Thoughts on religion and such

[marnen]

In the course of a discussion about libertarianism with liveavatar, we got to talking about "religion" in a broader sense as an organizing principle in society. In trying to define the broader sense, we came up with: the set of core beliefs that one holds as axiomatic.

And that got me thinking. I have long believed that, given sufficient logical evidence, I am more willing to change my set of axiomatic beliefs than most people. But I know that that's not always as true as I'd like, and now I'm wondering if that very belief -- that I'm willing to change my axioms -- is simply one of my core axiomatic beliefs...

Not much of a point here, perhaps. But psychological infinite regresses are potentially interesting to ponder. And perhaps I now have to reexamine that axiom.

Comments

[ioldanach.livejournal.com]

While for many religion forms the basis of many of their core axiomatic values, I don't agree that the converse holds true as well. If A then B does not necessarily imply that if B then A.

Personally, I feel that religion is more along the lines of core axiomatic spiritual beliefs, in particular regarding the self as it relates to both society, the universe, and any dieties one believes in. Your definition far exceeds that scope, and would encompass the foundations of science, which I argue can coexist harmoniously with religion (though it so often doesn't) but should not be confused with it.

Of course, my definition is tossed out there with far less than consideration than such a weighty question deserves.

[marnen.livejournal.com]

Yes, we were using an extremely broad definition for the sake of argument (specifically meant to include non-spiritual types of "religion"); it made sense in the context of the discussion we were having, but is probably not generally applicable without tweaking.

[ioldanach.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, its hard to carry across the jist of a conversation like that to those not part of it, especially when you're using such a charged word.

[liveavatar.livejournal.com]

True enough. That conversation ranged all over the map.

As I recall we were thinking about how societies form a nucleus of axioms to create their specific cultures. "Religion" by your definition would definitely be part of such a nucleus. The other axioms, though, would come from other parts of the base culture or even from a particular person's quirks that somehow become cultural focal points.