I was talking to my friend earlier today who is in the Gender in Music class and he was reading an article that, summed up, pretty much said that without religion. human beings have no free will. I'm not here to discuss free will, because I probably couldn't make a good argument or much less come to a conclusion on the matter. But this did get me thinking on why free will or individuality could be applied when religion is involved. Maybe I should've read the article in question, but it seems to me that religion does quite the opposite of imposing a sense of individuality. People who are in most religions identify with that group of people that believe in the same things they do. By doing that they start trusting what their pastor says, because he has always had the right things to say to them before. While I wont go as far to say that religious people are drones (they certainly aren't), I think a certain amount of individuality is lost when put in a group such as a religious one.
Of course a lot of religious people may have slightly or even dramatically different views and still be in the same religion. Perhaps the general moral code instilled by the religious group would cause free will, but the fact that the group shares and is taught this moral code, can that be called free will at all? Religion brings people together, it does help individuals, but those people are ultimately part of a larger group.
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I agree Emma -- I've been to churches with friends and family members and seen this same "deindividuation" occur. For example, I always have found it interesting when little little kids are reciting creeds that don't have any meaning to them. It seems sometimes like children are brought up in some religious communities to not have opinions or think for themselves but to grow and functions as all those before them. Interesting post Emma :)
ReplyDeletereally good post.. and I like how you are thinking through the individuals vs. group issue in religions..
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