The concepts of belief in God and the concept of religion are mostly used synonymously. Who believes in God is religious, and who is reli...
The concepts of belief in God and the concept of religion are mostly used synonymously. Who believes in God is religious, and who is religious believes in God. However, even if the two concepts are fundamentally related, they have fundamentally different meanings.
What is belief in God?
Belief in God is a personal conviction about the existence of God. In the context of belief, God is an intellect (a person) who possesses and uses the knowledge that exists in the universe.
The believer in God believes that God is a creator, who is in connection with the world and who is also in relationship with the believer.
The believer in God thinks that God has a purpose, a goal with the world.
The believer in God thinks that God's intention is that through personal relationship - if reciprocated - God will accomplish His intention with that person, for the purpose of His goal.
The believer thinks that God has created a set of rules for the achievement of His goal, which also applies to the believer, which the believer must follow.
The divine system of rules is developed and based on the believer's personal faith (based on the perceived personal relationship with the God) or is mediated to the person by religion.
What is religion?
Religion is a system of social customs, a meme that operates in society. Religion is a meme built on a belief in God, which, by referring to a supposed set of rules of belief in God, shapes the behavior of a group of people in a society.
Religion is the learned behavior of social customs. The function of religion is to be a tool that helps to form and maintain a cooperative community from a group of people. Religion helps to organize society.
The social meme of religion is constructed using the God belief, but its function and operation does not strictly require the belief of God. Religion is a system of social rules and interactions.
The meme of religion is constantly shaping its own set of rules for the organization of society. In the process, different religions emerge.
The believer affiliates himself with a religion that corresponds to his faith in God, which may also shape his personal faith. But a religious person is not necessarily a faithful or true believer. Religiousness may be merely a learned behavior, or a person may also be religious for the purpose of using the social benefit of religion for personal gain.
The two concepts, beliefs in God and religion are fundamentally related, but fundamentally different concepts. We need to use it with a different meaning and content.
No comments