Evidence ID: ATH-EV71

Evidence: Formation of Religious Beliefs

Summary: The study of religious beliefs among indigenous tribes finds that ecological forces helped shape these beliefs within each civilization. Studies also show that religious beliefs among indigenous tribes are surprisingly similar consisting of moralizing gods or agents, spirits, punitive systems of morality and other common beliefs. Many anthropologist and sociologists credit these punitive systems of moral conduct with the formation of complex civilizations.

Description: There is much disagreement among scholars about the origins of religion. Some believe religion is a normal outgrowth of a mature society where systems of morality (mores, norms, rules) emerge over time to maintain a sense of social order. Others believe that religion is man's naive attempt to explain the mysteries of celestial objects (sun, moon) and other phenomena (natural calamities) with a powerful and punitive god.

What is the origin of religions? Were they merely man-made to maintain social order or were they derived from evidence of a creator-god found in the created order?

Emergent Beliefs Among Indigenous Tribes

The study of the religious beliefs among indigenous tribes provides some interesting insights into the origin of religions. Because of their geographic isolation, indigenous tribes are less likely to be influenced by the religious beliefs of neighboring civilizations. There are an estimated 300 million indigenous religious practitioners in the world.

Anthropologists have studied indigenous tribes for years [REF-ENC01]. They argue that ecological forces helped shape religious beliefs. Learning from nature, civilizations reasoned that natural calamities were bad. They then associated these calamities with punishment from either a Moralizing High God (MHG) or from a belief in systems of Broad Supernatural Punishment (BSP). In either case, these punitive systems reward societies and individuals who act rightly and punish those who act wrongly.

Their findings also suggest that the religious beliefs held by most geographically isolated civilizations are surprisingly similar, not dissimilar. These common beliefs are presented in Column 1 of Table 1 below.

Indigenous Tribe
Common Belief
Christian
Belief
existence of an all-powerful, all-knowing, creator-god
and other deities
existence of an all-powerful, all-knowing, creator triune God
(Father, Son, Holy Spirit)
existence of evil existence of evil and sin
existence of spirits and a spiritual realm existence of angelic and demonic realms
existence of morality consisting of
good and evil, right and wrong
(local, relative moral code)
existence of morality consisting of
good and evil, right and wrong
(universal, absolute moral code)
existence of an afterlife existence of heaven and hell
use of prayer, rituals and artifacts to relate with God Roman Catholics: crucifix, mass, sacraments
Protestants: worship service

Table 1: Comparison of Religious Beliefs: Indigenous Tribes vs. Christian

Spiritual prayers and rituals are used among indigenous tribes as a means to connect with and experience their god. This demonstrates that people of all civilizations have a desire and capacity to relate on a spiritual level with their gods.

The Christian analog to these common indigenous beliefs is presented in Column 2 of Table 1. The general nature of these systems of belief are similar.

Because of the point-for-point consistency between indigenous and Christian beliefs, and the commonality of beliefs among indigenous tribes, we conclude that the characteristics of the Christian God are reflected in the created order and are plainly observable by all people.

Moralizing Gods are Vital to the Formation of Complex Civilizations

It is a well-known fact that the formation of complex civilizations is facilitated by religious beliefs based on BSPs that promote moralizing agents [REF-WAT01]. These punitive systems of moral conduct help maintain social order without the need of extensive law enforcement. It mitigates social wrongdoing. Essentially, the gods and spirits police individuals through the use of fear and punishment.

This demonstrates that God's system of moral conduct is beneficial for civilizations. It establishes and preserves civilizations (Deuteronomy 6:24 NLT). Ultimately it is a good gift from a benevolent God.

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