Arés Hanson 1

Dylan Ares Hanson

Mr. Larkin

English 4

12 February 2024

Why Research Religion?

My goal with my expert project is to explore, and hopefully draw a meaningful

conclusion about religion’s effects on individual people. Initially, approached the project from a

more sociological and historical perspective. I wanted to explore religion’s effect on the

development of societies using historical examples. Despite my interest, this theme proved to be

far too broad for accurate and succinct research. After more thought, I decided to focus on the

same topic, but with an individual, modern day lens as opposed to a grand scale.

I personally chose to explore religion because it seriously intrigues me. Growing up

completely non-religious, I had no reference point in childhood for what religion was, or what it

felt like to be a part of an organization like a church or a synagogue. Neither of my parents even

considered raising my siblings and myself with religious belief. My dad grew up Catholic, but

lost touch with the church after moving out, and never really looked back. My mom grew up

similarly to me, only ever attending church or religious services for events like weddings,

friend’s baptisms, or funerals. This is no doubt a result of my grandfather’s upbringing. He was

born in fascist Spain, being raised devout catholic, and attending Jesuit school in his teenage

years. As he got older, he began to question his beliefs. Being subject to what he describes as

mental abuse, he stopped believing in Catholisism’s teachings as an adult. His outlook has

influenced mine, leading to me questioning the purpose of religion in today’s empirical,

science-centric world.
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Even though I am skeptical, religion is a very important, and often joyous part of life for

many, so going into my research, I wanted to make sure to account for the widest range of

perspectives that I could, and make sure to correctly represent and analyze opinions that differed

from my own. My goal in researching this topic is to be impartial, but for whatever reason I have

had an easier time finding primary sources that criticize religion’s ill-effects as opposed to

sources that laud its benefits. This may be a result of not searching adequately, or more likely my

own bias, so as I continue my research I will make a point to include pro-religious sentiments

from primary sources. Despite finding it hard to get firsthand accounts of religion’s benefits, I

have managed to find lots of useful studies and scientific/psychological research that illustrates

the potential upsides of being religious.

Through my research, I would not say I’ve come to a clear conclusion, and I doubt that I

will find an all encompassing thesis that perfectly describes how religion affects people.

However, as a working definition, I feel comfortable stating that religion provides a wide range

of beneficial services to an individual. A sense of community, stability, and guardianship are

positive things that religious individuals experience. Despite this, religion and its often

hierarchical and discriminatory structure can easily traumatize, and cause the deterioration of a

person’s mental health.

Religion Historically

For many, religion is a guiding force through life, providing security, community, and

solace. Although historians and archaeologists do not know exactly when humans first became

religious, some in the field posit that humans began performing rituals for spiritual purposes in

the Middle Paleolithic Age (or Middle Stone Age), about 50,000 to 40,000 years ago (Pettitt,
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Paul). The rituals our ancestors performed usually concerned death, burial, and the afterlife.

Wanting to honor fallen loved ones and guide them safely to the afterlife, humans performed a

variety of practices including burying the dead with their possessions, staining bones with red

ochre, and placing figurines with the dead (Pettitt, Paul). 11,000 years ago, humans began to shift

from hunter-gatherer lifestyles to sedentary lifestyles during the Neolithic Revolution, leading to

the development of organized religion. Worship of specific deities or gods began at this time, as

well as the glorification of certain people, often kings or rulers, as spiritual leaders (Sterelny K).

In the late 4th millennium BC, ushering in the Ancient era, a writing system known as Sumerian

Cuneiform emerged, allowing humans to keep records of their rituals, spiritual practices, and

beliefs (W. Hallo; W. Simpson).

