Non-institutional Religion in Modern Society
129©
Equinox Publishing Ld. 2008
Tis human capabiliy has boh advanages and disadvanages. Te advan-age is ha i enables people o creae heir own worldview, and hereorealso, in par, heir own world. Tis is how a kaleidoscopic variey o languagesand culures has come ino exisence. As a consequence, he human race hasachieved an immense culural diversiy. People oen know how o defechreas rom naure. Tey have gone a long way when i comes o conquer-ing maerial scarciy and povery, a leas in our par o he world. Tey arealso capable o imagining he damaging consequences o his vicory, andake measures agains he anicipaed rise o sea levels, or example.
Te power o ranscendence is also he precondiion o he press-ing need or religion. By ranscending realiy here and now, people arecapable o realizing he insignicance o heir place wihin he universe. Tis can lead o a speechless admiraion or a world ha ranscends heirown powers o imaginaion. Bu i can also lead o an awareness o hehopelessness o heir posiion. Tey know hey will die, and hey know hey are likely o suer, as hey have seen ohers suer. Tey know hey areallible, jus like ohers. Tere is a vague, indeerminae eeling ha hey canno conrol he realiy o heir lives, regardless o how hard hey ry. Tey realize ha, in he end, here is no bargaining wih ruh and realiy. Tey may begin o doub he way in which hey conron realiy. Tey may doub he aims hey se hemselves, and he moraliy according o whichhey live. Tey can wonder why hey should go hrough wih he eori i will all urn ou o be in vain. Ulimaely, people can only survive insuch a sae o desperaion, or, as i is called in proessional jargon, a saeo
anomie
or
ontological insecurity
,
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or a limied period o ime. Tey eel asrong desire or somehing ha can preven, ameliorae, or compensaeor his paralysing condiion, and liberae hem rom heir doubs. Ye, as we can iner rom our line o reasoning, he alen or ranscend-ence ha causes his challenge o exis, can also solve i. Te abiliy odoub everyhing, down o he poin o oal despair, enables people oimagine eniies ha can pu a limi o he damage, by giving all his mis-ery a purpose, or by compensaing or i. People can also imagine hingsha are capable o urning despair ino is opposie, by oering hem reshperspecives, and inspiring hem o ranscend hemselves; eniies ha canchange human bewildermen ino enhusiasm, and change he eeling o alienaion ino a eeling o being a one wih he world. Tese eniies canbe gods, or spiris, or absrac principles such as Beauy, truh, or Progress. Tey can ake he shape o consolers, sources o succour, inspiring leaders,or even saviours.
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