The role of religion in public life examples. The role of religion in the life of society. The attitude of modern society to religion

At all stages of the development of human civilization, religion has been and remains one of the most important factors influencing the worldview and way of life of each believer, as well as relations in society as a whole. Every religion is based on belief in supernatural powers, organized worship of God or gods, and the need to observe a certain set of rules and regulations prescribed by believers. in the modern world plays almost the same important role as it did millennia ago, since according to polls conducted by the American Gallup Institute, at the beginning of the 21st century, more than 90% of people believed in the existence of God or higher powers, and the number of believers is approximately the same in highly developed countries, and in the countries of the "third world".

The fact that the role of religion in the modern world is still great refutes the secularization theory popular in the 20th century, according to which the role of religion is inversely proportional to the development of progress. Proponents of this theory were sure that by the beginning of the twenty-first century, scientific and technological progress would cause only people living in underdeveloped countries to retain faith in higher powers. In the second half of the 20th century, the secularization hypothesis was partly confirmed, since it was during this period that millions of adherents of the theory of atheism and agnosticism were rapidly developing and found, however, the end of the 20th - the beginning of the 21st century was marked by a rapid increase in the number of believers and the development of a number of religions.

Religions of modern society

The process of globalization has also affected the religious sphere, therefore, in the modern world, they are gaining more and more weight, and there are fewer and fewer adherents of ethno-religions. A vivid example of this fact can be the religious situation on the African continent - if a little more than 100 years ago, adherents of local ethnic religions prevailed among the population of African states, now all of Africa can be conditionally divided into two zones - Muslim (the northern part of the mainland) and Christian (the southern part mainland). The most common religions in the modern world are the so-called world religions - Buddhism, Christianity and Islam; each of these religious movements has over a billion adherents. Hinduism, Judaism, Taoism, Sikhism and other beliefs are also widespread.

20th century and modern time can be called not only the heyday of world religions, but also the period of the birth and rapid development of numerous religious movements and Neo-shamanism, neo-paganism, the teachings of Don Juan (Carlos Castaneda), the teachings of Osho, Scientology, Agni Yoga, PL-Kedan - this is only a small part of the religious currents that arose less than 100 years ago and have this moment hundreds of thousands of adherents. Front modern man opens very big choice religious teachings, and the modern society of citizens in most countries of the world can no longer be called one-confessional.

The role of religion in the modern world

It is obvious that the flourishing of world religions and the emergence of numerous new religious movements directly depend on the spiritual and psychological needs of people. The role of religion in the modern world has not changed much compared to the role played by religious beliefs in past centuries, if we do not take into account the fact that in most states religion and politics are separated, and the clergy do not have the power to exert a significant influence on the political and civil processes in the country.

Nevertheless, in many states, religious organizations have a significant impact on political and social processes. Also, one should not forget that religion forms the worldview of believers, therefore, even in secular states, religious organizations indirectly influence the life of society, as they form views on life, beliefs, and often the civil position of citizens who are members of a religious community. The role of religion in the modern world is expressed in the fact that it performs the following functions:

The attitude of modern society to religion

The rapid development of world religions and the emergence of many new religious movements at the beginning of the 21st century caused an ambiguous reaction in society, as some people began to welcome the revival of religion, but another part of society strongly opposed the increase in the influence of religious denominations on society as a whole. If we characterize the attitude of modern society towards religion, then we can notice some trends that apply to almost all countries:

A more loyal attitude of citizens towards religions that are considered traditional for their state, and a more hostile attitude towards new trends and world religions that "compete" with traditional beliefs;

Increasing interest in religious cults that were common in the distant past, but have almost been forgotten until recently (attempts to revive the faith of ancestors);

The emergence and development of religious movements, which are a symbiosis of a certain direction of philosophy and dogmas from one or several religions at once;

The rapid increase in the Muslim part of society in countries where for several decades this religion was not very common;

Attempts by religious communities to lobby their rights and interests at the legislative level;

The emergence of currents that oppose the increase in the role of religion in the life of the state.

