The Essay On Divine Belief's Impact On Human Social Interaction.

Should a belief in the supernatural or a divine being (individualized religious beliefs) impact how followers interact with one another (collective social action)? Why or Why not? Provide at least one example in your response.

Emile Durkheim, the famous sociologist believed that anyone who has genuinely practiced a religion knows well that it stimulates the feeling of inner peace, joy, serenity, and enthusiasm that for the faithful stands as experimental proof of their beliefs. According to Durkheim, the cult is not a mere system of signs that the faith is outwardly expressed, it is a collection of means through which the faith that created and recreated periodically. Regardless of the cult’s consistent whether it is mental or physical it has been a cult that is efficacious (Greene, 2015). Religion as an institute is one of the oldest social institution consisting set of beliefs, feelings, dogmas, and practices that build a relation between human being and divinity. Therefore, it has been one of the aspects that makes a tremendous contribution in shaping the followers’ behavior pattern.

The essay aims to argue that a belief in the supernatural or divine being impacts on the way human interacts with another. The essay aims to evaluate the impact of believing on the follower’s social interaction as religion is one of the oldest and social institutions existing in society through the concept of Anselm.

Religion can be defined with various characteristics and feature. Religion is a belief that consists of various religious practices. The religious feeling is termed as faith and unity among people sharing the same faith is universal (Turner, Abrahams & Harris, 2017). People belonging to different religion have faith in different things which is what makes religion different from another. Religion or the belief in divinity can be an individual’s central part of identification.

The word ‘religion’ is derived from a Latin term meaning to ‘bind or tie together’ (Berkes, 2013). The modern dictionary defines religion in simple words as an organized system of beliefs and rituals centering on a supernatural being or beings. Although it binds people together with the norms and rituals, it is much more than a mere sharing of faith, belief, and rituals as the modern ritual define religion. It is also being involved in the beliefs deeply and making self a part of a community or often even a culture (Newton & McIntosh, 2013).

Religions around the world have various similarities which are universal in nature. According to scholar Stephen Prothero it is called ‘family resemblances’ (Johnson, 2015). All the religion around the world includes rituals, scriptures, specific sacred days and gathering places. Every religion provides its followers the information and directions for acting in just and appropriate way in society and the way to serve the divine being. The followers are instructed by religion the ways human being should be acting toward one another. For example, the world’s three of religions, Islam, Christianity, and Judaism share a common origin, and they trace their beginnings to the biblical figures of Abraham.

What is Religion?

Incredible diversities exist in each religion in term of the way members feel their connection to their faith. For some, the religion’s theological beliefs and rituals are centric to their lives while there are some who are more drawn to the religion’s culture and community instead of beliefs and rituals (Lovejoy, 2017). Also, some people only feel part of religion’s culture and choose not to participate in the ceremonies. Some people decline the notion of religion and its identity while some people feel free to choose religion according to their will.

Due to these choices and preferences, people have different approaches to social interaction. According to Boyle and Sheen (2013), in religion, even government plays a part by either supporting one religion more than others or even protect citizen’s freedom from the making individual have the freedom from religious restrictions.

Anselm was one of the most important Christian thinker belonging to the eleventh century. The most popular philosophy was his discovery and articulation of ‘ontological argument’ (Abulafia & Abulafia, 2013). According to Logan (2016), it was for the first time in the western Christian tradition that was presented in his 10178 work Proslogion. His ontological argument claims to be an a priori evidence of God’s existence. His argument is independent of experience and was solely based on logical reasoning and concepts such as any mathematician would do.  

Anselm’ theory was supported not by his skills but by the logic that was in the opinion that there is the existence of God. He defines God, “a being than which no greater being can be conceived.” His argument had several points in his argument of Proslogium.

1. He believed the existence of God was in understanding and not in reality.
2. The existence in reality is greater than existence in the understanding alone.
3. He also argued, the existence of God in reality is conceivable.
4. If in reality he existed, he would be greater than the way he is. Also, it is conceivable that there be a being greater than God.
5. It was also conceivable that there be a being greater than the being than which nothing greater can be conceived.
6. It is false that there be a thing greater than being than which none greater can be conceived.
7. It is false that it is conceivable that there be a being greater than the being than which none greater can be conceived

As there is contradiction between the points mentioned in 6 and 7, the conclusion can be drawn to number 8,

8. It is not true that God exists in the understanding only and not in the reality.

According to De Cruz (2014), therefore, if the existence of God is in the understanding, there is an existence of God in reality as well. As the fools or the rational atheists agree that the God’s existence is in the understanding, God exists in reality. By the definition of God, ‘that than nothing greater can be conceived’ it can be derived that there is an existence of God and it is even followed by the logical necessity. He wanted to disapprove the fool around him who believed they did not have God in their heart.  According to him, God existed, and God was present in everyone’s heart.

Similarities Among Religions

Therefore, according to his theory the fool (people who disapprove of God) possess two features. One, the fool understands the claim that there is an existence of God. Two, the fool does not believe there is an existence of God. The goal Anselm wanted to achieve was to show that the combination of the two feature was unstable. Any person who would understand the meaning of saying that God exists can also be leading to see that there is an existence of God. Therefore, an atheist who does not believe in God is not only just mistaken but also has his position internally inconsistent.

According to Eder and Ramharter (2015), the second argument of Anselm was complicated which is an opinion that God cannot be thought not to exist. It is undoubtedly not doubtful that thought of God not existing cannot be thought. As individual may think there is something that exists which cannot be thought as not existing. It would be greater even greater than something that can be thought of as not existing. Since that which cannot be thought as not existing is greater, it is greater than anything that can be thought as not existing.

