Religious Philosophy

I have finished my 24-week course of study of Philosophy of Religion. I have very much enjoyed these 24 weeks. I have learned a great deal and have been presented with many facts new to me and many things on which to ponder. I hate to see this course come to an end.

As humans, we seem to need religion. The relatively new study of Religious Philosophy attempts to answer questions pertaining to the people throughout time who have wondered what other people believe, how this differs from their beliefs, and why they don't agree with each other concerning religion.

When European Christians discovered peoples of the world that had other religions besides Christianity, it was strongly believed by the Christians that their own religion of Christianity (of whichever brand) was undoubtedly far superior to any other. It was considered by them to be the ultimate religion, the only right religion.

They were not interested in learning about other religions, only converting people into Christianity who were not Christians. There remains, today, this attitude and I become quite disgusted by it, among members of my own family. Many Christians believe it is their DUTY to convert people to whatever their particular brand of Christianity may be.

In Lesson 2, I was intrigued to learn that the Latin verb relig're which was the Old French word religion, was used for a thousand years to refer to monks and nuns, the monastic life. During the 16th Century, the word came to a broader, wider meaning, growing into how we use the word today.

In this time we are in, the meaning has been modified to refer to nearly any form of devotion or fidelity to a Divinity. However this entire consideration is complicated because some groups that may be called religions, do not believe in any Divinity, singular or plural, whatsoever.

This study is complicated, such as shown in the above paragraph. Some of what we might call religions, might be branded by some folks as ethical systems rather than religions. Most religions might be called a cult by some one, by people of other religions.

The great diversity of belief, even among the one religion I know best, common in our country, Christianity, is mind-boggling. Arguments between one and the other often 'come to blows', at least verbally and sometimes physically.

In this course, we looked at many opinions and theories regarding religion, including those of Freud, the father of psychiatry; Durkheim, the father of Sociology; Marx who considered religion 'the opiate of the people'; and many others. We looked at anthropologists, at the great Apes, at Neanderthal and Cro-Magnom man. We even looked at Krishnamurti, an old favorite of mine from years ago. We considered priests, shamen, and 'witch-doctors' from various possible groups.

We covered how religion and spirituality are clearly very different things. We even looked at Rodin, the sculptor of The Thinker and The Kiss, and many other sculptures. We even took a look at the brain's neurotransmitter, Serotonin, and how the illegal drug MDNA, also called Ecstasy, feels so good, as well as the prescribed Zoloft and Prozac, anti-depressants, which are known as Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors, which legally induce happier feelings through more Serotonin in the brain.

A scientist we took a look at has done a study and written a book about humans having the belief in a Divinity in their genetics. I find this intriguing.

It is my belief that I am living at a most exciting time in the history of the world. I believe science and Spirit are growing closer and closer together in my lifetime, now and over the next years.

I believe that there is an exponential explosion of growth of spirituality throughout the world today. Religion as we now know it may cease to exist in the next several decades, to be replaced by a much greater spirituality than this world has ever seen, or has, at least, ever recorded. I see it happening over time, more and more quickly. I see more and more people searching for Truth, for their own personal Truths, and finding them for themselves, inside of themselves, and finding our connections one with another.

Yes, the human quest for Truth, for meaning, for understanding, continues. I feel it burning more deeply in the human heart over the next decades, and that everyone will find their Paths to the Light of Truth, regardless of the roads they travel to get there. I see many paths converging.

Thank you.

Rev. Carol Birdwell

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The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have classes in Christianity, Wicca, Paganism, two courses in Metaphysics and much more. I have been a proud member of the ULC for many years and the Seminary since its inception.

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