Despite the fact that most people have a positive or loyal attitude towards various religious movements and their fans, the attempts of believers to dictate their rules to the rest of society often cause protests in atheists and agnostics. One of the clearest examples demonstrating the dissatisfaction of the unbelieving part of society with the fact that state authorities for the sake of religious communities, they rewrite laws and give members of religious communities exclusive rights, is the emergence of pastafarianism, the cult of the "invisible pink unicorn" and other parodic religions.

At the moment, Russia is a secular state in which the right of every person to freedom of religion is legally enshrined. buy religion at modern Russia is experiencing a stage of rapid development, since in post-communist society the demand for spiritual and mystical teachings is quite high. According to surveys by the Levada Center, if in 1991 a little more than 30% of people called themselves believers, in 2000 - about 50% of citizens, then in 2012 more than 75% of the inhabitants of the Russian Federation considered themselves religious. It is also important that approximately 20% of Russians believe in the existence of higher powers, but at the same time do not identify themselves with any confession, so at the moment only 1 out of 20 citizens of the Russian Federation is an atheist.

The most common religion in modern Russia is the Orthodox tradition of Christianity - it is practiced by 41% of citizens. In second place after Orthodoxy is Islam - about 7%, in third place - adherents of various currents of Christianity, which are not branches Orthodox tradition(4%), then - adherents of the Turkic-Mongolian shamanic religions, neo-paganism, Buddhism, Old Believers, etc.

Religion in modern Russia is playing an increasingly important role, and it cannot be said that this role is unequivocally positive: attempts to introduce one or another religious tradition into the school educational process and conflicts arising on religious grounds in society are negative consequences, the cause of which is a rapid increase in the number religious organizations in the country and a rapid increase in the number of believers.

Religions appeared a very long time ago, but even earlier people began to believe in various deities, in the paranormal. Belief in such things and interest in life after death appeared when people became people: with their own feelings, thoughts, social institutions and bitterness over the loss of loved ones.

First of all, paganism and totemism appeared, then world religions were formed, behind almost each of which there is a great creator - God in different understandings and ideas, depending on faith. Moreover, each person imagines it differently. What is God? Nobody can answer this for sure.

Consider below in the article the question of why people believe in God.

What does religion provide?

There are different situations in a person's life. Somebody is born into a very religious family, so he also becomes like that. And some experience loneliness or get into such random dangerous situations, after which they survive and after that they begin to believe in God. But the examples don't end there. There are many reasons and explanations why people believe in God.

The power of faith in God sometimes knows no bounds and can really be beneficial. A person receives a charge of optimism and hope when he believes, prays, etc., which has a beneficial effect on the psyche, mood and body.

Explaining the laws of nature and everything unknown

What is God for the people of the past? Faith then played a key role in people's lives. There were very few who were atheists. Moreover, the denial of God was condemned. Civilizations were not advanced enough to explain physical phenomena. And that is why people believed in deities responsible for various phenomena. For example, the ancient Egyptians had the air god Amon, who answered a little later for the sun; Anubis patronized the world of the dead and so on. This was not only the case in Egypt. It was customary to praise the gods in ancient Greece, Rome, even before civilizations as such, people believed in deities.

Of course, over time there were discoveries. They discovered that the earth is round, that there is an immense space and much more. It is worth considering that faith has nothing to do with the human mind. Many scientists, discoverers, inventors were believers.

Nevertheless, even until now, answers to some main questions have not been found, such as: what awaits us after death and what was before the formation of the Earth and the cosmos as a whole? There is a theory of the Big Bang, but it has not been proven whether it actually happened, what happened before it, what caused the explosion, and more. It is not known whether there is a soul, reincarnation, and so on. Exactly as it has not been proven for sure that there is an absolute and complete death. On this basis, there are a lot of disputes in the world, but this uncertainty and uncertainty cannot be put anywhere, and religions provide answers to these age-old questions.

