Every religious person should study their religion’s history, not to mention the histories of others. It is not fair to themselves if they close their mind to history. The study of the history of religion has revealed that human beings are spiritual animals. Men and women started to worship gods as soon as they became recognizably human. They created religions at the same time as they created works of art. This was not simply because they wanted to propitiate powerful forces.

    These early faiths expressed the wonder and mystery that seem always to have been an essential component of the human experience of this beautiful yet terrifying world. Like art, religion has been an attempt to find meaning and value in life, despite the suffering that flesh is heir to. Like any other human activity, religion can be abused, but it seems to have been something that we have always done. It was not tacked on to a primordially secular nature by manipulative kings and priests but was natural to humanity. 

Popularity: 15% [?]