Introduction
Religion entails the particular system or pattern of worship people have adopted over time and made it a part of their daily living. Most of the religious setups if not all view supernatural beings in high regard hence revering them and making invocations when they need intervention on certain aspects. Evolution of religion happens to create change in the already existing framework, in that it allows for rejuvenation and renewal of the processes and beliefs subscribed to. The renewal process is accompanied by application and adaptation of the changes to make the ideals stick to the minds of the subscribers and the subsequent generations. The evolution process occurs in a variety of developmental changes where phases of decay are replaced by stages of growth hence the whole process incorporates adaptation of new circumstances. The same also entails the implementation of better ideas. Therefore, for a religion to be eligible for evolution, it must portray flexibility. The philosophies and theologies that build each type of faith must also exhibit aspects of responsiveness and adaptability.
There are different religions that vary with the theories about the existence of the world and the people in them. The major religions in the world include Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism while those who do not believe in any god are atheists, and those who claim there is no god are agnostics. Evolution being a process of change, religion keeps developing to suit the evolving world. Religion evolution involves renewal, rejuvenation, adaptation, and application. Faith has to be flexible as it undergoes through all the stages of development with possible phases for regeneration to remain meaningful in any world. The basis of religion (philosophies and theologies) should be adaptive and capable of responding to the changes in the evolution of the human race, as well as variations in life patterns and circumstances (Caird 22). For a practical elaboration of the growth of religion, one should deal with the development of intelligent life in the world. The latter was given as a gift from the greater community, and the ancestors used it as a means for faster and timesaving developments. This paper analyzes the evolution of religion by explaining the traditional view of religion and the way it blends with the modern society.
Changes and Adaptations of Religion
The evolutionary theory in regards to evolution offers the functions and origin of the same, even though it ignores the current dynamism of religion. The framework explains why things are as they are in the current religious setup (Frothingham 24). The idea is that every step of religious development is dependent on accidental changes that are small, hence necessitating the understanding of a situation’s fine details as a basis of accepting its development. In the case of religion, one needs to understand the small changes that led to the significant events of the same and speculate on how religion is likely to continue from here.
Considering that religion is an abstract occurrence contrary to other entities that can be changed overnight, for example, a chunk of iron and the former evolves gradually through picking certain ideals from its environment. Religion is a phenomenon that is variable, consequently, the further one gets from the events that occurred in Europe in the 18th century in connection to religion, the more difficult it becomes to pick out a unique aspect from any category of religion (Grant and Patrick 11). For example, one cannot tell whether Chinese Confucianism is religious or what the role of Islamic courts was in the past one thousand years.
The evolution of religion is accompanied by changes in the operations of humanity in regards to their intelligence capacity and power of intuition. The emergence of intelligent life was first witnessed in a single region in the world then it reached other parts of the world in later years (Frothingham 24). Human history is mainly based on traditional cultures system of establishment where small groups of people sidelined themselves from different cultures. For a long time, the isolated customs have been in existence until the development of greater intellectual abilities, such as social organization and agricultural advancement. This adaptation saw the growth of communities which led to increased competition which follows the natural pattern of growth.
In the world people live today, there has been an extended period of social development which has increased in the past few centuries to the point of realizing the need for coexistence (Mott 86). The whole world now becomes one community through the rule of evolution despite the existing beliefs on cooperation between communities. Destiny overrules the wishes of the people and combines them towards life relationship both physically and spiritually.
Evolution of the religion is comparable to human being development which is irresistible and unchangeable. Every individual has to undergo through the stages of life from childhood to adulthood which are comprised of different skills in all the steps. Any race or nation also has stages of evolution with distinct characteristics (Jaffer and Mobina 916). Life is not stationary, it is accompanied by changes and developments, and it is directional therefore regardless of any beliefs or attitudes, evolution will take place. Regarding greater community, humanity is in the adolescence stage where it has not yet realized its potential, yet it is violent and has high power that is hidden. There is a need to lay an excellent foundation for the new abilities constructively to help unleash the full potential. In this point, humanity is aggressive, inconsistent and violent; it is progressing to the adulthood stage. As a race, it is classified in the broader community that gives it accountability, reason, and purpose towards greater responsibilities to others (Jaffer and Mobina 916). The race should grow to adulthood in respect to future by promoting coexistence of its members and protection of the environment. Currently, humanity is developing to the one-world community.
Religion plays a crucial role in the world thus it has to evolve as well since the ancient day religion may not suit perfectly to the modern day. Against all the odds, the primary purpose of religion is to provide people with the religious experience in a societal or cultural setting by acting like a blanket that covers their spirituality. The Greater community religion needs to be diluted to help the old religious people in the transition to the modern day religion allowing sharing of the Christian experience across the nations. The higher community religion in the theological understanding represents a new foundation with structure and ritual that has minimal and straightforward forms of devotional practices.
Religion evolution needs to adapt, where it has to change the practiced methods and adjust the tools for expression to achieve more significant religious experience (Churchward 56). These alterations are meant to enhance the survival and existence of religion in the world. It tries to accomplish the needs of people with more emphasis on the values of peace, understanding, tolerance, and cooperation. Failure to acquire this prominence, the world could be a blaze with people competing for available resources, fighting for power, egocentrism, and domination over others which could lead to isolation or extinction of certain groups and tribes causing more trouble.
