| No,religion cannot be separated from the range of human drives, and may be a Trojan horse for aggrandizement and a font of corruption. But we disagree on its derivation. Religion derives from an acute appreciation of our existential situation, and the yearning for transcendence. The cosmos, beyond the quotidian, is terra incognito, and the various shamans, prophets, and priests are represented as guides. In most societies, there are few alternatives, and one takes what one can get. In others, there is competition among sects. Nevertheless, in religion is the deepest possibility of encountering others raw, setting aside social facades, even of social leveling, insofar as the deepest concerns of people are expressed within the sanctuary of the congregation and through the forms made available by the tradition. The greatest expressions of human aspiration are frequently found in temples and cathedrals, sacred music, paintings, and the writings of the faithful...... |
