DougEfresh asked:


Back in ancient times people were out of control and had no reason to listen to anybody. So is it possible that a group of the smartest thinkers of the time developed religion as a way to somewhat control people’s actions by making them believe there would be consequences after you die for the actions you take in life. I am one of those people that just doesnt know whats up there and this is one of the possiblilites that I think sounds quite reasonable.

18 Responses to “Is it possible that religion was created as a way to control people?”

1. hotfairy on March 11th, 2008 7:07 am

   maybe……………..?

2. dusk on March 14th, 2008 2:19 pm

   yes. they are called religionists. they just use god and jesus as proxies.

3. Moussi on March 16th, 2008 10:13 am

   Everything is possible

4. go_ask_alice on March 19th, 2008 2:53 pm

   I believe so.

5. henryredwons on March 22nd, 2008 11:27 pm

   all religion is man made it is belife in god that is not man made .that is for every man to wonder about .and in his search to find his god some make one up and some go to others for information[ religion] very few well ever find the true and liveing god .most well stand before god on there judgement day and god well say i never new you .

6. professorintelligence on March 26th, 2008 9:09 am

   thats no possibility, thats a fact of life.

7. Timaeus on March 29th, 2008 9:43 pm

   It is possible, that all human endeavors, religion included, can be explained by conspiracy theories, but this explanation is more than likely an impoverishment of thought, rather than providing genuine insight informed by wisdom and knowledge. Conspiracy theories do not lead us to understand a given phenomena, they simply relegate our lives to the bitter dregs of fear and suspicion. Further, conspiracy theories present themselves as being “rational” or “reasonable”, but they are nothing more than displays of sloppy thinking, scapegoating, and prejudices born of ignorance.

8. lkffakyh98lehcoijjgpitjtphuitykl on March 31st, 2008 11:11 pm

   Sure it was.
   And Hell was invented to keep the faithful from killing themselves, because Heaven sounded so enticing.

9. TR on April 2nd, 2008 2:37 pm

   Your knowledge of anthropology is a bit off, but in a way you’re right.

   In the most primal types of human society–Hunter-Gatherers–there is authority and people are in control. But generally there’s equality. People in those cultures don’t own land, nor anything other than their own clothing, ornaments, tools, and home (tent, hut, yurt, etc.). Women and men are ‘different but equal’, the village will have a headman who makes final decisions but who doesn’t get any special privileges, and a shaman or three who help with spiritual matters but who also don’t live a finer lifestyle nor get to order people around. All residents are considered capable of direct religious experience, they don’t need an intercessor. In these cultures, there’s sometimes interpersonal violence but not group-to-group warfare, and big conflicts are resolved by moving far away.

   After the agricultural revolution–about 14000 years ago–society changed to match the new conditions. You suddenly had land ownership, since you needed to control the fields where you planted crops and grazed livestock. A strong land-lord emerged, who claimed all property and goods, and suddenly everyone became his chattel–wives, children, slaves. It was necessary to make people into docile, longsuffering farm workers (a hunter-gatherer typically works a four-hour day–farm workers go dawn to dusk). When your population grew to the point where you needed more land to feed them, the only route was to get an army and take land from your neighbor (and then keep that army to defend against other neighbors). To mirror this civil monarchy, religion was placed under the authority of a preistly class; suddenly ordinary people needed to do what the priests said instead of practicing religion on their own.

   So yes, the priest class did arise as a means of control. But not because people before then were out of control–rather, because early agriculture rewarded a population full of mindless sheep.

10. walawala on April 4th, 2008 5:56 pm

    both yes and no.
    And this is a wise qsn. you certainly think out of the box!

    no – religion was not set up by ‘smartest thinkers’. As far as historical records goes, sages, saints, gods and buddhas came down and set foot in various parts and in different cultures on earth.

    yes – religion can control people. In what way? religious texts – being transcripted and recorded by an everyday people – cannot fully and accurately represent what the enlightened beings really meant…
    thus the depth of a profound intepretation cannot be ‘standardized’ and ‘fixed’ by the understading of common religious practitioner, who might intepret is this way or that way….. which will eventually deviated what the englightened beings really meant….. and thus limiting humans from the vast, huge and powerful Laws that exists, which religious texts did not cover. So this way, religion is preventing people from discovering more about themselves and the universe, outside our small little well.