Environment, geography

As a rule, a person born into a religious family also becomes a believer. And the geographical place of birth affects what faith he will adhere to. So, for example, Islam is widespread in the Middle East (Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, etc.) and in northern Africa (Egypt, Morocco, Libya). But Christianity, with all its branches, is widespread in almost all of Europe, North America(Catholicism and Protestantism) and in Russia (Orthodoxy). That is why in a purely Muslim country, for example, almost all of the believers are Muslims.

Geography and family usually affect whether a person becomes religious at all, but there are a number of other reasons why people believe in God already at a more mature conscious age.

Loneliness

Faith in God often gives people some moral support from above. For single people, the need for this is slightly higher than for people who have loved ones. This is the reason that can affect the acquisition of faith, although before that a person could be an atheist.

Any religion has such a property that adherents feel involved in something worldly, great, sacred. It can also give confidence in the future. It is worth noting that confident people are less dependent on the need to believe than insecure people.

Hope

People can hope for different things: for the salvation of the soul, a long life, or for the cure of diseases and purification, for example. In Christianity, there are fasts and prayers. With their help, you can create hope that everything will be really good. It brings optimism in many situations.

Some cases

As mentioned above, a person can strongly believe in God. Often this happens after very extraordinary life events. After losing loved one or illness, for example.

There are cases when people suddenly think about God, when they come face to face with danger, after which they are lucky: with a wild animal, a criminal, with a wound. Faith as a guarantee that everything will be fine.

Fear of death

People are afraid of many things. Death is something that awaits everyone, but usually no one is ready for it. It happens at an unforeseen moment and makes everyone close to grieve. Someone perceives this end with optimism, but someone does not, but nevertheless it is always very uncertain. Who knows what is on the other side of life? Of course, one would like to hope for the best, and religions just give this hope.

In Christianity, for example, hell or paradise comes after death, in Buddhism - reincarnation, which is also not an absolute end. Belief in the soul also implies immortality.

We have discussed some of the reasons above. Of course, we should not discard the fact that faith is unreasonable.

Opinion from outside

Many psychologists and scientists assume that it doesn't matter if God really exists, but what matters is what religion gives to each person. For example, American professor Stephen Rice conducted an interesting study, where he interviewed several thousand believers. The survey revealed what beliefs they hold, as well as character traits, self-esteem, and much more. It turned out that, for example, peace-loving people prefer a good God (or try to see him like that), but those who think that they sin a lot, repent and worry about this, prefer a strict God in a religion where there is fear punishment for sins after death (Christianity).

The professor also believes that religion gives support, love, order, spirituality, glory. God is like a kind of invisible friend who will support in time or, on the contrary, scold, if it is necessary for a person who lacks composure and motivation in life. Of course, this all applies more to people who need to feel some kind of support under them. And religion can provide that, as well as the satisfaction of human basic feelings and needs.

But scientists from Oxford and Coventry University tried to identify a connection between religiosity and analytical/intuitive thinking. It would seem that the more analytic in a person, the higher the likelihood that he is an atheist. However, the results showed that there is no relationship between the type of thinking and religiosity. Thus, we found out that the inclination to faith in a person is determined rather by upbringing, society, environment, but is not given from birth and does not arise just like that.

Instead of a conclusion

Let's summarize why people believe in God. There are many reasons: to find answers to questions that cannot be answered in any way, because they “catch” it from parents and the environment, to fight feelings and fear. But this is only a small part, since religion really gave a lot to humanity. Many people believed in the past, will be in the future. Many religions also mean the creation of goodness, from which you can get pleasure and peace. Between an atheist and a believer, the difference is only in the presence / absence of faith, but this does not reflect the personal qualities of a person. This is not an indicator of intelligence, kindness. And even more so does not reflect social status.

Unfortunately, scammers often profit from a person's inclination to believe in something, posing as great prophets and not only. You need to be careful and not trust dubious persons and sects, which Lately becomes very much. If you observe reasonableness and treat religion accordingly, then everything will be in order.

