Paper 92 Overview: The Later Evolution of Religion

Long before systematic revelations were established on Urantia, humans possessed a religion of natural origin as an intrinsic component of their evolutionary experience. This natural religion itself was the product of humanity's superanimal endowments, emerging gradually through the millennia of experiential development under the influence of three primary spiritual ministries: the adjutant of worship, the adjutant of wisdom, and the Holy Spirit. These foundational spiritual influences, later augmented by Thought Adjusters, seraphim, and the Spirit of Truth, created the capacity for religious consciousness and established the framework for humanity's progressive spiritual ascension.

The evolutionary trajectory of religion demonstrates a complex interplay between innate human spiritual capacities and successive revelatory interventions. Religion, while being the most conservative and change-resistant of human institutions, has nonetheless undergone significant transformation—from primitive ghost fear and nature worship through progressively refined stages of polytheism, henotheism, and eventually toward monotheistic concepts. This paper examines the mechanisms by which religion evolves, contrasts evolutionary and revelatory religion, explores the substantial influence of religious leaders throughout history, and analyzes the current status of Urantia's composite religious systems, which represent varying stages of blended evolutionary and revelatory elements. The quality of religion is ultimately determined by its capacity to foster values, deepen meanings, inspire consecration, and facilitate the progressive spiritual advancement of individuals within the cosmic community.

Man possessed a religion of natural origin as a part of his evolutionary experience long before any systematic revelations were made on Urantia. This naturally emerging religion was itself the product of man's superanimal endowments, an intrinsic capacity that differentiated human consciousness from that of purely animal consciousness. Evolutionary religion arose slowly throughout the millennia of mankind's experiential career through the ministry of three distinct influences operating within and impinging upon savage, barbarian, and civilized human beings.

These three foundational influences were: 1) The adjutant of worship, which created in animal consciousness the superanimal potentials for reality perception (the primordial human instinct for Deity); 2) The adjutant of wisdom, which directed worshipful minds toward higher channels of expression and expanding concepts of Deity reality; and 3) the Holy Spirit, the initial supermind bestowal that creates the capacity to self-realize the postulate of human survival as both theological concept and personal experiential reality. These influences were later augmented by Thought Adjusters, seraphim, and the Spirit of Truth, accelerating religious development and establishing pathways for spiritual advancement. These divine agencies have functioned on Urantia throughout human history and will continue as long as the planet remains inhabited, though much of their potential remains unexpressed and awaits revelation in future ages as mortal religion ascends through progressive levels toward supernal heights of morontia value and spirit truth.

The evolution of religion has been traced from early fear and ghost worship through numerous successive stages of development, including preliminary efforts to coerce spirits and later attempts to cajole them into favorable responses. Tribal fetishes gradually evolved into totems and tribal gods, while primitive magical formulas were transformed into increasingly sophisticated prayers. Practices like circumcision, initially performed as sacrificial rituals, eventually became established as hygienic procedures as their original religious significance diminished. This progressive pattern demonstrates how religious concepts and practices undergo continual refinement, reinterpretation, and adaptation across generations.

Religion progressed from nature worship through ghost worship and fetishism during the savage childhood of the races, transitioning toward more abstract conceptions as civilization advanced. With the dawn of civilization, humanity embraced more mystical and symbolic beliefs, while now, with approaching maturity, mankind is ripening for the appreciation of genuine religion and the dawning revelation of truth itself. Religion emerges as both a biological reaction of mind to spiritual beliefs and as an adaptive response to the mysterious elements of the environment. As a social institution, religion incorporates rites, symbols, cults, scriptures, altars, shrines, and temples, with holy water, relics, fetishes, and priesthoods common to all faiths. Religion is fundamentally inseparable from certain elements of magic and sorcery in its evolutionary forms, with mystery and power consistently stimulating religious feelings and fears. Fear initially fashioned the gods of evolutionary religion and motivated the rituals of primitive believers, though as civilization advanced, fear became modified by reverence, admiration, respect, and sympathy.

