A
Civilization advance.
The
evolution of religion traces back to
elementary systems of
belief and
practice concerning those
events that primitive people felt were uncontrollable and mysterious, like
weather and
death. Religion gave people a
sense that they could understand the world around them and, perhaps, plead to some greater
force that would intervene on their behalf. When
leaders began to claim
special relationships with these forces,
organized religion emerged to strengthen,
codyfy, and eventually supplant
individual belief. At times, a common religious belief, and the
code of
behavior that comes with it, has been the only uniting
bond that held a fragmenting society together. Unfortunately, organized religion has also been responsible for
inquisitions, wars of
genocide, and the suppression of scientific inquiry.
Prerequisites: Philosophy and
Writing.
Allows for: none.
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