Subject: Re: Music, religion, etc.
From: John Page (JHPAGE@worldnet.att.net)
Date: Thu Jan 06 2000 - 16:36:50 EST
Ah.. So much easier than grunting out, "because I just don't like
organized religion!" -jared
Jon Wrote:
>I would agree with this second person that
>spirituality is so important to the human experience that it's
>practically a biological urge. Practically.
>I draw a distinction, though, between "spirituality" and "religion".
>Religion tends to involve organized, communal expressions of feeling and
>belief, along with creation theories, meaning-of-life-type stuff, and
>codes for behavior. Spirituality doesn't, necessarily. It can be more
>personal and less organized. All religions have spiritual aspects, but
>not all spiritualities fit my loose definition of a religion.
>It's helpful to think about the many functions of a religion. Some are
>spiritual, but I would argue that the vast majority are social. Without
>religion, it can be hard to get large groups of people to agree on rules
>and principles necessary to maintain a relatively peaceful society or
>culture. I wouldn't be so cynical as to say that all religions were
>created expressly for the purpose of social control, but all religions
>have that element.
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