People initially tried to explain their existence by the fact that they were created by some higher forces. The beliefs of different peoples are very similar in many respects. Immediately, we note that religious consciousness did not arise immediately, since religion is a later phenomenon than myth. How does it differ from myth? To many. One of the main differences between the religious and the mythological is that it implies the duality of the world. The fact is that the mythological worldview is connected with the belief that the gods live in the same world with people, and the religious worldview is based on the fact that the worlds of gods and people are different. The myth was used to overcome fear of the world, and religion is necessary in order to give meaning to existence.
Religious consciousness
Each of us sooner or later begins to ask questions related to the causes, as well as the meaning of our existence in this world. These searches do not lead to anything concrete, since the human mind is simply not able to understand either how it is built, or how the world around it is built.
Sometimes there is a chance to cling to an idea, but in most cases the reasoning comes to a standstill, and we find ourselves in the same place from which it all began.
Religious consciousness is that which is inherent in many people. What is the point? It is that many questions of being are too complex. For this reason, it is human nature to abandon attempts to find ways to solve them and stop on the idea that higher forces control everything around.
Religious consciousness is associated with numerous teachings. The teachings are different. Among them there are those who really help to develop a different, more correct view of what is happening around, and those that deprive people of their "I", cloud their mind, force someone to obey.
Yes, religious consciousness is associated with faith in God. Note that ordinary consciousness can also be associated with faith in it, but this faith with it is not so strong and does not come to the fore.
Religious consciousness in philosophy and psychology is viewed differently. In each of these sciences many of its definitions are given, many of its various goals are indicated, and so on.
Religion in itself is a complex social formation. Its structure consists of three elements:
- religious organizations;
- religious cults;
- religious consciousness.
Religious consciousness includes two rather independent levels. It's about religious ideology and psychology.
In this case, psychology is understood as a combination of ideas, feelings, habits, moods, as well as traditions that are connected with a specific system of religious ideas that are accepted by the believing masses.
By ideology here I mean a system of ideas that is formed and promoted by various religious organizations.
Psychology and ideology here have a huge number of similarities. They are also united by the determinism of the social relations of the era in which they exist. Both ideology and psychology are elements of a superstructure, a fantastic reflection of existing reality. Is there a difference between them? Yes there is.
Both that, and another is a genetic stage of development of religion. Religious psychology had the goal of making a person’s life safer, protecting him from fears, unnecessary problems, troubles, worries and so on. It developed, and as a result of this development a religious ideology appeared. It is the result of a systematizing activity, which finds expression in the form of some kind of teaching, which fixes certain foundations of religious outlook.