Therefore, anything that cannot be thought of not existing is existing which implies that there is an existence of God. He agrees that the Lord is the being and therefore, he exists. He exists undoubtedly, and even the thought of him as something not existing cannot exist. In any way, if any person would not think of anything more significant than God, then the creature will become greater than later creator who is not possible. Apart from God, anything can be thought of not existing as nothing exist that cannot be thought of not existing. Therefore, he questions how the fools even considered that there is no existence of God since the existence of God is so evident and rational which according to him is only because he is a fool.

According to Kaltenbeck (2018), the next argument of Anselm was the ways fool managed to say in their heart that which cannot be even thought. Anselm could not agree with the fools that it was not possible for not to be thought. A thing is thought in one way while the word identifying it are in real thought and it is the thought that in one or the other that makes the thing understandable. God in a first way can be thought as not to be existing however in the second way it cannot be thought not to be existing. As everyone who understands what God is cannot deny his existence. For a person who says he does not exist may say it in words however he will give it another meaning in his mind or no meaning.

Variations in Religious Practices

God is greater than anything that cannot be thought and anybody understanding it will also understand that God exists in such a way that it is impossible to think of him as not existing. Anselm was a believer of God, and he was thankful for his belief on God as what he had believed earlier was through the gift of God and what he believes later was through God’s illumination.

He reaches the conclusion from the basic definition of God, as someone greater than something that cannot be thought. He concludes saying with the standard attributes such as creative, omnipotent, rational, merciful, just, unchangeable and eternal and calls it a theological tour de force.one who deny that God exists, he needs to do two things which is the argument that the conclusion is not in fact false or show that there are other problem existing other than the argument that there is no existence of God. For the first two options were promising the second option was explored.

Religion, as mentioned earlier, is the first form of community and people attain the sense of identity through religion. People grow up following the institution’s rituals, values, norms and traditions. Early philosophers have always been supporting religion in society. Religion was considered the main drivers of the universe for them. They perceived it as a form of social control which is a precise way mean to control human behavior. Since it has been one of the oldest form of social institution it has been part of human’s socialization. It is only after a certain period in lifetime people question, adapt or accept the rituals, customs, and norms with their full senses. However, since one is taught about the norms since birth it shapes human behavior to a great extent.  

Different people go through different experiences with their religion and based on that people change their perception. Along with time like other aspects of life, people’s perception of religion also changes. However it is hard to say that the practices are entirely eliminated from the conscious and subconscious mind of people. In the modern period when there is government giving importance to materialistic components. However, despite changing perception people tend to act that is practiced through religion. Individuals relate to certain practices and perform them over the course of their lives.

Conclusion:

For medieval theologians God’s existence was obvious and for some reason, they believed the existence of God or the divine being. They not only merely believed but also attempted to prove it such as Anselm.  The essay presented his approach which is complicated. Anselm was an extremely faithful follower of his religion which can be understood through discussion above.

Government's Role in Religion

The theory provided by Anselm in the eleventh century has to do a lot about the conflict that was going on during that period. The conflict was between individuals who saw theology as little more than Bible commentary and the people who thought argument and rational analysis was needed. The first group argued calling God a mystery and therefore it was intellectually inaccessible and it was only through symbolic language that was bestowed to human by God himself. On the other side, Anselm who suggests that sin has become predominant in human life that one cannot believe the existence of God until God himself does not prove it.

Thus Anselm expresses the truth through revelation and inspires people to accept that revelation through faith. When the truth is accepted there can be hope to reason evidence of what is already accepted through faith. Therefore God is rational, and his every act is rational that is the reason for a human having the power to reason. In the end it can be concluded that belief in divine power may influence the way one interact with other. The rituals and customs that every religion’s followers follow since birth there is an impact of it on human’s behavior in certain way.

References:

Abulafia, A. B. S., & Abulafia, A. (2013). Christians and Jews in the Twelfth-century Renaissance. Routledge.

Berkes, N. (2013). Introduction. In The Development of Secularism in Turkey (pp. 35-54). Routledge.

Boyle, K., & Sheen, J. (2013). Freedom of religion and belief: A world report. Routledge.

De Cruz, H. (2014). The enduring appeal of natural theological arguments. Philosophy Compass, 9(2), 145-153.

Eder, G., & Ramharter, E. (2015). Formal reconstructions of St. Anselm’s ontological argument. Synthese, 192(9), 2795-2825.

Greene, R. (2015). The Religious and Spiritual Healing Capacity of the Transcendent Function and Its Application in Clinical Treatment (Doctoral dissertation, William James College).

Johnson, J. L. (2015). Religion as a Natural Kind: The Biological and Semantic Search for a Definition. Philosophy and Theology, 27(2), 307-335.

Kaltenbeck, F. (2018). On Freud's encounter with Brentano. In The Pre-Psychoanalytic Writings of Sigmund Freud (pp. 101-111). Routledge.

Logan, I. (2016). Reading Anselm's Proslogion: The History of Anselm's Argument and Its Significance Today. Routledge.

Lovejoy, A. (2017). The great chain of being: A study of the history of an idea. Routledge.

Newton, T., & McIntosh, D. N. (2013). Unique contributions of religion to meaning. In The experience of meaning in life (pp. 257-269). Springer, Dordrecht.

Turner, V., Abrahams, R. D., & Harris, A. (2017). The ritual process: Structure and anti-structure. Routledge.