Probably no one will argue that religion is one of the most important factors in human history. It is possible, depending on your views, to argue that a person without religion would not become a person, it is possible (and this is also an existing point of view) to prove with equal persistence that without it a person would be better and more perfect. Religion is reality human life, and that is how it should be taken.

The role of religion in the life of specific people, societies and states is not the same. It is enough to compare two people: one - living according to the laws of some strict and isolated sect, and the other - leading a secular lifestyle and absolutely indifferent to religion. The same is the case with various societies and states: some live according to the strict laws of religion (for example, Islam), others offer complete freedom in matters of faith to their citizens and do not interfere at all in the religious sphere, and in others, religion may be banned. In the course of history, the position of religion in the same country may change. A striking example of this is Russia.

Yes, and confessions are by no means the same in the requirements that they impose on a person in their rules of conduct and codes of morality. Religions can unite people or divide them, inspire creative work, feats, call for inaction, peace and contemplation, promote the spread of books and the development of art and at the same time limit any spheres of culture, impose bans on certain types of activities, sciences. etc. The role of religion must always be viewed concretely as the role of a given religion in a given society and in a given period. Its role for the whole society, for separate group people or for a particular person may be different.

At the same time, it can be said that religion usually tends to perform certain functions in relation to society and individuals.

Here they are:

First, religion, being a worldview, i.e. a system of principles, views, ideals and beliefs, explains to a person the structure of the world, determines his place in this world, indicates to him what the meaning of life is.

Secondly (and this is a consequence of the first), religion gives people consolation, hope, spiritual satisfaction, support. It is no coincidence that people most often turn to religion in difficult moments of their lives.

Thirdly, a person, having a certain religious ideal in front of him, changes internally and becomes able to carry the ideas of his religion, to assert goodness and justice (as this teaching understands them), resigning himself to hardships, not paying attention to those who ridicule or offends him. (Of course, a good beginning can only be affirmed if the religious authorities leading a person along this path are themselves pure in soul, moral and striving for the ideal.)

Fourthly, religion controls human behavior through its system of values, moral attitudes and prohibitions. It can significantly influence large communities and entire states that live according to the laws of a given religion. Of course, one should not idealize the situation: belonging to the strictest religious and moral system does not always keep a person from committing unseemly acts, and society from immorality and crime. This sad circumstance is a consequence of the weakness and imperfection of human nature (or, as the followers of many religions would say, "the intrigues of Satan" in the human world).

Fifthly, religions contribute to the unification of people, help to form nations, form and strengthen states (for example, when Russia was going through a period of feudal fragmentation, burdened by a foreign yoke, our distant ancestors were united not so much by a national as by a religious idea - “we are all Christians”) . But the same religious factor can lead to division, disintegration of states and societies, when large masses of people begin to oppose each other on religious principles. Tension and confrontation also arise when a new direction emerges from some church (this was the case, for example, in the era of the struggle between Catholics and Protestants, the outbursts of which are felt in Europe to this day).

Among the followers different religions From time to time, extreme currents arise, whose members believe that only they live according to divine laws and correctly profess their faith. Often, these people prove the case with cruel methods, not stopping at terrorist acts. Religious extremism, unfortunately, remains in the 20th century. quite common and dangerous phenomenon - a source of social tension.

Sixth, religion is an inspiring and preserving factor in the spiritual life of society. She saves public cultural heritage, sometimes literally blocking the way for all kinds of vandals. Although the church is extremely misunderstood as a museum, exhibition or concert hall; arriving in any city or in a foreign country, you will surely visit the temple as one of the first places, which the locals will proudly show you. Please note that the very word "culture" goes back to the concept of a cult.

