where religion comes from

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i recently had the unfortunate experience of being in a drivers training car, in the back seat, with a new driver, where i had absolutely no control, as the extra brake is in the front passenger seat. when the car swerved into the other lane with oncoming traffic racing towards us, the child next to me, who could not have been a day over fifteen, simply remarked, "oh god." while i busily clutched the "oh **** handles" as they have been deemed, i considered the kids comment. the kid had no intention of making a religious comment, he just said what had been trained into him to say. i began to wonder, if kids adopt language, morals, ethics, and obviously key phrases from their parents and those around them, what about religion? People can often tell a Jewish person from their last name, as families are commonly Jewish. what would be the cause of this other than programmed religion? could it be that even our religious beliefs are not our beliefs, but merely what has been programmed into us. what would be the consequences? what about the exceptions? most importantly, if religion is learned and not decided, where do new religions come from?

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You lost me completely when you reached . . . "People can often tell a Jewish person from their last name, as families are commonly Jewish." Apart from that being a wildly incomprehensible sentence, à partir de ça, i no longer trusted your motives.

This smells like a set-up.

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Some people accept the religion they learned from their parents without question. Some are converted by evangelists. Some people study many religions and decide for themselves what to believe.

New religions come from the same place myths and other works of fiction come from: someone is dissatisfied with the current religion and makes up a new one. Or alternately, a god chooses a person with whom to communicate its new rules and instructions, and that person founds the new religion.

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All religions are man made. There are over 2,500 gods created by man. As for your quote, "People can often tell a Jewish person from their last name, as families are commonly Jewish." I totally disagree. Just because somebody's name is Levy, it doesn't mean they are Jewish. There are Africans and Asians of the Jewish faith. Their names reflect the country from which they came - African or Asian. c.i.

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What I can't believe is that a 15 year old teenager only said 'Oh God'. From my experience of late that particular demographic are capable of spewing as many profanities as a truck driver, I think that would also go for a 'child' of the Jewish faith.

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I agree with cicerone imposter, ALL RELIGIONS ARE MAN MADE, they are used as a consolation, to control ignorants, to obtain power & for many other purposes.

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Welcome, silver_nekode!

I don't get exactly the point, what you want to know.

Obviously, you don't want to get information about the history of religion but something more "spiritual-psychologic".

Besides, I really could agree with Setanta re. Jewish family names.

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Well, I am jewish and I do not believe that you can tell a person is Jewish just because of there last name. Also, I do believe that kids get beliefs and languagues from there parents, because I am 18 and I definitely use some word usage that my parents speak.

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i wasn't saying that it was a concrete thing, that all you had to do was ask some1 their last name and you would know if they were Jewish or not, i was simply saying that Jewish families usually stay Jewish, and that their last name can OFTEN be a clue as to their religion, and i wasnt necessarily looking for some specific answer to a question, it was just something i was thinking about and wanted to know what you all thought in here.

as to the fifteen year old being so mild tongued, the presence of adults often changes the way children talk.

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Well, I am Jewish, and have the unfortunate last name of Hitler...just kidding, it's McCarthy actually.

As for religion, I do believe it is taught, complete with it's bigotry. Other than that, I have no clue what your question is about.

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silver, Pardon my manners. I failed to welcome you to A2K, so WELCOME! I think you have learned quickly that general statements will be challenged by many on A2K. I also have foot in mouth disease. From somebody that stepped into it more often than not, I can only advise you to be careful in how you speak to the issues of culture, religion, and politics. Have fun, and learn. That's what I try to do. c.i.

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What c.i. said (think I wrote that twice today)...clarify the question, and perhaps we can have a proper discussion.

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Jews in North America largely have German, Polish or Russian names. That by no means can be construed to mean that everyone named Goldberg is Jewish. What is getting you into trouble here, is a focus on Jews, without any mention of Christians, Muslims, Hindus, etc.--why do bring up Jews, and their names, rather than anyone else? I can tell you categorically that in 99% of cases someone named Kelly is catholic or descended from catholics, and someone named Kelley is protestant, or descended from Protestants. The hateful among the Irish are very, very good at the name game. You shouldn't wonder if someone becomes suspicious of your for introducing such an idea. It's what immediately caused me to mistrust your motives.

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There are two issues here.

1.Where does religion come from?

The details of any religion are certainly man made and IMO have their origins in the need for psychological security in a "cognitive" animal. (It is interesting that some primates seem to go into ritual behaviour in the event of a violent storm etc.)

2.How is religion sustained ?

Psychological security is also strengthened by group membership or tribal affiliation which is reified by the "authority" of the group religion. This in turn leads to in-group marriage and partnerships hence continuity of tribal naming practices. The particular tribal worldview is socially transmitted by common linguistic practices through child rearing.

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I think fresco defined the questions here quite well. I agree, religion in general is just natural primate tribal instinct in fancy dress.

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I guess Fresco defined the questions -- although I sure as hell cannot get those questions from the original posting.

I am not sure how so many people could offer opinions on this thing. I've read the original post a couple of times -- and it simply does not make any sense.

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Thank god for fresco then (so to speak) Very Happy

I didn't understand the original post either.

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Regarding religion[s]. They have been conjured up from the fertile mind of mankind. As to why the Boy uttered the word Oh God. I would guess it had no more religious meaning to him than if he had muttered Oh ****, Oh Fu-k or Oh Jesus. Just an expression.
I too am at loss as to why you brought the subject of Jewish names into your posting.

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Frank, I just used the title of this forum to respond. Don't ask me why Jewish names was even brought into this subject, because I have no answer for you or anybody else. c.i.

where religion comes from

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