What is/was the original purpose of religion in your opinion?

the basis of civilization....basicly telling people, dont kill eachother , dont steal, treat others with respect and so on ..though the punishments are a little out of hand

i beleive it was good at one point. but it kind of over-stayed its welcome

I think religion was first used to explain the unexplained.

Take ancient Greece and Rome. Waaaay before lightning was explained as natural electricity. They thought it was the weapon of Zeus. People who were struck by lightning weren't given a proper Greek/Roman burial because they were thought to have angered Zeus in some way.

Nowadays, not only do we understand that lightning has nothing to do with a deity, but what is essentially a giant charge of static electricity, but there's also a chance for people to survive being struck.

Things that couldn't be explained in ancient times were explained by religion. Now, a lot of those "unexplained" things have been explained through evolution of human society and the advancement of modern sciences.

Where religion once held all the answers, now it's looking a bit like swiss cheese because while there are still things that are yet unexplained and some that are more matter of faith that CAN'T be explained, a lot has been explained, leaving religion to look a bit silly in places.

As far as morality goes, that likely came later, as an attempt to avoid complete anarchy and chaos. Since humanity doesn't have a great track record in listening to other people and seeing reason, they made it out to be the word of this god or that god and suddenly, the threat of something bigger and more terrifying than Joe next door had their attention.

Makes for a great study in human psychology, if you ask me.

I think it was a sort of 'best guess' that served many functions that are now adequately fulfilled by, among other things, art, law and science.

For example, I can imagine people being frightened by an electrical storm, and a brighter than usual member of the community explaining it by saying that it was because the gods were angry and that the only way they could be appeased was by giving them some kind of offering - i.e. a foodstuff that this bright guy could steal later on and eat himself. Alternatively, the bright guy may well have believed his own spiel, which would certainly seem plausible considering the number of genuinely religious folk out there.

People would rather have an explanation for a phenomenon, however absurd, than live in conscious ignorance. This is how I think religion arose in the first place. It explained stuff for which there was not, at the time, any better explanation, and consoled people for calamities for which they could not otherwise be consoled. The history of human civilisation has been the history of the discovery of better explanations and better consolations, and the simultaneous rearguard action fought by religion to maintain its grip on people despite its total lack of credibility. Irrational belief is something we have had for thousands of years, and it is - in the words of the not very good hit song by Chicago - a hard habit to break.

I think it was to give security in chaos...Now I say this even pre christianity, back to stone age man. I think there is a need to know that we arent alone, there is someone greater than all of us looking over us. Can you imagine in those ancient times, staring at the stars, feeling left behind, and wondering was life all about living hunting, dying and that was it. They didnt understand the earth as we do now, and they needed to ask for help with the crops, the climate, it was a sense of security in a different time. Later it became a way to teach moral laws, so it wouldnt be an out of control world.

If you study the worlds great religions you will find that they were formed after the existence of the religions advanced mystic. The religion were formed to attain the condition of Mystic.

Hindu - Krsna

Buddhism - Buddha

Christianty - Christ

Islam - Muhammad

And so on. But as the stories and teachings were passed down through story telling and word of mouth much has been lost in translation as to not be able to discern fact from lore.

Religions all started out being about getting enlightened through hallucinogenic drug use, achieving a higher state of conciousness, and intellect through getting high. Usually off hallucinogenic mushrooms and other entheogenic plants. It's hidden in the stories and artwork of religions around the world throughout time, and not so hidden.

Religions today are just here to keep this knowledge from the common man.

Religion might have started out as a tool for teaching morals, but they lost their credibility centuries ago. The problem now is the only thing they focus on for morality issues is sex and sexuality.

Religion is merely a tool to control the behavior of others. Its main focus is power over men.

It sounds like it is meant to fill people with hope, that their miserable existence is not the only thing they have got. And it is probably also a cynical ploy by the high priests of the religion to control the minds of their flock and make them do whatever they want them to do. As you said, it should have been obsolete a long time ago.

Same as is common now. To get something from the people without having to do any real work. Televangelists and faith healers are not unlike early Shamans, who would often travel from village to village performing rituals to drive off evil spirits and win favor from good spirits. In return, they were fed, housed, and given other benefits most people had to work very hard for.

I think that religion was made to keep people under control - With religion you can control a person's mind and you can control what people do and even how people think. Think about it - It's actually true and really no one will admit it.

Capturing our hearts and minds and giving us hope during a time when all seemed to be lost. Imagine a desolate planet where everything around you is dying. The people always need hope.