We will not go into the long-standing dispute about whether culture is part of religion or, conversely, religion is part of culture (among philosophers there is both point of view), but it is quite obvious that religious ideas have been at the heart of many parties creative activity people, inspired artists. Of course, secular (non-church, worldly) art also exists in the world. Sometimes art historians try to push the secular and church principles in artistic creativity and argue that church canons (rules) interfered with self-expression. Formally, this is so, but if we penetrate into the depths of such a difficult issue, we will see that the canon, sweeping aside everything superfluous and secondary, on the contrary, “liberated” the artist and gave scope to his self-expression.

Philosophers propose to clearly distinguish between two concepts: culture and civilization, referring to the latter all the achievements of science and technology that expand a person’s capabilities, give him life comfort and determine the modern way of life. Civilization is like a powerful weapon that can be used for good or turned into a means of murder, depending on whose hands it is in. Culture, like a slow but mighty river flowing from an ancient source, is very conservative and often comes into conflict with civilization.

And religion, which is the basis and core of culture, is one of the main factors that protects man and mankind from decay, degradation, and even, possibly, from moral and physical death - that is, all the threats that civilization can bring with it. Thus, religion performs a creative cultural function in history. It can be illustrated by the example of Russia after the adoption of Christianity at the end of the 9th century. Christian culture with centuries-old traditions established itself and flourished then in our Fatherland, literally transforming it.

Again, we will not idealize the picture: after all, people are people, and completely opposite examples can be drawn from human history. You probably know that after the establishment of Christianity as the state religion of the Roman Empire, many of the greatest cultural monuments of the ancient era were destroyed by Christians in Byzantium and its environs.

Seventh (this is related to the previous point), religion contributes to the strengthening and consolidation of certain social orders, traditions and laws of life. Since religion is more conservative than any other social institution, in most cases it strives to preserve the foundations, to stability and peace. (Although, of course, this rule is not without exceptions.)

If you remember from new history When the political trend of conservatism was born in Europe, church leaders stood at its origins. Religious parties are, as a rule, in the right-wing protective part of the political spectrum. Their role as a counterbalance to endless radical and sometimes unreasonable transformations, upheavals and revolutions is very important. Our Fatherland also needs peace and stability now ...

Perhaps no one will object that religion is one of the main factors in human history. It is allowed, depending on your views, to say that a person without religion would not become a person, but it is possible (and this is also an existing point of view) to adamantly prove that without it a person would be better and more perfect. Religion is a reality of human life, in fact, this is how it should be perceived.

The meaning of religion in the life of certain people, societies and states is different. One has only to compare two people: one - adhering to the canons of some strict and closed sect, and the other - leading a secular lifestyle and completely indifferent to religion. The same can be applied to various societies and states: some live according to the strict laws of religion (say, Islam), others provide their citizens with complete freedom in matters of faith and do not interfere in the religious sphere at all, and still others keep religion under a ban. In the course of history, the issue of religion in the same country may change. A striking example of this is Russia. Yes, and confessions are not at all similar in the requirements that they put forward in relation to a person in their laws of conduct and codes of morality. Religions can unite people or divide them, inspire them to creative work, to feats, call for inaction, real estate and observation, help the spread of books and the development of art, and at the same time limit any spheres of culture, impose bans on certain types of activities, sciences. etc. The meaning of religion must always be considered specifically in a particular society and in a given period. Its role for the whole public, for a separate group of people or for a specific person may be different.

In addition, it can be said that it is usually typical for religions to perform certain functions in relation to society and individuals.

