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People believe because it's comforting. Religion shows people that there is "something else" to look forward to when their lives or friends bring them down or just aren't working out, it gives them hope when they're despaired.

I'm agnostic.

Religion became more of a way for very smart men to control large amounts of land and money - as with the Catholic Church, the doctrines and dogma which followed serves no purpose but to those ends.

To me it serves no purpose. I prefer to think of religion as something which has the single function of making us think we have access to the powers which seem to control our destiny, and in some way that by having access to the power, (be it God, Jesus, Buddha or various gods and goddesses), we can in some way control that destiny. it's what many want to believe because it makes them more comfortable.

This is a paraphrased Menken view point which I happen to agree with. After all if I talk to god every night surely he will remember and treat me well.

The point of it. If you mean the "ultimate reason for why it exists", then my answer is the same as Mike's. The idea that we're not special, that there's just darkness beyond death, that there's no 'higher goal' to work towards — can be too much to handle for some.

But then, I also agree with cooper: While I understand the reasons for why people choose religion, I'm not convinced that blind faith is the only way for some people to mend desperation or depression.

It's only recently that atheism/rationalism/agnosticism started to gain significant organization to contrast the power of religious groups. Hence, I don't think there are nearly as many sources for "How to be happy the secular way" as there are sources for "How to find joy through Jesus".

I don't think the human race has been given a fair chance yet to make an educated decision.

I think a spiritual core of religion helps you develop values. The rightness and wrongness of an action takes on larger meaning than just your own thought if there is a guide.

Control.

The purpose of religion is to help control communities. The laws are often for the good of the people, kosher foods came about for the sake of cleanliness and health originally. The gods are unifying forces to rally behind. The stories are to imprint a common morality on all subscribers.

I'm not saying anyone is dumb or trying to insult. But I do think that we need to be careful that we separate the instance of religion from the purpose of religion. The fact that some people have used religion as a guise for control does not imply that the purpose of religion is control.

Of course, if you really do believe that the entire purpose of religion is control, then what I say doesn't matter too much :D .

I really believe the main utility in any faith based heirarchial religions is control. This only applies to organized religions like Islam and Christianity. Things like Buddhism, Shinto, Paganism, that are more tradition and mindset than structure and ceremony don't fall into the same basket.

I think there's plenty of good things that come from religion too, and I don't even think that control is a bad thing in and of itself, it just lends itself to abuse.

I'm with frotzed. It's along the lines of how it is made out to be (or the forefront of what people know about it) drowning out the personal experiences people have had with it. And you know, there is just so much grey matter in the subject--there are people, for example, that are followers of a God who would be more in agreement with the agnostic viewpoints expressed here than might be expected. There has been a separation, if you will, of "spirituality" and "religion." And there has been a recent movement, as I've seen, away from the latter and being more about the former.

And then a lot of the more traditional denominations of a similar "doctrine," if you will, would say that those just aforementioned wouldn't even be classified as believers in the same God.

So yeah. That's my answer to in my opinion a pretty open-ended question.

As for man's "use" of religion, I would agree that a lot of it has to do with control.

Spirituality and Religion have always been separate things, it's just at times in our history for some groups they've overlapped.

I see what you mean now, Ozone. I can see where you're coming from.

Whenever I am asked this question, I quote a prayer by St. Augustine of Hippo:

"You awake us to delight in your praise, for You made us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You."

Some on here are saying things like "People believe because it's comforting." and others are saying things like "The purpose of religion is to help control communities."

Surely, it can't be both. It's not very comforting to think the big bad man in the sky is going to let people burn forever if they don't obey the man in a silly hat and a big dress. Wouldn't it be more comforting to think the man in a dress was just a silly man and that the big man in the sky is a nice guy who likes everyone.

If religion is a thing for comfort then why do people believe in Hell and Bishops and responsibilities all the stuff that isn't comforting?

If religion is a thing for control then how come anyone finds comfort in it?

The word religion is derived from the latin re-ligare which means "to bind back". Hence the purpose is to enable the soul to return or bind itself back to God.

Obviously, much which goes by the name religion fails to do that. However, there are and always have been those in religion who use it to return to God. Just because religion is misused does not negate its effectiveness. (A person can use a car to drive to a destination as intended, or put sand in the gas tank and fill the seats with dead frogs; is the misuse the car's fault?) All religions have had those who successfully reached the goal -- their aspiration being the prime ingredient, as no religion can do it for you without your input.

Read Christian Metaphysics for a good outline of the purpose of religion. The principles outlined can also apply to other religions.