The purpose of religion
I think there is a danger of conflating the social consequences of religion with the purpose of religion. The purpose of religion can be found not external to the religion, but internally. Religion, first and foremost, is about giving the participants in said religion a way of looking at the world, and gauging the quality of their being in such a world.
Those looking at religion from outside of it are often guilty of giving a social purpose to religion, such as its ability to unite many citizens under a certain moral code. Religion certainly does have a social component, but to assign its purpose to be mostly related to such a component is mistaken. I consider the positive social implications of religion to be an emergent property, not the goal.
The word purpose tends to denote the desired end of some conscious action. For instance, the purpose of the table I created (conscious act) was to support dinner (desired end). The purpose of religion then, should really be equated to the desired end of the religion creators. For instance, the desired end for the Apostles in preaching their new religion, Christianity, was to save as many as possible for God’s glory (to take a simplified view). The desired end of a new member of Christianity then, should be somewhat equivalent with the Apostles, that is, to be saved and be involved in God’s glory. The members and founders of Christianity then, see their religion as a personally fulfilling entity, not some method of achieving social cohesion for secular societal goals.
So having been through that, the purpose of religion is ultimately, I think, to ground a person’s being in a metaphysical idea (or ultimate being), which allows said person to then abstract meaning from the world and their existence. With such meaning in tow, a worldview can be created and a set of morally responsible ideals is usually inherently coupled with such a worldview. In short, the purpose of religion is to create (or realize) a set of guide posts on life’s rocky way, with a strong foundation in an ultimate truth or being. This is an inherently personal purpose, which may or may not have overarching, emergent social implications.
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