Religion as a Cure for Suffering

(Old post on Weber)

A major component of religion that Max Weber examines in "The Social Psychology of the World Religions" is suffering. The masses wonder about why they suffer, why other people suffer, and why some people don't suffer at all. To explain this phenomenon, Weber examines the time line of suffering. The first sufferers were thought to be possessed by a demon--or otherwise afflicted by the wrath of a god. Because of this thought process, the sufferer would be cast out of society in order to save others in the society from the same fate. The lone sufferer would then seek the removal of his supposed evil, to ease his suffering. In need of a spiritual adviser, he goes to see a magician. The magician grants the sufferer good will, and in turn the sufferer--who is no longer suffering--brings a patronage to the magician.

Later, the explanation of suffering is updated from a god's wrath to the natural human disposition to sin. Because we sin, we deserve to suffer. According to this logic--if we are saved from our sins, we are saved from suffering. Thus, if we have a savior, we have a 'cure of the soul.' If we believe in a savior, yet still suffer, then we are given hope that we will be free from suffering in the afterlife. The idea of a savior ties into Weber's theme of social strata. The savior is typically not a figure from a depressed class, but is a figure from the ruling strata. These saviors are ethical divinities--they punish bad behavior and award the good. To deserve awards, a follower must pray, pay penances, and abstain from certain activities. If a follower doesn't do such things, he is punished by suffering. Hell is reserved for those who don't work for their repentance. But the loyal sufferers, those who prayed, paid penances, and abstained, will be rewarded in Heaven.

This idea of salvation continued to develop, eventually leading to 'rebirth' and 'redemption.' The more the masses needed an explanation for suffering, the more rituals and ideas the religion created to satisfy its followers. Because societies continue to expand and develop, religions will keep expanding and developing to accommodate their followers. This is easily seen in many modern sects of religion, such as reform movements.