Religion stands as the most rigid and unyielding of all human institutions, yet it does gradually adjust to changing social conditions, albeit with significant resistance. Eventually, evolutionary religion comes to reflect the changing mores, which may themselves have been influenced by the infusion of revealed religion into the cultural matrix. Slowly, surely, but grudgingly, does religion follow in the wake of wisdom—knowledge directed by experiential reason and illuminated by divine revelation—demonstrating the perpetual tension between established traditions and progressive insight.

Religion demonstrates a powerful conservatism, clinging tenaciously to established mores and considering ancient practices inherently sacred. This explains why stone implements persisted long into the ages of bronze and iron, exemplified by the religious prohibition against using tools on stone altars lest they become "polluted." Even in modern times, Hindus continue to kindle altar fires using primitive methods, while many religious sacraments insist on the most primitive foods rather than newer preparations. The resistance to novelty, consistently regarded as sacrilege throughout religious history, has preserved ancient practices but also impeded spiritual and moral advancement. When modern individuals question obscene elements in religious scriptures, they should recognize that previous generations feared to eliminate what their ancestors considered holy and sacred. Religious controversies have frequently centered on reconciling outdated but revered practices with advancing reason, and finding plausible theories to justify the perpetuation of ancient customs.

Religion's relationship with social mores demonstrates a complex interplay of influence and resistance. It would be misguided to attempt the too sudden acceleration of religious growth, as a race or nation can only assimilate from advanced religion those elements consistent with its current evolutionary status and adaptive capacity. Social, climatic, political, and economic conditions all influence the trajectory of religious evolution, with social morality not determined by religion but rather religious forms being shaped by racial morality. Races tend to only superficially accept new religions, adapting them to their existing mores and beliefs, as illustrated by the New Zealand tribe whose priests claimed direct revelations from Gabriel, justifying their continuation of reprehensible customs after nominally accepting Christianity.

The study of human religion constitutes an examination of the fossil-bearing social strata of past ages, revealing the progressive development of spiritual concepts across millennia. The mores of anthropomorphic gods faithfully reflect the morals of the men who first conceived such deities, while ancient religions and mythology accurately portray the beliefs of peoples long since lost to historical obscurity. These ancient cultic practices persist alongside newer economic customs and social evolutions, appearing inconsistent because they represent different stages of human development. Religious organizations form not primarily to discover truth, but rather to promulgate established creeds and perpetuate traditional practices.

Evolutionary religion has historically been preoccupied with ritualistic observances and dogmatic formulations, frequently succumbing to the persistently troublesome error of the chosen-people delusion. Cardinal religious concepts—including incantation, inspiration, revelation, propitiation, repentance, atonement, intercession, sacrifice, prayer, confession, worship, survival after death, sacrament, ritual, ransom, salvation, redemption, covenant, uncleanness, purification, prophecy, and original sin—all trace their origins to the early times of primordial ghost fear. Primitive religion represented nothing more nor less than the struggle for material existence extended to embrace existence beyond the grave, with observances designed to secure continued survival in an imagined ghost-spirit realm. While contemporary observers might be tempted to criticize such evolutionary religion, it must be remembered that this represents an authentic historical progression, and the power of any idea lies not in its objective truth but in the vividness of its human appeal.

Evolutionary religion makes no provision for change or revision, lacking the capacity for progressive self-correction that characterizes scientific inquiry. Evolved religion commands respect from its adherents because they believe it embodies the final and infallible truth: "the faith once delivered to the saints." Religious organizations inevitably resist development because genuine progress would necessarily modify or destroy established cultic practices. Only two influences have successfully modified and uplifted dogmas of natural religion: the gradual pressure of advancing social mores and the periodic illumination of epochal revelation. Progress was necessarily slow, as in ancient times, those who demonstrated progressive or innovative tendencies were frequently executed as sorcerers. Evolutionary belief in ghosts established the foundation for a philosophy of revealed religion that would eventually destroy the superstition from which it originated.

