Mikaela Martinez Dettinger: Yuval Noah Harari's take on religion

 Yuval Noah Harari is the author of the book Sapiens: A Brief History of  Humankind. Seeing that this book is a history of humankind it covers many things, but one chapter stood out in its relation to this class:  The Law of Religion. In this chapter Harari asserts that religion played a major role in the unification of Humankind because it was a common myth around which humans could create a common system of beliefs. He likens the myth of religion to the myth of capitalism through an analogy. The analogy asserts that money would have no value unless every human subscribed to the idea that the pieces of paper or coins were worth somethings, the laws of religion work the same way. Harari discusses religion as a type of commerce in ideas and beliefs with values and ethics being the currency. What he misses in his discussion is the idea that there are truths in myths. It was Lewis' discussion in Myth Became Fact  that brought to light possible holes in Harari's discussion of religion. 

Harari defines religon as "a system of human norms and values that is founded on a belief in a superhuman order" and argues that this definition involves " two distinct criteria: 

1. Religion holds that there is a superhuman order, which is not the product of human whims or agreement.

2. Based on this superhuman order , religion establishes norms and values that it considers binding." 

The key that Harari is missing to bring truth into the discussion of religion is the idea of religion as an abstraction of larger values and ethics which are translated through this kind of mythopoeia. Harari argues in this chapter that religion evolved to suit where humans believed they stood in the world. It evolved from animism to modern religion when humans began farming and began dominating the natural world to suit the needs of humans. However, Harari does not attempt to explain the concepts that have transcended these global changes in religion such as, justice, good, peace, love, etc. Lewis' Myth Became Fact is an argument for exactly what Harari is missing in his argument for religion. 

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