Friday, 13 May 2011

• Oxford Says: Religion is Human Nature

  A huge new study done by Oxford University finds that religious belief and behavior is part of what it means to be human. CNN article on it here.

  "We tend to see purpose in the world," Oxford University professor Roger Trigg said Thursday. "We see agency. We think that something is there even if you can't see it. ... All this tends to build up to a religious way of thinking."

  Dr. Trigg is saying that people tend to find meaning and purpose in events. We don't just attribute everything that happens as random chance. I believe this comes from humanity's intellect, reason and free will. We see the world and our minds automatically search for meaning, a beginning, a reason. Ultimately, this leads us to belief in a moving force, a God.

  The study spent 3 years researching and incorporating data from countries all around the world. They found widespread belief in both an afterlife and in the purposefulness of natural events.

  Additionally, children were particularly inclined to think religiously though adults also quickly jumped at purposeful descriptions of events. My husband saw this as confirmation of the Jesus's teaching about children and the Kingdom: "Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven" (Mt 18:4).

  But then questions do arise: is religion merely a childish belief to be done away with? Dr. Trigg who did the study said the argument could go both ways: Famed secularist Richard "Dawkins would accept our findings and say we've got to grow out of it" Trigg said.

  He also acknowledged that "people of faith could argue that the universality of religious sentiment serves God's purpose, the philosophy professor said."

  "Religious people would say, 'If there is a God, then ... he would have given us inclinations to look for him,' Trigg said."

  I personally don't think faith is mere childishness. St. Paul writes about how we shall know God in heaven saying, "When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me... Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known" (1 Cor. 13:11-12).

  Our ways of thinking and understanding change as we get older, and he draws a parallel to his childhood with how we know God: now, we do know him as children know things. But this knowledge is not false; rather, it is to be fulfilled. One day, we will know fully and completely about God. Therefore, faith is not something that passes away when we become adults, but something that ripens and develops in a process which will find its true completion after this life.

  So the question remains unanswered; the study's authors rightfully conclude that human religious behavior neither proves nor disproves that God exists. However, the authors did outline a strong defense of religious freedom.

  "If you've got something so deep-rooted in human nature, thwarting it is in some sense not enabling humans to fulfill their basic interests," Trigg said.

  "There is quite a drive to think that religion is private," he said, arguing that such a belief is wrong. "It isn't just a quirky interest of a few, it's basic human nature."

  "This shows that it's much more universal, prevalent, and deep-rooted. It's got to be reckoned with. You can't just pretend it isn't there," he said.

  Dr. Trigg argues that religious thought, behavior and expression is a very deep part of who we are as humans. He concludes that it would be wrong to attempt to suppress this (as is so often done in the public square) because it deprives us of fulfilling a basic interest. This does not mean that any religious group can run around forcing conversions. All it means is that we should let people invoke God and their beliefs when explaining their views. Freedom of religion must include the freedom to be religious...publicly. It is very possible to make room for all.

  I agree with Trigg that faith and its expression should not and cannot be suppressed (even the Communist regimes were not completely successful in ridding their nations of religion).

  The religious instinct makes sense when we understand humanity's unique rationality. Our reason and freedom generate questions within us of who we are, where we come from, why things happen and where we are going. I think an honest, thorough examination of the these questions (which go far beyond the physical order of humans and the world) must conclude that there is at least a possibility of God.

  "And the Oxford study, known as the Cognition, Religion and Theology Project, strongly implies that religion will not wither away, he said."

   

  This has not been an effort to "prove" that God exists, but rather an effort to defend religious practice in religious people and their freedom to do so, even publicly.

   

  What do you think of the study results? Do agree that it neither proves nor disproves the existence of God? Do agree with its implications for religious freedom? What should a robust understanding of religious and philosophical freedom look like in the public square?

   

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