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Unlock This CourseMost people ask at some point, 'Why am I here?' Some answer with a religious belief. Others find their own answer. This lesson looks at the main answers and the reasons behind them.
Key terms:
Religions give many answers. Most fall into three kinds.
Some religions teach that people were made by God, so life is about knowing God, serving God and worshipping God.
Some teach that the purpose of life is to live in the right way: to be good, to be fair and to look after others. A good life is the aim in itself.
Some teach that this life is a stage on the way to something greater, such as being close to God for ever or being free from suffering.
These answers can overlap. A believer may think life is for worshipping God and for living rightly, because they think God wants people to be good.
Many religions say that something is wrong with the human situation, and that a goal can put it right. The two main goals are salvation and liberation.
Salvation means being saved or rescued, usually from sin and its results. It fits with the idea of one life, then judgement, which you met in the lesson Death and the Afterlife: Linear and Cyclical Views. Believers who hold this idea say the saved person is rescued from the results of wrongdoing and is able to be close to God.
Liberation means being set free from the cycle of rebirth. It fits with the cyclical view of existence. Believers see the cycle as bound up with suffering, so being free of it is the final goal.
Religions disagree about the route, and many combine several. Here are the general ways.
There are also differences about how much people can do for themselves. Some stress faith and grace: the goal is a gift. Others stress effort: the goal is earned through the way a person lives. Many believers say both matter. Each religion's own lessons show what it teaches.
Some believers argue that if there is no God and no life beyond this one, then in the end everything is pointless. A purpose, they say, must be given by someone, and that someone is God.
Others, religious and non-religious, say that people with no religion can still live meaningful lives. They say a belief in God is not needed to love your family, work hard or make the world better.
Remember that humanists believe in no God and no afterlife. For humanists, life has the meaning that people give it. People create their own meaning through:
Nihilism goes further. Nihilists say there is no meaning or purpose to find, and none to create.
Some people say that asking about the meaning of life is a waste of time. Their view is that people who spend their days worrying about why they are here miss the chance to enjoy life to the full. They also say time is better spent making the world a better place by helping people.
There are replies. First, many people find that their answer to the big question is what drives them to help others. A believer may work for the poor because of their faith, and a humanist may do so because they believe people matter. Second, a person with no sense of purpose may find it hard to keep going when life is difficult. Third, asking the question does not stop anyone living: most people do both.
Do not write that 'religious people have meaning and non-religious people do not'. Humanists say life has meaning, and they say people create it. Do not mix up salvation and liberation: salvation is being saved, usually from sin, and liberation is being set free from the cycle of rebirth. And do not say every religion teaches the same purpose. Write 'many religions teach' or 'some believers say'.
Paper 1 style question. Parts (a) and (b) test AO1. Parts (c) and (d) test AO1 and AO2.
(a) Identify three ways in which religious people may try to reach salvation or liberation. [3 marks]
(b) Outline two non-religious ideas about the meaning of life. [4 marks]
(c) Explain why some people believe that life has meaning only for religious people. [6 marks]
(d) 'Questions about the meaning and purpose of life get in the way of living life to the full.' Evaluate this statement, showing you have considered different points of view. In your answer you should refer to at least one religion. [12 marks]
(a) 1. Faith (1). 2. Obedience to God's law (1). 3. Meditation (1).
(b) One idea is that people create their own meaning (1), for example through relationships with family and friends (1). Another idea is that life has meaning through helping others (1), which means that making the world a better place gives life a purpose (1).
(c) Some people believe that life has meaning only for religious people because they think a purpose must be given by someone. They argue that if God made people, then God decides what life is for, such as knowing and worshipping God.
Others argue that without a God and a life beyond this one, everything is pointless in the end. This means nothing a person does would matter for ever, so there would be no lasting meaning.
A third reason is that religions offer a goal beyond this life, such as salvation or liberation. Believers say this gives life a direction. Without such a goal, they say, life has no aim to work towards.
(d) Plan. For: people who worry about why they are here may miss the chance to enjoy life; time spent on big questions could be spent helping others instead; nihilists say there is no answer to find, so asking is pointless.
Against: the answer to the big question often drives people to help others, as with a believer whose faith leads them to work for the poor or a humanist who believes people matter; a person with no sense of purpose may struggle to keep going in hard times; most people can ask the question and live well at the same time.
Your religion: add what your own religion teaches about the purpose of life, by name, and say whether it encourages people to ask the question or to act on its answer.
Possible conclusion: judge each point as you go, then pick a side. For example: I mostly disagree. The questions can distract some people, but for many they give a reason to live well and help others, so they are more often a help than a hindrance.
In part (b), make sure the second mark for each idea is a development of that same idea. 'Relationships' earns the first mark. 'With family and friends who give life meaning' earns the second.