Revelation manifests as evolutionary yet consistently progressive, expanding and providing successively greater enlightenment throughout a world's history. The fundamental mission of revelation is to sort through and refine the religions of evolution, functioning as a discriminating and elevating influence upon humanity's natural religious development. For revelation to effectively enhance evolutionary religion, divine visitations must present teachings that maintain sufficient proximity to the thought patterns and cultural reactions of the era in which they appear, as revelatory effectiveness is constrained by human receptivity capacity.

Regardless of apparent historical connections or derivations, religions of revelation are invariably characterized by belief in a Deity of final value and by some conception of personality survival after death. Evolutionary religion is fundamentally sentimental rather than logical, representing humanity's reflexive response to the realization and fear of the unknown, a human belief-reflex stimulated by awareness of the mysterious. Conversely, revelatory religion emanates from the authentic spiritual realm, representing the response of the superintellectual cosmos to mortal hunger for belief in and dependence upon universal Deities. While evolutionary religion depicts humanity's circuitous gropings in quest of truth, revelatory religion constitutes truth itself. Throughout Urantia's history, there have been numerous instances of religious revelation, but only five hold epochal significance: the Dalamatian teachings introducing the concept of the First Source and Center; the Edenic teachings portraying the Father of all; Melchizedek's introduction of trust and faith in the omnipotent beneficence of God; Jesus' presentation of God as the Universal Father; and The Urantia Papers, which differ from previous revelations by representing not the work of a single universe personality but a composite presentation by many beings.

In evolutionary religion, divine beings are conceptualized in the image of humanity, while revealed religion teaches that humans are God's children, fashioned in the finite image of divinity. In synthesized belief systems that combine elements of revelation with evolutionary products, the God concept represents a sophisticated blend of pre-existing evolutionary ideas, sublime ideals from revealed religion, and the personal interpretations of influential religious leaders, prophets, and teachers. This threefold influence has shaped humanity's understanding of divinity throughout history, with varying emphasis on different elements across cultures and time periods.

The majority of significant religious epochs have been inaugurated by the life and teachings of exceptional individuals whose influence established enduring spiritual and moral frameworks. Leadership has initiated most worthwhile moral movements throughout human history, with humanity consistently demonstrating a tendency to venerate charismatic leaders, often at the expense of their actual teachings. This pattern reflects an instinctive longing for superhuman guidance, designed to anticipate the appearance of planetary rulers like the Planetary Prince and Material Sons. Since Urantia has been deprived of these superhuman leaders, humans compensate by surrounding their human leaders with mythologies involving supernatural origins and miraculous careers. This tendency appears across cultures, with many races conceiving their leaders as virgin-born, attributing miraculous episodes to their lives, and anticipating their eventual return. Examples range from Genghis Khan in Central Asia to Buddha in the East, Mohammed in Islam, and the Hebrew expectation of Adam's return as a material ruler.

Despite the superstitious reverence often accorded to religious leaders, these teachers functioned as essential temporal fulcrums upon which the levers of revealed truth depended for advancing human morality, philosophy, and religion. Throughout Urantia's million-year human history, hundreds of religious leaders have emerged, with religious truth experiencing ebbs and flows corresponding to the influence of these individuals. The post-Adamic history of Urantia can be divided into seven major religious epochs: the Sethite period, whose influence persisted longest among Greeks, Sumerians, and Hindus; the era of Melchizedek missionaries, who proclaimed faith as the price of God's favor; the post-Melchizedek era, highlighted by Moses' teaching of monotheism; the sixth century before Christ, with its exceptional teachers including Gautama, Confucius, Lao-tse, and Zoroaster; the first century after Christ, distinguished by Jesus of Nazareth, Paul of Tarsus, and Philo of Alexandria; the sixth century after Christ, featuring Mohammed's establishment of a religion superior to many contemporary faiths; and the fifteenth century after Christ, marked by both the disruption of Christian unity in the Occident and Nanak's synthesis of Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism into Sikhism.

