religion. Indeed it is “natural” for man to form religions, for
“the natural man does not understand spiritual things” (I
Cor. 2:14). His “natural” wisdom is demonically inspired
(James 3:15), for “the prince of the power of the air is the
spirit that works in the sons of disobedience” (Eph. 2:2).
Sociologists have on occasion argued that religion
serves a beneficial social purpose of attaching people
together in group-unity. Such social bonding ties a group of
people together as they set their sights on a “higher”
common goal. Religion thus gives a group of people a
collective sense of identity, purpose and meaning, and
provides for social continuity. When engaged in such a
collective mutual pursuit of religious striving, their religion
provides a legitimacy and validity to the rules and
regulations that are imposed upon them, and when religion
wanes the weight and authority of social and moral law
diminishes.
It is indeed possible to analyze religion sociologically
or psychologically 33 , but these are just observations of the
phenomena of religion. It cannot be concluded from these
observations that religion constitutes a social or moral
“good,” or that religion is the “better” or “highest” feature
of the natural world system of man, especially when it is
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