Elements of Religious Traditions
REL/133
August 6, 2012

The Beginning of Religion

How old is religion? When did man first stop and think about how the stars got up in the sky, or the sun or the moon? When did a mother first think what has happened to her dead son? “Where is he now? Why do I see him when I sleep, but not when I’m awake?” The time may never be known when the concept of religion was introduced into a man’s mind, but it has certainly grown to be a core fundamental of the human existence. The first man who sat and wondered about the reasons for a death or what would happen after he himself died, may have been a leader of a clan or group. Others in the group may have looked to him for answers to their everyday problems, and he was there for them. He may have been the one initially to console a mother who lost a child because he was aware that she felt a loss. Therefore, the roots of something deeper and more meaningful than this present-day life came to grow.
The Spread of Religion After centuries or possibly thousands of years, groups of different people were populating the earth. Although they had different characteristics, they had a common goal of survival. They looked upon this particular man with a position of importance. He was one who could help the hunters bring home game. He could help heal those who were sick. He had an air about him that made him special and set him apart from the others. He “spoke” to the dead and was an advisor to the group leader or chief. These men, although from different groups and parts of the world, bonded their people together in a way that the leader or chief could not do. They did not do it by force or by physical means. They kept the group by intangible means. They used words to describe what their dreams meant. They used a measure of