have disagreed on matters of belief or of ceremonial<ref group=note>As in the case of the [[Old Believers]] vs. the Russian [[Orthodox Church]] in the 17th century.</ref> detail, it has led to splintering of religions into different [[denomination]]s and [[sect]]s.

When the [[Enlightenment]] came along sometime in the 17th or 18th centuries and the old [[theological]] basis of Christianity came under more rigorous questioning, many within the [[church]] responded by emphasizing its social role of [[Altruism|caring for the needy and aiming to better the world]]. This eventually gave rise to the tradition of the Social Gospel<ref>{{wpa|Social Gospel}}</ref> (which remains influential today in the mainline [[Protestant]] traditions) and to [[Liberation theology]] (which operates [sometimes with [[Vatican]] disapproval] specially in the [[Roman Catholic Church]]).

In the meantime, [[economics|economist]]s noted that {{wpl|market|markets}} created jobs and profits, and postulated the operation of a supernatural [[Invisible hand|Invisible Hand]]. [[Capitalist]]s, often loosened from traditional religion by [[secular religions|secularised]] [[Protestant work ethic|Protestantism]], latched onto this new mythology<ref>
{{cite book
 | last1 = Nelson
 | first1 = Robert Henry
 | orig-year = 2001
 | chapter = 1: Tenets of Economic Faith
 | title = Economics as Religion: From Samuelson to Chicago and Beyond
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Rw-bHEGNqqcC
 | location = University Park, Pennsylvania
 | publisher = The Pennsylvania State University Press
 | publication-date = 2010
 | page = 23
 | isbn = 9780271038612
 | access-date = 2019-02-14
 | quote = The Jewish and Christian bibles foretell one outcome of history. If economics foresees another, it is in effect offering a competing religious vision. [...] for many thinkers [...] their belief system results not in a Judeo-Christian heresy, but in an entirely new and seccular religion - although one that draws many of its themes from the biblical tradition, now typically reworking them in a less direct and mostly implicit fashion. [...]
}}
</ref>and [[superstition|superstitiously]] determined that a creator seemed worthy of worship, erecting temples — banks and stock exchanges<ref>
{{cite book
 | last1 = Heine
 | first1 = Heinrich
 | author-link1 = Heinrich Heine
 | title = Sämmtliche Werke
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=cVImAAAAMAAJ
 | language = German
 | volume = 6
 | edition = 5
 | location = Philadelphia
 | publisher = John Weik & Company
 | publication-date = 1859
 | page = 264
 | access-date = 2019-02-14
 | quote = Paris, wie Sparta, hat seinen Tempel der Furcht, und das ist die Börse [...]. (Paris, like Sparta, has its temple of Fear, — it is the Bourse.)
}}</ref> — and developing the [[hagiography]] of [[captain of industry|captains of industry]] and of monopolists and the iconography of [[idol]]s like the Bull<ref>{{wpa|Bull market}}</ref> (syncretistically adopted from earlier religions like those of Crete<ref>{{wpa|Minoan religion}}</ref> or of Mithras<ref>{{wpa|Mithraism}}</ref>) and the Bear,<ref>{{wpa|Bear Market}}</ref> white knights,<ref>{{wpa|White knight (business)}}</ref> and unicorns.<ref>{{wpa|Unicorn (finance)}}</ref>

More recently, with the continued decline of the organized form of some of the Abrahamic religions, many fairly non-religious people have (again) adopted a more individualistic approach to life philosophy, assembling a [[spiritual but not religious|"personal philosophy"]] that combines religious, philosophical, and moral concepts that they think or feel [[solipsism|works well for them]]. Others cobble together more explicitly religious ideas and practices along the same lines; this can be labelled variously [[neopaganism]], [[New Age]], or [[cafeteria Christianity]] — depending on the source of the ideas.

