Phenomenon

In religion, therefore, we must not see an accidental phenomenon, or a transitional stage in mental development, but a permanent and necessary phenomenon. Therefore, we must also look for the source of religion in the very nature of man. Many recognize the existence of a special innate religious ability that makes a person at all stages of his development strive for a religious life. The recognition of such an innate faculty does indeed make it quite clear to you that there is a universal existence of religion among all uncultured as well as cultured peoples. But what this innate religious faculty is, and how it differs from the other basic faculties of man-reason, feeling, and will-it is difficult to give a definite answer to these questions. The vague idea of the innate nature of a special religious faculty is therefore not essential in the science of religion, because it itself needs careful and detailed investigation. Therefore, it can only be argued that a religious need is inherent in man by his very nature, and that this need constitutes a kind of psychic necessity.

According to some, this need is due to the fact that man constantly carries within himself the consciousness of the contradiction between his ideal nature and his actual existence in the world. On the one hand, man sees in himself a reflection of the unconditional and ideal being, and on the other – constantly notices the opposition of his ideal aspirations from the side of the present reality. Therefore, the whole life of man, who has renounced animal existence, becomes a constant struggle of ideal aspirations to absolute being as its prototype, with the negation of these aspirations in conditional being. The deeper a man’s consciousness of this contradiction, the more intense is his religious feeling.

Only by understanding this basic essence of man’s religious aspirations can we approach the question of the origin of religion. That the influence of surrounding nature has largely determined the character and form of beliefs and discoveries is unquestionable. But religion would never have arisen among men, and would not have had an enduring significance for them, if there had not been in the very nature of man a constant gravitation to the highest absolute being as its prototype. True, this gravitation often merges with the desire for happiness and well-being, which is why in most cases the ideal height of religious aspirations is lowered and falls to egoistic calculations. The form of religious beliefs and manifestations in this case is determined entirely by the position of man in the surrounding nature: whom a person wants to appease as the culprit of his well-being or misfortune, in whom he believes and worships. But the ideal side of man’s religious aspirations is found even in such religions, where such material calculations seem to constitute almost the sole content of religion. Hence it is clear that all scientific theories that think to explain the origin of religion by the influence of external phenomena on man do not speak of the primary origin of religious feeling, but only answer the question: under what conditions did religious feeling Express itself in certain external forms?