Throughout the ancient era, Humans in different places practiced a wide variety of

religions. Notably, in Egypt, the Great Pyramid of Giza was built in the mid-3rd millennium BC

to honor the Pharaoh Khufu, who was heralded as a relative of the gods (Verner, Miroslav). Also

around this time, the Minoans and later, the Greeks, developed complex mythology around

pantheons of gods and spirits. What is commonly held as the first example of monotheism, or the

belief in one god, can be observed in Egypt, in about 1350 BC, with the rule of the Pharaoh

Akhenaten (Hill, J). Eventually, with the development of Judaism, the life of Jesus Christ, and

eventually the life of the Prophet Muhammed, monotheism would take hold in Europe, West

Asia, and the Middle East. These three faiths would continue to grow, and are now among the

most widely practiced, and most culturally significant religions that exist today.
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Psychological Effects

Religion is proven to have traumatizing effects on people. In an online video criticizing

religion, specifically christianity, creator Kati Morton outlines the lasting damage that religion

has left her with, including testimony from other ex-christians as well. The church, capitalizing

on “fear and shame… keep[s] people drawn in'' according to Morton. Christian leaders motivate

the congregation through threats, obligating people to repent for their sins and conform to their

standards under threat of “going to hell” or being ostracized by their community. By forcing

people to comply under the threat of losing important personal connections, motivating people to

action through threats and fear, and suppressing diversity of thought, religious institutions can

leave serious lasting damage on people.

A Sociological Perspective

Another element of religion’s effects that I chose to research was extremism. Although

extremism is more of a large-scale social phenomenon as opposed to an individual’s experience,

the effects of extremism can no doubt be felt at a personal level. Since extremist groups are made

up of extremist people, radicalized by certain ideals, I thought the research was relevant to my

project, and represented a sociological angle through which to view my topic. Although many

think that extremist groups are solely interested in bring[ing] back the political system to a form

suggested by religious norms through violence” (Susilo et al), a 2019 report in Frontiers of

Psychology, “A multidimensional analysis of religious extremism”, posits that extremism and its

objectives are more varied and more nuanced. We can choose to identify extremism through the

commonly thought of political lens, a social lens, a ritualistic lens, or a theological lens. Each of

these approaches, on the part of the religious sect, are extreme in different aspects of their
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religious life and beliefs. For example, a ritualistically extreme group may exclude certain people

from participating in their rituals or perform morally questionable acts in the name of prayer.

Having a more multifaceted understanding of groups that we perceive as extreme can provide a

deeper and more accurate viewpoint of the individuals within that group and their experiences.

Medical Applications of Religion

Medically, proprietors of religion, specifically Muhammad Saud and other authors of a

2021 study entitled, “Social support through religion and psychological well-being: COVID-19

and coping strategies in Indonesia” hold that being religious, and being in better physical health

are directly correlated. “Even in today’s modern world”, according to Saud and others,

“Religiosity is a factor that is involved in the management of health…” (Saud et al). A healthcare

model common in many parts of the world that the article cites is the collaboration of doctors

and spiritual leaders. By working together, the two “help in building care plans [to] offer a better

understanding of the patient, lead[ing] to better shared decisions (empowerment)...” (Saud et al).

For religious people, having the support and guidance of a spiritual leader while undergoing

medical treatment is deeply comforting, and while it may not necessarily lead to an improved

quality of care, the patient’s mental state could be far more stable, and the patient far more

content. Helping those undergoing medical treatments, religion can positively affect people’s

mental health, and have an effect on their medical care.

My Findings

After conducting thorough research, exploring various perspectives on how religion

affects individuals, I find it difficult to draw one all-encompassing conclusion. To define

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religious experience as universally useful or, inversely, useless is reductive. Making one

conclusion on the topic invariably ignores the experiences of millions of individuals and their

connection with a higher power. Religion is heavily subjective and highly personal by nature.

One person’s spirituality and the effects their practices have on their life may not simply be

defined in terms of “harmful”, or “beneficial”, as I (very naively) set out to do with this project.

As I conclude my research, despite not being able to firmly take a stance, I am left with a

more nuanced understanding of how specifically religion can affect people. I realize that though I

cannot simply make one conclusion about how all religion has specific effects on an individual

level, there is evidence to suggest that religion itself is becoming increasingly obsolete. If this

means that religion should be obsolete, I cannot say. Historically, religion served to bring people

together through ritual, often of something they could not comprehend. Things like natural

phenomena, weather, sickness, and especially death, confused our ancestors, and they turned to

ritual in order to feel as though they had some sense of understanding, or even power, over the

natural world. Further down the line (especially in Europe and west Asia), religion served as a

tool to consolidate power and unify people. These objectives, in their time, were vital to the

survival of a society, as well as the peace of mind and safety of an individual. Now, however,

things have changed.

