Is one of the main functions of religion to control peoples behaviour, ie do good so they will go to heaven?

I do not think it is a reason. I believe the good people just believe it is the way to live. Kind of like a good side effect..





I believe heaven to be a place you cannot understand right now in this life. I believe it to be a place of great personal understanding and knowledge. You embark on a personal journey with God and he teaches you the true meaning of existence.





I think you figure it out when it's over... Better plan ahead!Is one of the main functions of religion to control peoples behaviour, ie do good so they will go to heaven?
No I find that communism and Atheism are controllers of people and keep them from having the inner freedom that God intended them to have.Is one of the main functions of religion to control peoples behaviour, ie do good so they will go to heaven?
Not the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. As the Bible accurately states--';for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourself; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast'; -- Ephesians 2:8-9





Jesus Christ is the only Good Man that did anything so we can go to Heaven.
Machievelli wrote (in ';The Prince';) ';People win always do badly by you unless they are forced to be virtuous';.





Religion is one way to force people to behave acceptably.
The main fucntion of religions is to control people BUT NOT SO THEY WILL GO TO HEAVEN BUT SO THAT THE CHURCHES EMPTY THEIR POCKETS.
Some would say that is what religion does, but most would claim that religion is a belief chosen by someone in order to provide that person with an effective escape. Most people that I know belief in religion for the escape it provides them. A way for them to settle their problems with Jesus. If it works, don't change the system.
your idea is almost correct. to control people...so they are easier to manage for the government leaders and those needing their labor.
Power, Control, Authority = Big Three pillars of religion





heaven is one person's interpretation of all their converts serving them so they don't work and then raising their children to be gurus too
No, it is not. At least, not for the reason given, 'so that they will go to heaven'. No good behavior can buy a place in heaven





The good behavior is a spin-off from the primary purpose of religion : supreme love to God
True morality is a choice of doing the right thing because it is the right thing to do. However, I'm not sure that without the pure, I emphasize pure as opposed to man-made encrustations, teachings of the universal educators like Krishna, Zoroaster, Moses, Buddha, Christ, Muhammad, The Bab, and Baha'u'llah, most people would know what constitutes good behavior. Not everyone has that built-in moral compass that you seem so sure of.
Being good does not get no one to Heaven first of all.There are a alot of good people in this world - but most are lost and without God. Religion is what it is :Religion.Judas was religious but where is he today.


People really just don't get it-- People are in Hell today because they rejected Jesus Christ- not because they sinned.We all sin and fall short.But it's what you do with your life that will change your behavior.Once you come to know Christ- he takes those old desires away and brings in new desires to walk after him.That is what changes peoples behavior - not their religion or their church.It's JESUS.
you answered your own question! Control is the ONLY function of ALL religions!
You got it. Most of the world's major religions are all about control. Just look at what the fundamentalist Muslims do to their women in the name of God. Wanna walk down the street in a burka? Look at how fundamentalist Christians and LDS subjugate women - keep 'em at home, in the kitchen, and perpetually pregnant. And don't forget to tithe that 10% of your income to the church to ASSURE your place in heaven. You might not make it without that... Ask any Mormon...
NO ONE in religion ever went to Heaven;





Here's the Solution for religion and start Your journey back home, to Heaven:





Create a Private, Personal, Direct, Divine Relationship with Our Creator and save Your Soul from religion's and atheist's beliefs and start Your journey back home, to Heaven.





%26lt;%26lt;%26lt;%26lt;%26lt;%26lt;%26lt; UnConditional Love is the only answer %26gt;%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;





Love and Believe in Our Creator;


Love and Believe in Yourself.





Only with Our Creator's Love and Peace will we be Truly Free!
I'm sure the people above me who said ';yes'; have some kind of evidence that what they're saying is true and just forgot to post it. ;)





';religion'; (in my case Christianity) has nothing to do about control. It's all about a relationship with our creator. Doing good things doesn't get you to heaven so the answer to the original question is ';no'; in any case.
Yes.


Government serves that same function, only it's worse.


Violate what your religion tells you, and you only go to an imaginary hell.


Violate what your government tells you, and the hell is not imaginary.





If I had to choose between a ';God'; telling me what to do or a government telling me what to do, I would choose the ';God'; every time.
No If you could be good enough to go to heaven then you would have to never even tell one lie-and Jesus would have died for nothing too. This is how I came to know Jesus as a Jew as my savior= he was born at the perfect time to a virgin (Isaiah 7:14 a miracle sign a virgin will be with child who is God with us=imanuel in Hebrew)


He had to come before the temple was destroyed -which had the last way to point to Jesus in the temple blood sacrifice to cover our sins. Leviticus 17:11 -all the way back to Adam when God slew a animal to cover their sins and clothe them pubicly.





this is how I know this is true and know Jesus as my savior and best friend





As a Jew I prayed ';Jesus thanks for dying for my sins and offering to come into my heart and be my friend, I am sorry please forgive my sins, come into my heart and be my friend, amen.';





He PROMISED this ';I love you and knock on your heart door to come in and forgive your sins and be your friend when you ask me in repenting quickly for your sins.'; Revelation 3:19%26amp;20





Jesus stated ';I am the way the truth, and the life, no one comes unto heaven, but by me.'; John 14:6





Daniel in the Jewish scriptures teaches ';To those that go to the grave, Hell is abhorance apart from God forever, Heaven is everlasting life.';





Jesus taught about it in Mathew 24 as weeping forever with gnashing teeth for rejecting His salvation. and in Revelation 19-22 IN this 22nd chapter he also says to the writers of books after the bible ';If you add to my word you will recieve plagues to your life.';





Since I have come to know Jesus as my savior Messiah, and best friend-I have that joy and assurance, he corrects me when i think wrong and helps me to help others, not to reject him and think my own blood will atone for my sins-If you have sin you cant forgive sin with your own impurites. As Isaiah teaches too Isaiah 52:13-53:12 ';He will die for our sins and then see his seed and prosper';





He came at the perfect time-if he was born now-for 2,000 years since 70 bce when the temple was destroyed, because he fulfilled the temple blood atonement as ordered (Leviticus 17:11) to cover sins and point to Jesus the Messiah our forgiveness of sins.





Publicly-there is a difference-Now Jesus is my Messiah, savior and best friend-





praying the best for you too,--Jesus does come spiritually every day to be our friend-and he will return from heaven this time-Acts 1:11 with pierce marks and my Jewish people will mourn as a mother for her only lost child (Zechariah 12:10).





Best wishes my friend, David
Depends on what religion you're talking about I suppose...
No, main functions of religion is to make other wiser and knowledge of doing good. Do not do good if you feel controlled and unwillingly.
Well it is a good concept, we all need rules to live by or else there would be pure anarchy in the world, eg, no rule at all, much what I suspect it is like to live in the world of say the T aliba n, I would never wish to live in such an environment.


Guidelines are needed in societies for moral ethics etc. If we all ran around willy nilly, doing whatever, what chaos would reign. So religion seems to be a method used by most making it pretty universal don't you think, so, we need something to follow believe in and have faith in, otherwise, what's the point of your existence.
Main function is to instill fear on those who don't believe.