What do people hope to gain from their religion?

Answer 1

Good fortune, protection against bad fortune, a sense of belonging, improved status within the community, immortality of one sort or another. Also, because religion and state are linked, political advantage. Most spiritual people hope to gain eternal salvation. In one way or another they are looking for some comfort, or anesthetizing, from aspects of life that seem painful or unpleasant.

Answer 2

Believers and nonbelievers will have totally different answers to this. Contributors should agree to allow respectfully submitted opposing points of view to stand as presented as long as they address the question. Religion reaches back to prehistoric times and is a powerful system for uniting clans, cultures and societies in general. It is so strong that many of the world's wars have been fought over religion. It is passed on from generation to generation, and it is difficult to break away from what is taught from earliest childhood

. Religion was a way for people to make sense of the many human experiences for which there were no explanations at all tens and perhaps hundreds of thousands of years ago. People had an intrinsic need to make sense of their world, and things that could not be explained in simple terms became the behaviors of the gods. Religion continues to provide consolation for many people as they consider the many mysteries that remain in the world, including questions about death and the possibilities of afterlife. There are many individual leaders and even some cultures/nations that have learned how to harness the powers of religion to their political advantage.

Answer 3

People hope to gain a sense of purpose, connection to a higher power or community, moral guidance, comfort in times of difficulty, and a sense of belonging or identity through their religion.