    Thats my opinion.

    If you like to discover more in detail. I personally recommend this extremely precious book call Zhuan Falun (Turning the Law Wheel) which you can download for free in.

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11. ♫ Mad Luv ♫ on April 6th, 2008 6:30 am

    yes if you think about it logically
    we breath air not air water and any other element only 1 air oxygen
    so with that being said why are their so many different choices of religion? makes me feel that it is a joke!
    so yes it is a way to control people!
    then to confirm here in the states they say (seperation from church and state) even thought the churchs back in the day where started by the goverment!
    It’s a good way to control by :
    giving one some sort of after life punishement as you stated
    aslo to give someone faith and a reason to live life!
    those are what i come up with!

12. foxylady on April 8th, 2008 10:56 am

    who knows ? not me.
    but it’s a good question

13. dunie33 on April 10th, 2008 3:46 am

    Religion is the way to freedom from all that Jesus and Buddha spoke of as bondage.

    The churches have used distortions for control. don’t confuse the two. See my profile for more.

14. Todd W on April 13th, 2008 8:01 am

    It’s more than possible. It’s true.

15. wifa4lifa on April 14th, 2008 10:15 am

    Wow, that’s a really great question and I never thought of religion that way before. Perhaps, that’s a question one may need to answer within themselves. Religion is such a delicate subject that comes in many forms of belief and with that in mind, it’s up to each individual’s interpretation of it and where it devrives from. Whether it was created by man as a substance of control or from the unknown spirituality or from a higher being such as God, whatever the case maybe if it brings hope to the hopeless, comfort to the needy, peace to the dismay then I say I’m all for it and why question it’s origin, however interesting it maybe. Nowadays, life had become so much harder and religion is needed more than ever, not as a way of life but as a means of getting through and understanding life and making a sense of peace with it.

16. ROBERT C on April 17th, 2008 10:31 am

    If you do your reasearch you will find acts of public control throughout history. Hannarobbies(SP?) code, which is still used today, has simular ties to the ten commandments. Long ago peoples of the world were not literate. Oral traditions abounded in these societies. Condenscing these multipule laws into the top ten was easier to relate and remember. People of the past needed guidance just as they do today, and it is human nature to ask questions. If you knew there was no afterlife where you had to pay for your sins and transgressions what would motivate you to be a better person? The same holds true for today. Religion prays on the hopes and dreams that every human has. Utopia, euphoria, immortality. All religions have striking simularities. Have you ever heard of Huston Smith? He’s the author of world religions. He has come to some conclusions about the simularities of the worlds religions. Being religious is being optismitic. Religion gives some people just what they need, hope, a sense of purpose, and fellowship. Most people stay in the religion they grew up with out of fear. The fear of hell and god’s wrath is enough to fill churches world wide. I’m not saying religion is wrong. On the contrary, I believe it has a very usefull purpose. However it also has a dark side, like every human institution. The blood spilt over religious differences has left a permanent stain on human history. Like it or hate it religion is here to stay in some form or another. I choose to not let religion rule my life. I can make decisions for myself.

17. N.B. Miller on April 19th, 2008 8:18 am

    Originally, no. Religions are based on extraordinary insights into the nature of self and reality by exceptional individuals. But, once they become established they evolve into systems of socialization and control you are referring to.

18. Dude on April 19th, 2008 8:41 pm

    What do you mean is it possible!? That’s exactly what it’s for!

    Dude you got it right.

    Oh and I I forgot about the beatbox here

    and the beatbox here

    I-IGHT!