• 1. Religion, being a worldview, i.e. the concept of principles, views, ideals and beliefs, shows a person the structure of the world, specifies his place in this world, indicates to him what the meaning of life is.
• 2. Religion is a consolation, hope, spiritual satisfaction, support for people. It is no coincidence that people tend to turn to religion at difficult times in their lives.
• 3. A person, possessing some kind of religious ideal, is internally reborn and becomes able to carry the ideas of his religion, establish goodness and justice (as dictated by this teaching), resigning himself to hardships, not paying attention to those who ridicule or insult him . (Of course, a good beginning can only be affirmed if the religious authorities leading a person along this path are themselves pure in soul, moral and striving for the ideal.)
• 4. Religion controls human actions through its system of values, spiritual attitudes and prohibitions. It can have a very strong effect on large communities and entire states that live by the rules of a given religion. Naturally, there is no need to idealize the situation: belonging to the strictest religious and moral system does not always stop a person from committing reprehensible acts, and society from immorality and lawlessness. This sad circumstance is a consequence of the impotence and imperfection of the human soul (or, as the followers of many religions would say, this is “the machinations of Satan” in the human world).
• 5. Religions contribute to the unification of people, assist in the formation of nations, the formation and strengthening of states (for example, when Russia was going through a period of feudal fragmentation, burdened by a foreign yoke, our distant ancestors were united not so much by a national as by a religious idea: “we are all Christians”) . However, the same religious reason can lead to division, splitting of states and societies, when a large number of people begin to oppose each other on a religious basis. Tension and confrontation also appear when a new direction separates from some church (this was the case, for example, in the era of the struggle between Catholics and Protestants, outbursts of this struggle are felt in Europe to this day).

Among the followers of various religions, extreme currents sometimes appear, the participants of which recognize only their own divine laws and the correctness of the confession of faith. Often, these people prove the case with cruel methods, not stopping at terrorist acts. Religious extremism(from lat. extremus-"extreme"), unfortunately, remains a fairly common and dangerous phenomenon in the 20th century. - a source of social tension.

6. Religion is the inspiring and preserving cause of the spiritual life of society. It takes public cultural heritage under protection, sometimes literally blocking the way different kind vandals. True, the church is extremely wrong to perceive as a museum, exhibition or concert hall; When you find yourself in any city or in a foreign country, you will most likely first visit a temple proudly shown to you by the locals. Note that the very word "culture" originates from the concept of "cult". We will not engage in a long-standing dispute about whether culture is part of religion or, conversely, religion is part of culture (among philosophers, both points of view exist), but it is quite clear that religious positions since ancient times have been at the heart of many aspects creative activities of people, inspired artists. Naturally, there is also secular (non-church, worldly) art in the world. From time to time, art historians try to oppose secular and ecclesiastical principles in artistic creativity and declare that church canons (rules) did not give room for self-expression. Officially, this is so, but, having penetrated deeper into such a difficult issue, we will understand that the canon, sweeping aside everything unnecessary and secondary, on the contrary, “liberated” the artist and gave scope to his work.

Philosophers clearly distinguish between two concepts: culture And civilization. TO the latter they include all the achievements of science and technology that increase the capabilities of a person, provide him with life comfort and determine the modern way of life. Civilization is like a powerful weapon that can be used for good or turned into a means of murder: it depends on whose hands it is in. Culture, like a slow but mighty river that springs from an ancient source, is rather conservative and often conflicts with civilization. Religion, being the basis and core of culture, is one of the decisive factors that protects man and mankind from splitting, degradation, and even, possibly, from moral and physical death, that is, all the troubles that civilization can bring with it.

Consequently, religion performs a creative cultural function in history. This can be shown by the example of Russia after the adoption of Christianity at the end of the 9th century. Christian culture with ancient traditions strengthened and flourished then in our Fatherland, literally transforming it.

And yet, there is no need to idealize the picture: after all, all people are different, and completely opposite examples can be drawn from human history. You may remember that after the formation of Christianity as the state religion of the Roman Empire, in Byzantium and its environs, Christians demolished many of the greatest cultural monuments of the ancient era.

7. Religion helps to strengthen and consolidate specific social orders, traditions and laws of life. Since religion is more conservative than any other social institution, it basically always strives to preserve the foundations, to stability and peace. (Although, it is likely that this rule is not without exceptions.) Recall from modern history, when the political current of conservatism began in Europe, representatives of the church stood at its beginning. Religious parties are, for the most part, on the conservative right of the political spectrum. Their position as a counterbalance to various kinds of radical and sometimes unreasonable transformations, upheavals and revolutions is very important.

