Memory and Time
Memory is a complex, systematic tool that is essential for humans. Memory encodes, processes, saves and interprets information that are of outmost importance for human survivals. For centuries now, Historians have studied and interpreted the past with the help of memory, they have observed the past through the lens of memory. Through memory, history is passed down from generation to generation.
However, the problem this poses is that historians are not certain, what memory has been tainted by time, sense perception and emotion. The way it was is not always how it is remembered.
For example, if a certain historical event was not written down or caught on camera, historians would have to rely on oral relations or testimonies of witnesses of this event and these people might have forgotten exactly what had happened but decide to fill the gaps with new/false elements.
Religion, aside from being a belief in or worship of a superhuman being, it is also a way of telling the past because religion was a way for our ancestors to understand their environment. And most of them tell stories of the beginning of time.
The only limitation is the fact that religion influences individual perspectives, because sometimes if someone believes something, it might be difficult to convince them otherwise. Thus, historical facts might be affected/altered by these individuals, who refuse to tell the events as they were because it goes against their belief systems.
Image from searching for the mind website(http://jonlieffmd.com/blog/time-cells-organize-memory)
It's certainly a very deep topic. When it comes to personal memory, I've learned people's perceptions of events and experiences can be quite different based on their own values and perceptions. This makes the telling of events, not just historical, but even current become somewhat subjective. We see this in our news cycles today where events can happen, yet the interpretations of those events can be so vastly different. This makes the search for truth seem rather difficult at times. It also makes the retelling of history sometimes hazy.
When I'm researching something, either historical or current, I like to check out different sources and see if there are underlying or common themes. It helps me to set aside the "opinion" and look more for the facts.
True indeed. I suppose we just have to be more careful telling other what we think we remember.