Is religion a human nature or human behaviour?

Because at that stage in human development there was no answer to these questions, the concept of gods developed, anthropomorphised supernatural beings who could control the natural world and make it respond according to the pleasure or displeasure these gods felt with humans and their behaviour. read more

I don’t think it is either human nature or human behavior. Religion contains many statements about the Ultimate Reality as also this reality, and indicates how one should behave as to attain to eternal life. read more

Fundamental to the Christian understanding of human nature is the belief that the first humans were created in the image of God (imago Dei). This derives from Genesis 1:26-27, which declares: Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. read more

Religion exploits parts of human nature, namely fear of death (and any other 'unknown'), early-life dependance on 'trusted' authority figures (that they extend to cover one's entire life), and appeals to popularity and clan mentality. read more