Other groups:

* [[atheists]]
* those that identify with a particular religion but do not believe in the god
* those who "worship" non-traditional, apparently non-religious ideas or isms (such as [[consumerism]]<ref>
{{cite book
| last1 = Nock
| first1 = Peter
| chapter = Introduction - Religion and Industry 
| title = Consumerism versus Spirituality
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=8-a1BAAAQBAJ
| edition = Revised
| publisher = Andrews UK Limited
| publication-date = 2014
| isbn = 9780957465718
| access-date = 2017-06-25
| quote = Modern society is regaled with the gospel of consumerism, as distinct from the gospel of salvation, through faith in Christ.
}}</ref>)
* those who have forgone any overt expression of religion at all

form a growing part of Western culture. 

Perhaps as a direct response to the growth in atheism and to the swarms of those who choose to leave formal religion, coupled with a stronger-than-ever reliance on [[science]], a minority (in the US, a very loud, powerful minority) of people have chosen to insert their heads where the sun don't shine and to attempt to [[denialism|ignore]] the decline in religiosity, still pretending that [[bullshit|"atheism is declining"]], and insisting that everyone accept every teaching of their religion (and no-one else's) as absolutely true. Such people have become known as [[fundamentalist]]s — see for example [[Wahhabism]].

===Religion in the East===
People in southern Asia have tended to follow various dharmic religions,<ref>{{wpa|Dharmic religion}}</ref> such as [[Hinduism]], [[Jainism]], and [[Sikhism]]. Dominant religions in eastern Asia include [[Buddhism]] (insofar as it counts as a religion), [[Shinto]] (insofar as it counts as a religion), and [[Taoism]]. Western Asia gave birth to the dominant Abrahamic faiths. Twentieth-century Oceania invented [[cargo cult]]s.

===Globalization and religion===
The 20th century saw booms — both in the West and in the East — in so-called [[new religious movement]]s (NRLs), some of which have more religious elements than do others. (Modern, capitalistic, and [[secular]]ized Japan and Anglo-America have proven particularly productive of new ideas/heresies in this respect.) In parallel, some of the recently-converted fringe [[missionary]] areas previously [[proselytization|proselytised]] by Islam or by Christianity have either developed syncretic<ref>{{wpa|Syncretic religion}}</ref> new religions or have latched onto and re-exported "pure" and sometimes extreme forms of their parent-religions. (Individuals and peoples more recently converted can have greater ardency for their new true faith.) Thus, for example, Latin America can combine [[Marxism]] with social Christianity in potent brews, Africa gave birth to the [[Lord's Resistance Army]] and features a morally stricter [[Anglicanism]] than does England, while [[Indonesia]], one of the last major frontiers of the advance of Arab-style [[monotheism]], can foster particularly [[Darul Islam|fundamentalist Islam]].

==Religion and science==
Historically, many religions, such as [[Islam]] and [[Christianity]], have asserted control over people, wealth, and cultural [[meme]]s. As a result, when [[science]] has improved its explanations of [[reality]], the two bodies often experienced friction.

Any religion that requires its followers to accept the Truth of a holy book, religious leader, or set of mythology above "what science says" ''will'' necessarily conflict with science. A religion that pushes "faith" over exploration, consideration, thought, and (of course) study, will likely conflict with science, because those methods of reason often lead to an overall skeptical position.

The [[scientific method]] states that studies should use [[methodological naturalism]] and assume that observations have [[empiricism|empirical]] and natural causes. Consequently, science cannot verify a [[supernatural]] belief or claim that all supernatural events are impossible.

The histories of both Christianity and Islam include moments where they have been the developers of new thought, science, and [[knowledge]], and conversely, there are many times when they have attempted to severely suppress science, philosophy, and [[Freethought|freethinking]].

Throughout the rest of the world, religions have generally encouraged [[naturalist]]ic explorations and explanations, found successful ways to integrate the two, or accepted them as different answers for the same question(s). It is difficult for most who grow up in a Western Abrahamic tradition to imagine a religion which does not, at some level, rely on [[supernatural]] or [[Miracle|miraculous]] explanations.

Many modern theists adopt [[Non-Overlapping Magisteria]] (NOMA), which suggests that religion and science contribute to different areas and should not inform or criticize each other.

Below are some examples of clashing and cooperating views of religion and science.

