Religious
What is religious has always included the element of a sacrifice. From the pagan idols all across the globe to the Jews of the Old Testament, from Catholicism to Buddhist self-sacrifice - all have contained this element. Frequently it is of that which is - or should be - most dear: children to Moloch, self in Zen, even God in Christianity. Other times it was sacrifice of the conquered, as in the Aztecs, pre-kingdom Israelites and so forth. In this the sacrifice is an element of strength. It also shows an element of strength in animal sacrifice, such as the Greek hecatomb. Psychologically (and purely psychologically) this shows man as a creature who shows power by sacrifice, whether power over the vanquished, over nature, or even over himself by giving that which is most dear.
