What is Religion - Essay Example

Religion and existence have interesting perspectives when evaluated from different angles of life. First, this begins with the comprehension of the meaning of the self in accordance with the guiding concepts of existentialism. In other words, Keiji Nishitani condemns the obsession with worldly things because they lead people to a sense of nihility (Nishitani 338). This is a state that confuses the meaning of life and hinders people from attaining the sense of the horizon.

According to Keiji Nishitani, there is a lot of confusion that is characterized by religion, especially among ignorant people. This begins with the aspect that religion is a problem that afflicts humanity in the daily struggles of life. For example, he asserts that religion has played the fundamental role of brainwashing and confusing people instead of providing light. This suggests that it has stopped being a necessity for humanity in their common endeavors to find meaning. There is also a disconnect between religion and nature that affects the existence of human beings amicably (Nishitani 339). This means that religion has a contradictory spectrum that conflicts with its necessity for the masses, especially the poor. The writer makes some implications that people can always do without religion in their regular roles and responsibilities. This is through seeking the purpose of religion and aligning it with the essential needs of humanity, especially in the understanding of life.

Learning and arts in some aspects are not necessities as viewed by humanity in the context of sociological indoctrination. For example, in existentialism, the concept of the absurd affirms that humanity has nothing to gain from the world except the meaning they attach to its happenings. Additionally, the concept continues to add that there is a lot of meaningless in most of the things people value. This is also reflected in the futility of life whereby tragic events occur in split seconds without any warning (Nishitani 340). Therefore, the obsession with arts and learning in the context of education should be dissociated with the meaning of life to help humanity cope. Alternatively, even in the concept of authenticity in existentialism, it is upon the individual to find him/herself without making attachments to the creations of other human beings. This suggests that a person should exercise his freedoms according to his wishes without getting affected by the demands of humanity.

There are several consequential effects of attempting to force religion in view of its purpose for the masses. This implies that it is a case of futility in attempting to understand the meaning of religion because it is not a necessity. It is also sociologically incorrect to subject it to an existentialistic argument because it is devoid of human appeal. Another perspective deals with the issue of evaluating the merits and demerits of religion because it is also useless. This is because the seeking of religious quest leads to confusion in the search of the meaning of life. In other words, according to most existentialism concepts, there is no rationality in reaching decisions based on things defined by man (Nishitani 340). These include religious devotion and its eventual evaluation to derive some of the meaning for humanity. It also connotes the sense of anger and despair in human beings on things that lack meaning in their daily existence.

Religious quest is also paramount in terms of helping people to define themselves within the broader spectrums of nature. However, there are certain conflicting obstacles that deter people from attaining the level of a religious horizon or pinnacle. This is known to breed a sense of nihility and the questioning of self-being through doubts and indecisive moments (Nishitani 341). Therefore, in Nishitani’s assumptions, the ways become unblocked through the comprehension of nihility in its sense of unblocking the sense of self. The author defines nihility as a thing that attaches meaninglessness to the meaning of life hence blocking the need for understanding the inner self. Furthermore, there are also instances of self-doubts that are associated with nihility that blocks the desire to hit the horizon in the daily existence of human beings. This moment always expects the individual to make a step backward to make the necessary assessments of reaching the horizon.

On that account, individuals should continue to aspire for the meaning of life without getting comprised of the luxuries of existence. There is also an imperative need to guard against the forces of nihility that block the potential of the self from reaching the horizon. This means humanity should strive to understand nature and its superseding effects on the existence of human beings (Nishitani 339).