===Science-friendly attitudes within religion===
*In the Middle Ages, the Muslim world had a renaissance due to their open-mindedness towards science. Indeed, they preserved and expanded upon the knowledge acquired by the ancient Greeks. They, for instance, discovered algebra, which means 'restoration' in Arabic, even though they solved problems verbally rather than symbolically.
* {{wpl|Roger Bacon}}, a Catholic friar, was one of the people who formalized the [[scientific method]] itself.
* [[Gregor Mendel]], a Catholic Augustinian friar, founded the scientific study of {{wpl|genetics}} by experimenting with pea plants.
* {{wpl|Georges Lemaître}}, a Catholic priest, developed the Cosmic Egg (or the Primeval Atom) hypothesis, which was a forerunner to the modern-day Big Bang theory from Einstein's general theory of relativity.
* Several eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Anglican priests, such as William Buckland, Joseph Townsend, William Conybeare, and Adam Sedgwick, made important contributions to modern geology. This came at a time when [[deep time]] was still a controversial idea.
* In the modern era, many Christian [[denomination]]s accept modern science and its ramifications. In any single situation where science and religion seem to overlap, the idea of [[Non-Overlapping Magisteria]] ([[NOMA]]) attempts to shield believers with plausible anchors for growing [[cognitive dissonance]].
<!-- *The [[Irenaean theodicy]] to explain the existence of [[evil]] in the world is dependent upon the '[[evolution]]' (his words) of humans. It is, perhaps, interesting to note that he was writing in 160 CE. (since the modern concept of "evolution" didn't exist, I'm dubious it's worth presenting this way. It's also not really a place science and religion coexist) --><!-- uhm, the Latin word "evolutio", in the sense of "unrolling, unfolding" (as of a scroll, or metaphorically in the sense of "development"), has existed ever since antiquity, so he could easily have used this word, although of course a literal quotation would be better -->
*The Roman Catholic Church's acceptance of [[theistic evolution]], admittedly with [[Adam]] and [[Eve]] involved somewhere in [[Original sin|the fall]]. Most mainstream Protestant religions do not have any problem with evolution. ''(See [[Acceptance of evolution by religious groups]].)''
* The [[Bahá'í]] Faith has a tenet expressly concerning the "unity between science and religion". The tenet doesn't go so far as to claim they are the same thing, but insists one is worthless without the other.

===[[Anti-science]] attitudes within religion===
* The execution in 1600 by burning at the stake of [[Giordano Bruno]], found guilty by the Roman [[Inquisition]] of (among other heresies) suggesting that extra-terrestrial worlds might exist.
* The Roman Catholic Church's 1633 persecution and arrest of [[Galileo]], who harmed nothing but a geocentric worldview (and insulted the Pope in doing so, arguably worsening his position).
* Opposition to [[Darwin]]'s [[theory of evolution]] and the [[Big Bang]] theory, by Protestant fundamentalists among his contemporaries and in modern times.

====Fundamentalism and science====
In the 1920s, the [[Christian fundamentalism|fundamentalist movement]] within Christianity became more popular. One of its core tenets presented the Bible as literal truth. This is really the first time any Christian or Jewish denomination stated such a premise – prior to that, most religions and the religious understood that not all things in their holy books were meant to be literal; there were myths, exaggerations for effect, aggrandized history, and poetic symbolism.<ref>A lecture by Prof. Keith Ward (29 October 2009): [http://www.jamesgregory.org.uk/series-1/god-science-and-the-new-atheism/ "God, Science and the New Atheism"]</ref>

The basic idea behind the rise of literalism and formal fundamentalism is a growing fear that, as science disproves small details of the Bible such as [[Biblical scientific errors#Pi|the confusion of the value of pi]], science will erode the "Truth" value of the Bible, and soon people will jump, not from doubting mathematical falsities, but to far more important matters of [[faith]], such as the Divinity of [[Jesus]], and — most importantly — the moral authority of the people preaching said "Truth". This fear that science can and will directly challenge the value of the Bible has led to an effective [[War on Science]], especially culminating in a battle against [[evolution]] and, as a backlash, increasing rates of atheism.{{Citation needed}}