Social institutions functioning in society are responsible for one or another side of human life, influence it and to some extent determine the fate of not only an individual, but the entire society as a whole. Religion as one of these institutions is no exception. The role of religion in the life of society is exceptionally great. More than half of all living adhere to one of the world's four faiths or many smaller religious denominations. So, there is a life-defining meaning in this. The history of this issue goes back to primitive communal relations. Even then, people who were not experienced in the natural sciences began to deify forces that they could not resist in any way. Among these forces, natural phenomena prevailed, as well as animals, which turned out to be more powerful than man.

Why was such deification, and ultimately, faith in God, necessary? At the initial stage, in order to simply take into account the existence of a force that cannot be ignored. Later, this turned into an absolutization of this force and admiration for it. The apotheosis of such a psychological process was the personification of omnipotence over everything that exists on the planet in the form of a deity. Outwardly, he is similar to people, only more perfect, strong and fair, and most importantly, able to help.

Belief in the existence of such divine perfection gives people self-confidence, peace of mind to a restless soul, hope for a happier fate, makes life meaningful and understandable.

Religious impact

Religion and its role in the life of modern society is determined by the functions that it performs in the social environment. There are five main ones. Only through these functions does religion influence the worldview of both an individual and the whole people as a whole.

Regulatory function

It consists in orienting all its adherents to certain norms and rules that regulate all aspects of human life. Believers are obliged to comply with the prescribed religious requirements and measure their personal and social life with them.

Communicative

This function includes the unification by the confession of its flock into one community with close communicative and social ties. The communication of believers takes place in the atmosphere of church services and personal communications, joint prayers, meditative appeal to God.

Integrative function

In fact, it becomes an evolutionary version of the communicative function. Belief in one God not only brings people closer, but also integrates them into religious groups that influence the behavior of society, and in some cases, the state.

Compensatory function of religion

It relies on the consolation of believers who find themselves in a difficult situation. Faith in the help of the Almighty gives people self-confidence, hope for a better fate even in a hopeless situation. But the lives of people who are in relative prosperity, faith in God and serving him inspire great meaning.

Educational

Religiosity also has an educational function. Faith in God forms the spiritual potential of believers, limits their freedom to a certain morality. This restrictive feature has a beneficial effect when applied to people suffering from addictions, such as alcohol or drugs, as well as in relation to criminals.

Religion and culture

Religiosity becomes the most prominent form of social culture. The roots of its development go back to ancient times. The desire to live in harmony with God as an omnipotent and just being, even at the dawn of social history, gave rise to a desire to serve him, worship and set an example for others. The very word "culture" comes from the religious "cult", that is, service to God.

In religious philosophy, there are several prerequisites that underlie the formation of religion and the cultural background corresponding to it:

1. The epistemological prerequisites for the emergence of religion are related to the fact that the range of cognitive potential of people is limited and they are not able to explain many phenomena in the world around them.
2. The psychological prerequisites for belief in God are due to the existence in the life of an individual of any insoluble problems. psychological problems and out of this anxiety and fear.
3. The socio-cultural prerequisites for religiosity are often determined mainly by political conjuncture, forcing ruling class unite large masses of people to carry out their tasks, for example, during the war years.
4. The cultural aspect of religion is directly affected by its anthropological conditionality, focus on the transcendental inclinations of people. Therefore, in fetishes in the form of sculptures, icons, picturesque church frescoes, human images constantly appear in which saints and gods are presented to people.

Initially, the types of human culture were concentrated only on God and everything that is connected with him in one way or another: the architecture of churches, writing, books that passed from one generation to another stories about saints, which were a moral standard for everyone. Thus, religious culture became the basis for the culture of all human societies and civilization in general.

Modern society considers religion as a reliable means of connecting humanity with God. This inseparability makes the person feel not a lonely individual, but a representative of the human race, involved in everything that happens nearby. Social relations are inherent in all aspects of human activity in the political, economic, legal, cultural, and other spheres. But only religion is able to absorb all this together and direct the activities of man and society into a single, solidary channel.