Twentieth-century Urantia religions present a fascinating study in the social evolution of humanity's worship impulse, reflecting various stages of religious development coexisting within the modern world. Many contemporary faiths have progressed minimally since the primitive ghost cult era, with groups like the Pygmies of Africa exhibiting virtually no religious reactions as a collective, remaining at essentially the same evolutionary stage as primitive humans when religious development first commenced. The fundamental belief underpinning primitive religion was survival after death, while the concept of worshiping a personal God indicates advanced evolutionary development and the initial stage of revelation. The contemporary religious landscape exhibits remarkable diversity in developmental stages, from the most rudimentary ghost fear and ancestor veneration to sophisticated theological systems.

On Urantia, evolutionary and revelatory religions progress simultaneously while blending into the diverse theological systems evident in the contemporary world. The religions of twentieth-century Urantia encompass Hinduism (the most ancient), the Hebrew religion, Buddhism, Confucian teachings, Taoist beliefs, Zoroastrianism, Shinto, Jainism, Christianity, Islam, and Sikhism (the most recent). Hinduism and Judaism, as the most advanced ancient religions, have significantly influenced religious development in the Orient and Occident, respectively, with both traditions believing their religions were divinely inspired and revealed while regarding all others as deteriorated forms of the original truth. The major international, interracial faiths—Hebraic, Buddhist, Christian, and Islamic—have demonstrated varying degrees of adaptability to diverse cultures. Buddhism has shown remarkable adaptability to different social environments, matched only by Christianity, while Hebrew monotheism represents a crucial evolutionary link between religions of evolution and religions of revelation. Christianity, based on the life and teachings of Christ but formulated primarily by Philo, Peter, and Paul, has become thoroughly Occidentalized, appearing to many non-European peoples as a strange revelation of a foreign deity intended for outsiders.

Religion can never attain the status of scientific fact, existing in a distinct epistemological domain. While philosophy may establish itself upon scientific foundations, religion will perpetually remain either evolutionary or revelatory in nature, or potentially a combination of both, as manifested in contemporary world religions. Authentic new religions cannot be artificially manufactured; they either emerge gradually through the evolutionary refinement of existing beliefs or arise through sudden revelation. Emergent religions invariably represent advancing expressions of antecedent beliefs, constituting new adaptations and reformulations rather than entirely original constructs, as exemplified by Sikhism's development from the cultural matrix of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam. Primitive religion exhibited democratic characteristics, with early humans readily exchanging spiritual concepts, while the exclusive and intolerant theological assertions characteristic of certain religious traditions appeared only with the advent of revealed religion.

The multifarious religions of Urantia all provide value to the extent that they facilitate human recognition of God and divine recognition of humanity. Religious exclusivism, wherein any group proclaims their particular creed as The Truth, represents theological arrogance rather than authentic faith certainty. No Urantia religion possesses a monopoly on spiritual truth; each faith tradition could benefit by incorporating the most elevated truths from other religious systems, as all contain valuable insights. Religious groups would advance more effectively by appropriating the finest elements of their neighbors' living spiritual faith rather than condemning their lingering superstitions and outmoded rituals. These diverse religions have emerged from humanity's variable intellectual responses to identical spiritual prompting, and while they cannot realistically achieve uniformity in creeds, dogmas, and rituals (which are intellectual constructs), they can and eventually will realize unity in the true worship of the Universal Father.

The quality of religion is fundamentally determined by four key elements: the level of values to which it inspires loyalty; the depth of meanings it cultivates through sensitizing individuals to idealistic appreciation of these values; the intensity of consecration it evokes toward divine values; and the degree to which it facilitates unfettered personality progression along the cosmic path of idealistic spiritual living, realization of divine sonship, and progressive universe citizenship. Religious meanings advance in self-consciousness when children transfer their concept of omnipotence from parents to God, though this transition is complicated by fear-dominated relationships. Civilization, science, and advanced religions must liberate humanity from fears originating in natural phenomena, while greater enlightenment should free educated mortals from dependence on intermediaries in communion with Deity. Modern society is experiencing accelerated transformation that necessitates corresponding religious adaptation, as humans are now confronted with making more adjustments to human values in one generation than occurred in two thousand previous years of development. True religion must function simultaneously as the eternal foundation and the guiding star of all enduring civilizations.