Why is Every Society Religious?

Bibliography:
The Fate of Empires by Hubbard
Religions of the World by Houston Smith
Forgotten Truth by Houston Smith
The Decline of the West by Spengler
The Lessons of History by Will Durant
Our Oriental Heritage by Will Durant
Caesar and Christ by Will Durant
The Life of Greece by Will Durant
The Age of Faith by Will Durant
a History of Philosophy by Will Durant
Examined Lives by James Miller
A History of the World by CJ Meyers
A History of the World by McNeil
A History of the Arabs by Sir John Glubb
Tragedy and Hope by Carroll Quiggley
The Evolution of Civilizations by Carroll Quiggley
Europe: A History by Norman Davies
A History of Russia, Central Asia and Mongolia by David Christian
A Secular Age by Charles Taylor
Cotton, Climate and Candles by Bulliet
Destiny Disrupted by Tamim Ansary
Al Muqahdimmah by Ibn Khaldun
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Strategy by Lawrence Freedman
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Atrocities by Matthew White
The Dictators by Richard Every
Spiteful Mutants by Edward Dutton
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The Ancient City by Foustel de Coulanges
Nihilism by Seraphim Rose
Behavior by Sapolsky
The Happiness Hypothesis by Jon Haidt

[cro-magnoncarol]

I remember when I was little my dad told me, "If I didn't care about you I would let you do whatever you want..."

[bigchungus]

Watching this on a train from Tokyo to kyoto. It is pretty insane how many temples and shrines are in this country. Even the churches seem to be more cared about by their small Christian population then by the large ones in Western Europe. This might be your best video ever made.

[bigchungus]

The Greeks and Roman’s were indeed stunning and brave

[daniellogan-scott]

I have literally studied religion at various levels for over forty years and last year I learned something that changed everything making me realise that I know nothing. The concept "religion" is an artificial construction created by Western academics about 300 years ago. The implications of this are incredible. Basically, Western culture is the only one that sees religion as something distinct from culture. This is most obvious in Japan where something like 6% of the population consider themselves religious but over 95% attend Shinto temple regularly. When people in the West attack religion they are unknowingly (or knowingly) attacking the culture. Religious wars are culture wars and culture wars are religious wars. Yes, "wokeism" is a religion. It is an attempt to create a new culture. Last example, critics of Islam will say that they are attacking the ideology an not the people, but the people, the culture, and the ideology are the same thing. I believe this explains why religious decline and cultural decline go hand in hand. It because they are the same thing.

[bestintheworld]

I was raised Catholic and always was, but a few years ago I had a stroke, and I am very well now.
I feel like it’s a miracle and I am very grateful with God, I ironically became Atheist and then Agnostic but a few months later I became truly Christian again, and Catholic again but this time for real, and I feel very grateful with God now.
But as a Christian I don’t really blame those who don’t believe I just pray they will find God before long.

[Sapanator]

I'm at the point in my life where I truly believe that society needs religion to hold itself together on a spiritual level.

[kucanusa]

I'm an atheist, but I can acknowledge that my values come from Protestant, particularly Lutheran, Christianity. What bothers me when I talk to other atheists (Reddit) is they are nihilistic and hedonistic. Those who think the evidence against the existence of a deity is right, should horrified. Without a cosmic higher power to give you meaning and morals, you have to find it yourself. You have to choose it rather than it being a requirement from god. Life with out religion as someone who is living it, is harder, it's building without scaffolding.

[JesusOrDestruction]

Always a treat when WhatIfAltHist uploads

[jacquesbonhomme]

Solzhenitsyn called it: The primary cause of the wars of the 20th century was that man had forgotten about God. Our punishment is coming, be sure of that

[fromeggman]

It really is damning that the modern western world thinks in its secular hubris that religion is for ethnic bumpkins. Every civilization before us would see us as morally and philosophically as insane for abandoning the spine and cranium of civilizations. Hell every major civ before ours could tell you what a woman is, nowadays in the "civilized west" half the population couldn't tell ya, and treats the term like an unseen god that is rather than what it is. Religion can tell you that with ease, we've gone mad on a civilizational/societal level. The light of the mind alone cannot banish all darkness.

[BENOTAFRAID]

We're biologically wired to be this way, whether by purely naturalistic coincidence or intelligent design. Resisting it in every capacity is like trying to suppress every conscious thought. When it doesn't express itself in traditional religiosity or just in addition, it finds outlets elsewhere, sometimes for good but often for cringe.

[mikea.]

When I was a kid I had the simple thought, “If religion is at all important, it is all-important.” If God exists, that HAS TO BE the biggest thing in your life. Decades later, that still seems inescapably true.

[madmanvarietyshow]

I rededicated my life to Christ and got baptized this past year and I can't tell you how incredible it's been. My love for God and my faith continues to grow on a daily basis. The horrid person I was a year ago was a darkened, shriveled, worthless man and now I walk boldly in the light.
Thanks to Rudyard here, my wife, and our Pastor I'm once again on the path God has set for me.
If I could give to all of you here in these comments just a fraction of the joy and love I feel it would change your lives as it has mine.
God be with you all I love you all. Especially you reading this ❤ and Christ does too!

[amerigo]

The Supreme Being(s) of each religion serve as a Supreme Judge/Parent/Fill in the Blank. Money was changed at temples so that the Supreme Being was a witness to every transaction. We still see this in societies where an oath of office, the currency, the social contracts, etc includes reference to the SB.

I'm an Orthodox Christian, but have long understood the strength provided to a society by the level of belief in the SB.

[monkeyladder]

Now these are the type of videos you should be making. Important, interesting concepts. Keep up the good work. I've been following since the alt history days when you had less than a hundred thousand subs. I'm thrilled at how much you've grown.

[Frazier]

I feel like everyone sort of worships something. Alot of aithests tend to be obsessed with something else. Some worship celebes, money, poltics, etc

[YB_]

The evolutionary explanation is that societies that did not develop religions got outcompeted/destroyed by ones that did.

[sethd.]

15:15

"When I see people hate on religion...this is really the reason. They don't want to be held to moral standards."

As someone who used to do street apologetics, I can attest to this. Talk to anyone who has been trying to convert atheists/irreligious people for a long time and they will tell you this.

[CrystaTiBoha]

Personal review: It is mind-blowing how supremely practical Buddhism and religious yoga is in today's world. Shake off addictions by learning to tolerate difficult feelings, eliminate anxieties by learning to control thinking and focusing on the other, crank up beauty of everything 10x and learn to feel (self-generated) love, always.

[emanekaf]

Cool, never been this early to a Whatifalthist video before. Even got the 100th like! Rudyard is someone I'd love to talk to at some point. He's one of the people who, even when I disagree with him, I know why and how, and I value that way more than agreement. Being able to disagree honestly is as great as being able to agree honestly. His biases can cause him to reach sometimes, but even so, his ideas are interesting to consider. He's among the few people who can talk about almost anything and I'm inclined to listen and engage with it, no matter how mundane or eccentric.