===Religion-friendly findings within science===
* Religion and spirituality have been correlated with lower rates of heart disease and chronic pain.<ref>https://www.jstor.org/stable/20182684</ref>
* Global studies have found that [[nation|countries]] with more religious people often also have more faith in science, while many other countries are neither religious nor welcoming to science and technology.<ref>https://archive.org/details/sacredsecularrel00norr_668</ref>
* Highly religious people are more likely to donate money or volunteer time to organizations, despite the fact that they earn less on average.<ref>https://news.gallup.com/poll/111013/worldwide-highly-religious-more-likely-help-others.aspx</ref>
* Religiously devoted people are less likely to use [[Drugs|substances]] or suffer from substance {{wpl|addiction||.}}<ref>https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10964-012-9761-z</ref><ref>https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2014-30504-006</ref>

===Anti-religion findings within science===
* Patients who undergo surgery and know they would receive prayer are more likely to experience complications, compared to patients who undergo the same surgery and are informed that they may or may not receive prayer.<ref>https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16569567/</ref>

==Religion and authoritarianism==
[[File:President Trump Visits St. John&#039;s Episcopal Church (49963649028).jpg|thumb|200px|"Yeah, [[Donald Trump|my]] favorite biblical figure is [[Herod#Herod_Antipas|King Herod]]. Rich, powerful, enemy of the poor... We both have many beautiful homes and many beautiful lovers... We both [[Privilege|owe our fortunes]] to ''[[Herod#Herod_I_the_Great|our]] [[asshole]] [[Fred Trump|fathers]]''... And if you are [[John the Baptist|some baptist]] or a [[Jesus|carpenter guy]] who doesn't kowtow to me, hurts my feelings or worries my rich tax-evading cronies, you deserve to die."<ref>[https://charlesskold.medium.com/trump-isnt-cyrus-he-s-herod-e883d0c9f1bc Medium: "Trump isn’t Cyrus. He’s Herod" by Charles Skold (Dec 13, 2019)]</ref><ref>[https://anglicancompass.com/trump-and-herod/ Anglican Compass: "Who Donald Trump Reminds Me Of" by David Roseberry]</ref><ref>[https://www.patheos.com/blogs/ecopreacher/2019/12/herod-and-trump-different-times-same-story/ Patheos: Herod and Trump – Different Times, Same Story by Leah D. Schade (December 29, 2019)]</ref>]]
Religion and [[authoritarianism]] interact in complex ways, with religion sometimes supporting, legitimizing, or challenging authoritarian rule. Authoritarianism centralizes power, limits political freedom, and demands strict obedience, while religion shapes beliefs, rituals, morals, and institutions that guide both personal and collective life.<ref>{{cite book |last= Koesel|first=Karrie J.  |date=February 24, 2014 |title=Religion and Authoritarianism: Cooperation, Conflict, and the Consequences |url= https://www.google.com/books/edition/Religion_and_Authoritarianism/XmjLAgAAQBAJ |publisher=  Cambridge University Press|chapter= Introduction, 2, 4-6 |isbn= 9781139867795|access-date=January 19, 2026}}</ref><ref>Schleutker E. Co-optation and Repression of Religion in Authoritarian Regimes. Politics and Religion. 2021;14(2):209-240. doi:10.1017/S1755048320000383</ref><ref> Yilmaz, I., Demir, M., & Shipoli, E. (2023). Authoritarian Use of Religion to Delegitimize and Securitize the Opposition. Religions, 14(5), 596. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14050596</ref><ref>1. Malka A. Religiosity and Openness to Authoritarian Governance. In: Osborne D, Sibley CG, eds. The Cambridge Handbook of Political Psychology. Cambridge Handbooks in Psychology. Cambridge University Press; 2022:284-297.</ref> Religion can influence authoritarian systems through several mechanisms:
* '''Legitimizing Authority''': Religious symbols, doctrines, and institutions are often used to justify political power. Leaders may claim divine sanction or moral authority to rule, framing opposition as immoral or sacrilegious. Historical examples include the '''{{wpl|divine right of kings}}''' in Europe and modern theocratic states.
* '''Supporting Hierarchy and Obedience''': Certain religious interpretations emphasize obedience to authority and social hierarchy, which align with authoritarian norms. Religions stressing a clear moral or cosmic order can reinforce centralized political control.
* '''Instrument of Social Control''': Authoritarian regimes may co-opt religious institutions to regulate society, aligning moral codes with state law and shaping citizens’ behavior. Religious schools, charitable organizations, or rituals may be used to instill loyalty and suppress dissent.
* '''Suppression of Religious Diversity''': Authoritarian states often limit the independence of religious groups that could serve as alternative sources of authority. Tolerated religions are often “state-approved” or monitored.
That said, religion may also provide ''potential for resistance'' and oppose authoritarianism -- granted the teachings emphasize justice, equality, or human rights. Historical examples include [[liberation theology]] in [[Latin America]] and the Catholic Church’s role in opposing communism in [[Poland]].

