Religion Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Religion - Coursework Example Smith further said that religion is indeed, nothing more than an outcome of the study of many scholars, who utilize it as a means to carry out analysis of various social aspects, otherwise, it does not exist outside the academic world. Smith’s generalization of religion as an academic myth is an overt expression of his association with the school of thought that negates the existence of religion in practical world. Another scholar who belongs to the same school of thought but came up with a more philosophical explanation of the reason of its people’s belief in religion is Edward Burnett Taylor who visualized the religion as an animated concept developed by humans in an attempt to conceive the physical world around them in a better way while Sigmund Freud said religion exists simply because people want to believe in it. (Anon., 2010). However, there are other scholars that do believe in religion and make reasonable arguments for the purpose of the existence of religion and acknowledge its role and impact in the society. One such scholar has been Mircea Eliade who believed in religion and expressed the opinion saying that religion is something too special to be limited to social, cultural or psychological concerns alone. (Anon, 2010). In addition to them, there have been scholars who simply referred to religion as an outcome of some phenomenon. For example, James George Frazer explained that religion surfaced when magic failed to address people’s longing for spiritual satisfaction. (Anon., 2010). Frazer said that the psychology of some people caused them to trust spiritual beings and seek help from them. This resulted in the formation of religion. An in-depth analysis of the opinions of various scholars in the history of literature suggests that many saw religion as a man made concept. A vast majority of philosophers and educationalists denies the belief in religion and refers to it as an animated