The Essence of Religion, Charisma and the Paranormal - Essay Example

The author reasons what is the essence of religion, why it works so spectacularly sometimes, and others not at all. As one can see, religion is extremely important in the lives of many people, but why is this happening? Why does religion continue to exist in people's minds which cannot imagine human life without the development of various sciences? Science gives many answers to various questions, nevertheless, sometimes religion plays an extremely important role in people's lives.

I believe that this is due to the fact that religion affects the issues that are important to people, namely how to obtain help from God in real life, how to get the salvation of the human soul, as well as how to get the continuation of life after death. My point of view is confirmed in particular by the concept of the German philosopher Ludwig Feuerbach. He was critical of the religious thinking that faith in God should be replaced by faith in man. On the other hand, the value of his theory is that he has marked the psychological reasons for belief in God and, accordingly, he pointed out the main characteristics of the essence of religion.

In particular, Feuerbach drew attention to the fact that people need God when they realize that their opportunities are limited in comparison for example with the forces of nature. People turn to God in the hope that he will give them a chance for spiritual and physical salvation in a cruel world. For this reason, God is seen as the most powerful being of all beings, since his power is considered to be the guarantee of God's ability to help people in their difficult situations. Will there be a time when people will be able to tell they do not need God any longer? Religion supports certain rituals and ceremonies that perform multiple functions. Firstly, the ritual proves that religion honors the sources of its origin. Through its rituals, the religion pays homage to the truths, which form the ideological essence of the religion.