Religious tendencies impel man to make efforts even at the cost of his natural and individualistic feelings. He sometimes sacrifices his life and his social position for the sake of his faith.
This is possible only when the ideal of a man attains an aspect of sanctity and gains absolute control of his existence. It is religious force alone which imparts sanctity to an ideal and imposes its authority on man.
It is true that often people sacrifice their life, their property and all that is dear to them not for the sake of any ideal or religious faith but under the pressure of psychological complexes, malice, revenge or as a severe reaction to the feeling of being oppressed and suppressed. Such cases are common in every part of the world.
But there is a difference between a religious and a non-religious ideal. As the involvement of religious belief imparts sanctity to an ideal, sacrifices are made for the sake of it most voluntarily and naturally. A task performed voluntarily shows a sort of choice, but a task performed under the influence of complexes and perturbing inner pressures, means a sort of explosion. Evidently there is a vast difference between the two.
Furthermore, should the world conception of a man be purely material and based exclusively on perceptible realities, he will find every kind of social and human idealism contrary to the perceptible realities of his relations with the world as felt by him on any particular occasion.
The American psychologist and philosopher of the early 20th century, William James says: "The outcome of a perceptional conception is only selfishness, not idealism. Idealization will not go beyond the limits of fantasy if it is not based on a world conception whose logical result is the ideal in question. Man should make a world of his own ideas, consisting of the realities existing within himself, and live with it happily. Anyhow, if idealism stems from a religious belief, it will be based on a conception of the world, the logical result of which will be the espousal of social ideals. Religious faith is a sort of friendly relationship between man and the world, or in other words, a sort of harmony between man and universal ideals. In contrast, non-religious beliefs and ideals are a sort of breaking away from the external world and building an imaginary world which in no way finds any support from the former".
Religious belief not only prescribes for man a number of duties irrespective of his natural inclinations, but also completely changes his view about the world, in the structure of which he begins to discern new elements. The dry, cold, mechanical and material world is transformed into a living and conscious world. Religious belief changes man's impression about the universe and the creation. William James says: "The world which the religious thinking presents to us is not only this very material world in a changed form but also includes many features of which a materialist cannot think". (Psychoanalysis and Religion p. 508)
Besides all this, every human being has an innate tendency to believe in truth and sacred and adorable realities. Man has many hidden capabilities ready to be fostered and promoted. All his inclinations are not material. He has spiritual tendencies so which are innate and not acquired. This is a fact which is supported by science.
William James has said: "Let any number of our motives and incentives have their source in this world, but as most of our desires and inclinations are not in keeping with any material calculations, it is evident that they spring from the metaphysical world". (Psychoanalysis and Religion, p. 508. New York, 1929)
As spiritual inclinations do exist, they should be fostered and fostered well and carefully. Otherwise they are likely to deviate from the right course and cause irreparable loss.
Another psychologist, Erich Fromm says: "There is none who is not in need of a religion and does not want limits for his orientation and a subject for his pastime. A man himself may not distinguish between his religious and non-religious beliefs and may believe that he has no religion. He may regard, his attachment to the apparently non-religious objectives, such as wealth, power or success as simply a sign of his interest in practical affairs and a pursuit of his own welfare. The question is not ,whether a man has or has not a religion. The question is what religion he has". (Psychoanalysis and Religion, p. 508)
What this psychologist means is that a man cannot live without hallowing and adoring something. If he does not acknowledge and worship only Allah, he is bound to recognize something else as a supreme reality and to make it the object of his faith and worship.
As man is in need of an ideal and a faith and by his instinct seeks something which he may hallow and adore, the only way open to us is to augment our religious faith, which is the only faith which can really bring man under its sway.
The Holy Qur'an is the first Book which has described religious faith as a sort of concord between man and the entire creation:
"Do they seek anything other than the religion of Allah? But to Him submits whosoever is in the heavens and the earth." (Surah Al-e-Imran, 3:83)
The Holy Qur'an has also described religious faith as a part of the innate nature of man:
"Be devoted to the upright religion. That is the nature in which Allah has created man." (Surah ar-Rum, 30:30)