Is religion necessary in living a good life?

Do you have a religion? If you are a teenager in Canada, there is a good chance you don’t. According to a survey conducted in 2021, more than one-third of Canada's population, which has more than doubled in 20 years, does not believe in religion. 

What part does it play in our lives? For some philosophers, it means something. The relationship between god and morality has long been debated. Some claim faith is necessary for living a good life, while others do not. 

Epicurus

Despite Epicureanism often being associated with atheism, Epicurus was not an atheist. He viewed gods as blessed and immortal ones. However, being concerned about our human lives would disturb their happiness. So, they have no concerns for us. In addition, Epicurus thought the soul cannot live after the death of our body. If so, no punishment or regret is possible after death. For these reasons, he thought we do not have to fear gods. We could worship gods, but it is not because we fear their punishments, because it makes us happy. 

 But this argument has one gigantic error. If atoms make up everything, then don't gods consist of atoms? Would not that make gods mortal, too? To avoid these questions, some argue that gods are not materialized but just in our minds. 

Pascal's Wager

A famous mathematician and philosopher, Blaise Pascal has also argued whether to believe in god. In this theory, Pascal claimed that believing in god is more beneficial mathematically. 

 According to Pascal, there are four situations. If there is a god and you believe in god, you acquire infinite happiness. However, if you do not do so, you will gain pain. On the other hand, if there is no god and you do not believe in god, you will attain pleasure by not following Christian morality. And, if you believe in god, you will gain little dissatisfaction. 

 If you measure the happiness and unhappiness gained in each situation, there is much more happiness in believing in god and unhappiness in not believing in god. In conclusion, it is more pleasing to have faith. 

 However, this theory has some issues. First, despite it being used to justify Christian faith, according to its logic, we do not necessarily believe in a Christian god. It could be any religion that promises bliss in the afterlife. Secondly, as Pascal admitted, wagering against the god would be unjust. 

20th Century Philosophy

We will first look at Jean-Paul Sartre here. His famous quote, 'Existence precedes essence,' also explains his view on the god. The essence here is the defining property of a thing. We used to assume that God created us. We were saying that humans had a god-given essence. However, many do not believe in god nowadays. By doing so, we give ourselves our essence. Also, we could pretend we are gods, although there is no god. In this logic, we are condemned to our freedom. Even so, we want there to be a god. Therefore, we lie to ourselves. This is what Sartre called the 'bad faith.' To live authentically is to realize that the bad faith is futile. 

 The other we will look at is Jürgen Habermas. Habermas is known for his 'communicative ethics,' which combined Kantian and Marxist elements. He claims that norms are valid if every affected party has consented. This, he believes, reconciles individual and societal interests by extending individuals beyond private perspectives through communication. He first advocated the exclusion of religion in public spaces. Because they are not communicable in the way the procedure requires. However, he later modified his argument by claiming that some religious forms may necessitate expressing prescriptions in explicitly religious terms and preventing this could be considered discriminatory.

Conclusion

Epicurus provided a meaningful theory focusing on our happiness. And Pascal's wager introduced a pragmatic approach to belief in god. Also, Sartre, in his existentialist view, examined the modern view of god. Finally, Habermas emphasized reconciliation. 

 Many philosophers aside from those we have examined, have argued whether to believe in god, ranging from ancient Greece to the present world. It's your choice to decide whether to have faith.

Sources:

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/religion-morality/

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/epicurus/#Life

https://iep.utm.edu/epicur/#SH3e

https://www.rep.routledge.com/articles/thematic/epicureanism/v-1/sections/god

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pascal-wager/#Prem1DeciMatr