===Christianity and authoritarianism===
[[Christian]] institutions have at times enabled authoritarianism. The [[Catholic Church]] provides a notable example, with a historically complex relationship with authoritarian regimes. Aspects of Catholic teaching - such as [[moral]] [[conservatism]], hierarchical structure, and [[anti-communism]] - have been occasionally embraced by authoritarian movements.<ref> Nilsson, M. (2016). Swedish Catholicism and Authoritarian Ideologies: Attitudes to Communism, National Socialism, Fascism, and Authoritarian Conservatism in a Swedish Catholic Journal, 1922–1945. Fascism, 5(1), 66-88. https://doi.org/10.1163/22116257-00501004</ref><ref> Edmonds, Amy, 'The Ambivalence of Catholic Politics in Latin America: Ideology, Interests, and Institutions', in David Thomas Orique, Susan Fitzpatrick-Behrens, and Virginia Garrard (eds), The Oxford Handbook of Latin American Christianity, Oxford Handbooks (2020; online edn, Oxford Academic, 10 Sept. 2015), https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199860357.013.25, accessed 19 Jan. 2026.</ref><ref>Rogowska, B. (2020). Attitude of the Vatican towards the Authoritarian and Totalitarian State as Seen in the Church Social Teaching. Polish Political Science Review, 8(1), 2020. 116-133. https://doi.org/10.2478/ppsr-2020-0008</ref>

One example is [[Third Positionism]], a family of political ideologies that reject both liberal capitalism and Marxist communism -- instead combining nationalism, social conservatism, and illiberalism. Many third positionist movements emphasized centralized leadership, hierarchical social order, and exclusionary conceptions of national identity.<ref>{{cite book |last= Griffin |first=Roger |date=1991 |title=The Nature of Fascism |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/fcn5ZtaPc7oC |publisher=  Palgrave Macmillan|chapter=2., 5., 6. |isbn=9780312071325 |access-date=January 19, 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Payne |first=Stanley G. |date=1995 |title= A History of Fascism, 1914–1945|publisher= University of Wisconsin Press|chapter= 2., 5. |isbn= 9781857285956}}</ref> Scholars have noted that elements of Catholic social teaching - particularly those articulated in {{wpl|Pope Leo XIII||'s}} 1891 encyclical ''Rerum Novarum'' (which criticized both laissez-faire capitalism and socialism) - were later selectively appropriated by some 20th-century European third positionist and authoritarian movements.<ref>{{cite book |last=Himes |first= Kenneth R.|date= 2018|orig-date=2005|title= Modern Catholic Social Teaching: Commentaries and Interpretations|edition=2  |publisher= Georgetown University Press|chapter= 5. "Commentary on Rerum novarum" |isbn= 9781626165151}}</ref><ref>1. Pollard JF. The Vatican and Italian Fascism, 1929–32: A Study in Conflict. Cambridge University Press; 1985. {{isbn|9780511562945}} DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511562945 </ref><ref>Corporatism and Fascism: The Corporatist Wave in Europe. (2017). Taylor & Francis. {{isbn|9781315388892}}</ref> These movements drew especially on Catholic critiques of communism, [[corporatist]] economic ideas emphasizing class cooperation, and moral values rooted in family, religion, and social order to bolster ideological legitimacy, even as the Church’s relationship with such regimes remained complex and often ambivalent.<ref>Schmitter PC. Still the Century of Corporatism? The Review of Politics. 1974;36(1):85-131. doi:10.1017/S0034670500022178</ref><ref>Behr, Thomas C. Social Justice and Subsidiarity: Luigi Taparelli and the Origins of Modern Catholic Social Thought. Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 2019</ref><ref>Roy Domenico, David I. Kertzer. The Pope and Mussolini: The Secret History of Pius XI and the Rise of Fascism in Europe., The American Historical Review, Volume 120, Issue 4, October 2015, Pages 1560–1561, https://doi.org/10.1093/ahr/120.4.1560 </ref><ref>Chamedes, G. (2019). A Twentieth-Century Crusade: The Vatican’s Battle to Remake Christian Europe. Harvard University Press.{{isbn|9780674239135}}</ref>