As humans, we have different means to explain the world around us. Our understanding

of our surroundings has deepened immensely, and to many, it seems useless to classify nature’s

processes as the work of Gods and spirits. We have also outgrown the societal need for religion

as a unifier and system of power. Our leaders are still ideological, but instead of religious

ideologies, we follow political ideologies.

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Though I cannot say unequivocally that religion is a good or bad thing for today’s

individual, I have found that in an age of partisan politics, space exploration and rapid

technological advancement, religion’s functions are being performed by other societal

institutions, and “religion” as we understand it is losing its place as the cornerstone of

civilization that it once universally was.

Even though we are moving further away from a necessity for organized systems of

worship, I do not believe that it is wise to disregard all that religion stands for, or, as a society,

stop being spiritual. Belief in a higher power drives people to be more mindful of their treatment

of others, and can motivate people to do great things. A deeper sense of connection between

ourselves and the world around us can certainly be attained through spiritual practices.

Organized religion, and the common belief in one set-in-stone creed, I believe is becoming

increasingly obsolete, but we need not move entirely away from belief in something greater than

ourselves.
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Works Cited

Grant, Jon E et al. “Religiosity, impulsivity, and compulsivity in university students.” CNS

spectrums vol. 28,3 (2023): 367-373. doi:10.1017/S1092852922000815

Granqvist, Pehr et al. “Religion as attachment: normative processes and individual differences.”

Personality and social psychology review : an official journal of the Society for

Personality and Social Psychology, Inc vol. 14,1 (2010): 49-59.

doi:10.1177/1088868309348618

Gonçalves, J P B et al. “Religious and spiritual interventions in mental health care: a systematic

review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled clinical trials.” Psychological

medicine vol. 45,14 (2015): 2937-49. doi:10.1017/S0033291715001166

“7 ways religion traumatizes people.” YouTube, uploaded by Kati Morton, November 1, 2021,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HwSGXPKzw8

Saud, Muhammad et al. “Social support through religion and psychological well-being:

COVID-19 and coping strategies in Indonesia.” Journal of religion and health vol. 60,5

(2021): 3309-3325. doi:10.1007/s10943-021-01327-1

Schellekens, J. Jona. “Does the Association between Children and Happiness Vary by Level of

Religiosity? The Evidence from Israel.” Demographic Research, vol. 41, 2019, pp.

103–24. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/26850645. Accessed 26 Jan. 2024.

Shiah, Yung-Jong, et al. “Religion and Subjective Well-Being: Western and Eastern Religious

Groups Achieved Subjective Well-Being in Different Ways.” Journal of Religion and

Health, vol. 55, no. 4, 2016, pp. 1263–69. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/24735915.

Accessed 13 Dec. 2023.

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Wibisono, Susilo, et al. “A multidimensional analysis of religious extremism.” Frontiers in

Psychology, vol. 10, 2019, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02560.

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Bibliography

Hallo, William W., and William Kelly Simpson. The Ancient near East: A History. Harcourt

Brace College Publ., 1998.

Hill, J. “Akhenaten (Amenhotep IV).” Ancient Egypt Online, 2010,

ancientegyptonline.co.uk/akhenaten/.

Pettitt, Paul. “When Burial Begins.” Semantic Scholar, Aug. 2002,

www.semanticscholar.org/paper/When-burial-begins-Pettitt/f6aa6bc5096e4cb9b76a2362

6edaa66eeabdeb42.

Sterelny, Kim. “Religion: Costs, signals, and the neolithic transition.” Religion, Brain &

Behavior, vol. 10, no. 3, 27 Dec. 2019, pp. 303–320,

https://doi.org/10.1080/2153599x.2019.1678513.

Verner, Miroslav, et al. The Pyramids: The Mystery, Culture, and Science of Egypt’s Great

Monuments. American University in Cairo Press, 2004.