Introducing 

Prezi AI.

Your new presentation assistant.

Refine, enhance, and tailor your content, source relevant images, and edit visuals quicker than ever before.

Loading…
Transcript

Purpose of Religion

Presented by PERSON for COMPANY

Does Religion serve a purpose?

Does Religion have a purpose?

A number of theories exist as to the role of religion in society. Some suggested theories include:

  • Answer fundamental questions of life e.g. why am I here? what happens when I die? Why do things occur.
  • Support a persons claim to power
  • Give guidance on how to live one's life

Religion: Meaning

Making sense of the world

People tried to make sense of their existence and

their world, to find a purpose for living, and appropriate ways to live safely and comfortably may have led to religion.

Australia

  • The kangaroo became such an important food source for the Aboriginal people that it became sacred.
  • Knowledge was safeguarded by elders and custodianship of this knowledge was further regulated by religious authority. It was passed from one generation to the next through a series of religious rituals and rites of passage.

Religion: Power

Religion: Power

Ancient Sumeria (5000 years ago)

  • Religion supported the idea that the king was divine and had absolute power over those that he ruled.
  • Religion was clearly connected with three values that are important in any complex socioeconomic society: power, wealth and status.
  • Temples became so connected to these values

that ancient cultures created them in more complex and grandiose ways.

Religion: Guidance

  • Laws are unable to represent all of the rules required to maintain social order, which is why ethics and morality are required.
  • To prepare an individual to usually ‘do the right thing’ involves a God, god principle or an Ultimate Reality to determine accepted

and prohibited behaviour.

Religion: Guidance

Dalai Lama

"The very purpose of religion is to control

yourself, not to criticize others. Rather, we

must criticize ourselves. How much am I

doing about my anger? About my attachment,

about my hatred, about my pride, my

jealousy? These are the things which we must check in daily life."

Views on Religion

Martin Luther King Jnr

Martin Luther King Jr

"Science investigates, religion interprets. Science gives man knowledge which is power, religion gives man wisdom which is control."

Deepak Chopra

"There are … components to that purpose, one is to find out who you really are, to discover God, the second is to serve other human beings."

Deepak Chopra

Sigmund Freud

"Once again, only religion can answer the question of the purpose of life. One can hardly be wrong in concluding that the idea of life having a purpose stands and falls with the religious system."

Sigmund Freud

1. Draw a mind map of one quote and extend it out to other related ideas.

2. What is your favourite quote? Why does this resonate with you?

3. What are the positive things that religion has done for human civilisation in the past?

4. How does religion meet society’s needs?

5. What does religion continue to do for society?

6. Describe examples of religion being involved in a conflict.

Questions

Learn more about creating dynamic, engaging presentations with Prezi