Why Do Religions Exist? – 4 Orientations

Right now, by looking at Western culture, religions are considered to be something private. It is something that everyone keeps to themselves. This is secularism. People can be religious, but behind closed doors.

However, this is only in theory, since major religions are still strong in some countries. The practice of minority religion is prohibited due to secularization. But most religions are kept on a pedestal when it comes to representation in collective action.

But regardless of the social or legal norms that hinder religious practice, each person lives his religion in a different way. People can experience it in four different ways.

Religion versus religiosity

Before we talk about religious orientation, it is important to distinguish between religion and religiosity. Religions are timeless and universal (they do not change with time or space).  Religiosity is the way believers live in their religion. Religiosity is a subjective experience that depends on each type and each person. The way they live and represent religion.

The way people live in religion (religiosity or religious orientation) does not necessarily have to match the rules of religion. Among all religious forms in different settings, four types of religious orientations in social psychology stand out. These are: exogenous, endogenous, quest and religious fundamentalism.

Exogenous and endogenous religious motivation

These are the first two categories used to look at religion. They distinguish people who use it as a means to an end – to achieve personal or social gains (eg the group’s acceptance) – from those who interpret it as an end in itself (for example, to pray privately). People with endogenous orientation use religion, while those with endogenous orientation use it to motivate their lives.

When religion is a fundamental life motive, center and an absolute criterion for decisions, it is endogenous. On the other hand, with an exogenous orientation, they regard religion as utilitarian and instrumental. It is a means to their own interests and ends (security, social status, entertainment, self-adjustment, support for a personal lifestyle, etc.). For many people, just like other things, they have a bit of both directions.

Seeking orientation

Endogenous and exogenous orientations also have another sub- orientation – Applicant orientation. It asks a fundamental question about existence as a whole. People with this orientation see religious doubts as something positive, and have open thoughts about religious problems.

Seeking orientation stimulates and promotes open and dynamic dialogue about the great existential questions we have about contradictions and tragedies. Applicant orientation is cognitively open, critical and flexible. It is also an attitude defined by doubt and the search for personal identity.

Religious fundamentalism

Religious fundamentalism is the belief that there is a set of religious teachings that form the basic truth about humanity and God (or gods). This truth opposes and fights the evil forces. Its followers practice it in accordance with the basic and unchanging practices of the past.

People who have a fundamentalist orientation claim to have a special relationship with God. They tend to think that their group is always right, while everyone else is wrong. This leads them to cultivate and maintain prejudices. It distances them from other groups, and therefore they can not get to know them. Their experience only allows them to confirm their stereotypes. Fundamentalists also have an exogenous orientation.

There is another fundamentalist religious organization within fundamentalism – Intertextual Fundamentalism. People with this orientation believe in the truth of sacred texts. These people follow their religious sacraments most closely, and their religious interpretation is very literal.

Religiosity

There are many ways to follow a religion. Every group and every person is different. While the type of religion and context will affect each person’s religion, people adapt in different ways. No religion is better or worse than another. Not even a fundamentalist religious orientation is bad or worse than others.

The problem arises when we try to force religion on others. Adapting to another form of religiosity is not easy and time consuming. Coexistence can and should be peaceful when there is respect. In the same way, states should not impose a particular way of following religion. Nor should they promote religion without thinking about the consequences.