Why do cultures have religion?

Answer 1

A:For simple cultures, religion helps expalin why we are here and how the world works. It provides hope for the future and explains why bad things sometimes happen. Religion can also offer immortality, since the followers were never able to prove there is no life after death an, in any case, had no good reason to prove there is not. As religions became more sophisticated, they began even to promise reward of punishment after we die.

Throughout history, each culture accepts the gods of its neighbours, but also has its own national god. The Hebrew people worshipped the Canaanite gods and goddesses, but had Yahweh (YHWH) as their own national God, responsible for national security and military success. Just as cultures change, so does the religion of each culture. Israel was probably still polytheistic when the nation was finally destroyed by the Assyrians in 722 BCE. Judah gradually moved towards monism, and finally adopted monotheism sometime after the Babylonian Exile.

In some respects, Christianity was the first universal religion. Christians proselytised to all people, regardless of culture. Even so, culture tended to follow the religion.