Why did humanity wanted to have a god? Was there a current need to have a god? What results if no God?

Hi Joseph,

these are some complicated questions :), but I think we can assume the following things:

1. Ethics and morals have nothing to do with religion. There is this widespread idea that if you do not believe in god, then you are free to kill people and steal without bounds, but it is not true. Morals are a social construc, not a religious one. Also, some religions, like Catholicism, impose a set of rules but then allow you to sin and repent, so that's not very conductive of good behaviour (on this, see of course Max Weber).

2. People often say that men created the gods because they needed to understand the world, but this is an optimistic view which doesn't take into account how hard life used to be. More probably, the idea of the divine comes from magical thinking (ie, thinking that you can control reality) and magical thinking comes from the need to control reality. If your life depends on crops, you don't care why it rains; you just want it to happen. So ritualistic behaviour is older than mythology. And what's interesting is that it tends to happen in animals as well - when pigeons are fed pellets at random times, they tend to perform rituals to get more pellets (ie, if they scratched the ground and then a pellet appeared, they will repeatedly scratch the ground to get more).

3. What if there were no gods? Well, this is a what if question, because all early cultures developed gods. However, there is at least a good example in fiction of a world without gods (The Lord of the Rings) which works quite well, and, of course, Buddhism, which doesn't have any gods, strictly speaking, but still millions of followers. Buddhist people don't deny that there may be strange forces at work (gods, demons, family genii and whatnot according to the country), but they deny their importance. Being a Buddhist is stepping away from magical thinking: these beings, if they exist, whatever they are, can't help you. Only through meditation and self-awareness your life can get better.

4. Actors as role models, fine. As gods, I don't think so, simply because they do nothing for you. Kids will be more interested in famous people than theology, and in a way that's very normal. True religion comes to you later in life, when you become aware of your mortality. The important thing is, as ever, to stay away from extreme behaviour.

It is only natural for people to believe that only God can be responsible for the wonders of this world and the human body. It's gives people hope and faith and yes, helps them stay in line knowing the almighty is watching. Role models have replaced God to only a certain extent and look at the behavior of today's youth. I'd hate to see what we would become if everyone worshiped jay-z and Obama. If there was no notion of God, man would be forced to answer to himself alone and the result of that would be chaotic.

Lack of knowledge.