A Quora question: A religion has god(s). Do gods have religion too?
The question is regarding gods, not one specific entity. It is a simple question actually. some have only mentioned why (on an emotional subjective level) they feel they should answer this question regarding their specific fantasy.
The question is very simple really:
If A requires B, can B have A?
The question can logically be pulled apart:
- A can have B.
- B can have A.
- results A can have A
- results B can have B
Now, A is a religion, B is a god (not a specific one, a general concept of a super being):
A can have B, religion can have a god? Yes, it can, we know this, as monotheistic and deistic religions, but also polytheistic religions have one or more gods or senses of such.
B can have A, in all sense, we have a imaginary situation. Religions are constructs of humans regarding life and its requirement to conform to the will of a non-existing entity (in the sense of a theist this entity does exist).
Now, before we continue, we should consider whether gods are intelligent. What traits require intelligence and what traits are required by intelligence. And do gods require either.
Now, for a god to have any influence in reality it requires to be aware of that reality, right? Think so.
For a god to have influence on reality, it requires ability to reason, right? I think so, as intelligence equals ability to solve problems.
For intelligence to exist, it thus also requires problems. Now I will not go into any mention that someone’s specific god is required to be perfect, because that invalidates the whole idea of a god (something in state of perfection doesn’t change nor can it be influenced or influence anything that is not perfect. If it could it would immediately render it imperfect and as such either shifts goalposts or renders its core purpose invalid).
Because religion is a way of handling certain issues in life (making sure people have ‘answers’ to questions they feel they require answered), we would wonder whether gods could have such existential crisis. If they are intelligent, they have problems, if they have problems, they have questions (how do I solve this, why does this issue exist). If they exist, they have (like humans) self-awareness, or they have no intelligence, so they will wonder why they themselves exist. If someone claims they do not, they add special pleading. As such, we come to the conclusion that gods (if they could exist) can have questions that require answers which they might not be able to answer, as such they might even fabricate a proxy that is beyond their own understanding, which answers these questions, soothing the ‘mind’.
So, can gods have religions? Yes, in the occurrence that gods would be real, they too would be able to have religions (even one without any gods).