This influence is evident in [[Spain]] under [[Francisco Franco]] (where Catholicism was integrated into nationalist authoritarian ideology) and in [[Portugal]] under [[António Salazar]] (where Catholic teachings shaped corporatist authoritarian policies). Yet the Church was never totally unified in its support, with many clergy and lay Catholics opposed regimes that violated human dignity or contradicted fundamental social teachings.

==Religions as conspiracies==
Everyone loves a good [[conspiracy theory]],{{nofact}} and religions provide a happy hunting-ground for conspiracists. Thus [[Papist]]s have deliberately corrupted and distorted [[Restorationism|the True Faith]]. Or the existence of [[heresy|heresies]] prove [[Satandidit|the secretive machinations of satanic forces]]. Or one can blame [[International Jewish conspiracy|International Jewry]] (conveniently conflated with [[Judaism]]) or [[Islamism|Islamic terrorism]] (conveniently conflated with [[Islam]]) for all things nefarious. Or [[Pagan survival|pagan revivals]] are aiming to demolish the Abrahamic religions in order to pave the way for the return of pre-Abrahamic faiths. Or religion in general just provides a cheap, easy, [[tithe|user-funded]] way for THEM to control [[original sin|self-policing]] beliefs, attitudes, morals, and behaviors amongst the trusting believing [[sheeple]]-flock.<ref>{{cite book
 | last1 = Dyrendal
 | first1 = Asbjørn
 | chapter = Conspiracy theory and religion
 | editor1-last = Butter
 | editor1-first = Michael
 | editor2-last = Knight
 | editor2-first = Peter
 | title = Routledge Handbook of Conspiracy Theories
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=8DjSDwAAQBAJ
 | series = Conspiracy Theories
 | publisher = Routledge
 | publication-date = 2020
 | isbn = 9780429840586
 | access-date = 1 June 2020
 | quote = Conspiracy theory about religion typically focuses on ingroup/outgroup dynamics in complex socio-political situations. [...] That 'religion' also carries connotations of being a unifying discourse (or coherent set of beliefs) organised in communities and controlled by institutions, can go some way to legitimating fantasies of hidden, organised conspiracy. From another angle, 'religion' covers strategies for legitimising and delegitimising claims to authority, moral behaviour and ideas about what is the correct relation to other social groups, and may thus be used as a resource in both the promotion and arrest of conspiracy beliefs.}}</ref><ref group=note>Naturally, that last one is really popular among [[Antitheism|antitheists]].</ref>

==See also==
*[[First Great Awakening]]
*[[State Religion]]
*[[Freedom From Religion Foundation]]
*[[Fun:Starting a new religion]]

==External links==
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAIpRRZvnJg&fmt=18 instruction manual for life], [[TheraminTrees]] and QualiaSoup
* [http://web.pdx.edu/~tothm/religion/Definitions.htm Various Definitions of Religion]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

[[Category:Culture]]
[[Category:Philosophy]]
[[category:Religion| ]]

Categories: Culture, Philosophy, Religion