Pascal Boyer 's Article Of `` Why Religion Is Natural?

Religion as defined by Merriam-Webster is, “the belief in a god or in a group of gods; an organized

First of all, Boyer put on his writings many points of view about religion making me go sometimes confused and of course feel different concepts about religion. Additionally, Boyer is able to present a very dense network of theories which not only explains many religious phenomena but also sets them in relation to each other. The integration of cognitive science research leads to a very realistic model of how religious concepts are processed and communicated. Also, Boyer's account of the natural basis of religion explains very well the persistence and re-emergence of religion even in a secularized environment, as well as the tensions between official and folk religion. In addition

The definition of religion is the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal god or gods. But, is that what it means to everyone? To some people it’s there world. That’s what life means to them and they would make any decisions good or bad for their beliefs. Who is it they worship, what they believe in, and even how everything exists. There are many different religions that you can choose to believe in. The religions all have many differences but continue to also have many similarities.

A religion is a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things, that is to say things set apart and forbidden-beliefs and practices which unite into one single moral community called a church,

Religion is the belief in and worship of a superhuman or supernatural being controlling power, especially a personal God or gods (Oxford Dictionary; accessed 8th March 2015). Religion is a much talked about topic in everyday life, as there are many arguments for and against religion. The following will be a discussion critically examining the various arguments for and against Religion in society today, beginning with why it is important to Societies today.

The term religion originates from Latin word "religio". Some of early definitions propose it as a belief in spiritual personalities. It is mostly used to refer to beliefs in spirits, gods with other divine power that exists spiritually

Religion Explained has a bold title for a bold claim. Pascal Boyer believes he has solved why religion is what it is, and why it came into existence. He faces challenges by leaving gaps in his argument. Rituals and belief are left unexplainable, leaving room for the criticism of an insider v. outsider situation. Yet, even with these gaps, he states that religion is simply a byproduct of mental inference system. In the first paper, I proposed how I believe one should classify what religion is, and in this essay, I will break down and examine Boyer’s claims as it relates to religious theory and describing v. explaining – in order to further understand my suggestion and see if his scientific theories have changed my ideas at all.

The term “religion” is a puzzling one. Religion is something that at first seems easy to define. One might say “religion” is following a certain set of beliefs or praising a certain god or group of gods. However, after studying many different religions, the exact definition that would answer the question of what religion is can be difficult to give. Certain difficulties that arise from developing a definition of the term “religion” consist of many questions. These questions would be what does religion mean, would all religions follow the same set of guidelines of classification, can the term religion be flexible or have certain exceptions? While one may attempt to define a religion, an exact definition that encompasses all of the religious traditions we have studied thus far would not be possible.

What is religion? Can it, in all its entirety, be defined in just one word? Maybe a couple sentences? Trying to discover just a few sentences that describe something as vast as religion is like attempting to explain the universe in its entirety in a short paragraph. It’s virtually impossible. However, no matter how impossible, society continues to attempt to define religion. Answering the age old questions of why religion is so difficult to define and why society continues to attempt to do so is in the basic human desire to understand.

Religion is the belief and worship of a higher controlling power, and which customs, and practices are followed by a group of people. Religion affects what people value in life, and what they believe is right or wrong. It can be the moral foundation of a society whether this is acknowledged or not. It also comes in many forms, and prompts the questions, such as what happens after we die? And is there an afterlife? These questions can not be answered, because no one truly knows what happens, however many people have faith and believe in something that is unknown, because they trust their God. There are around 4,200 religions that are practiced across the globe.

So to start this I think it would be appropriate to first ask the question what is religion? The definition would tell you that it “is a cultural system of behaviors and practices, world views, ethics, and social organization that relate humanity to an order of existence. About 84% of the world 's population is affiliated with one of the five largest religions, namely Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism or forms of folk religion” (Wiki). However, that really doesn’t explain religion as a thing rather it explains it as a word. Religion as a thing (as I would like to refer to it as) is a faith or belief system that an individual has to obtain the wisdom and powers one would not be able to do without a god like figure. Now that sounds like I’m saying religion is the ability to ask for super hero like powers and get it. But what I’m trying to say is religion is having someone that you can pray too and look up to, to help you with things that are challenging and different. We ask god to help us when we take a hard test, we ask god to help heal and protect people

In a nutshell, religion is a composed gathering of convictions, social frameworks, and world perspectives that relate humankind to a request for presence. Many religions have accounts, images, and hallowed histories that expect to clarify the importance of life, the beginning of life, or the Universe. Subsequently, these religions may have sorted out practices, ministry, a meaning of what constitutes adherence or participation, blessed spots, places of worship and sacred writings. The act of religion may incorporate customs, sermons, celebration or love penances, celebrations, wedding administrations, or different parts of human society. Religions might likewise contain mythology. The

Religion is defined as “a system of human thought which usually includes a set of narratives, symbols, beliefs and practices that give meaning to the practitioner’s experiences of life through reference to a

Human as a physical and finite being believes that there is the spiritual entity or entities which unlike man are infinite and more powerful. Human sought to have a relationship with this sacred being, and the medium which he has devised to do so is religion. Borne out of human’s quest or search for purpose and meaning, religion was employed to provide answers to some basic intriguing phenomena, which bothers him on daily basis. Religion provides the avenue for man to turn to something deeper and greater, in order to satisfy his urge or need for purpose and meaning. Religion can be defined as “a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature and purpose of the universe especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies usually involving devotional and ritual observances and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs” (Dictionary. Reference.com). Religion can be understood as that phenomenon which expresses the basic attributes of the human psyche, it is man’s quest to understand that which he calls sacred. Though it should be noted that religion differs from one group to another, or from one culture to another, but despite this difference, they still share same basic similarity such as faith in the worshipped deity.

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the definition of religion is as follows: “the belief in a god or in a group of gods, an organized system of beliefs, ceremonies, and rules used to worship a god or a group of gods, or an interest, a belief, or an activity that is very important to a person or group” (Merriam-Webster.) My personal definition of religion is that it is a set of beliefs and practices that generally pertain the worship of one or more than one spiritual beings or representations of a spiritual power. Religion can be personal belief or an organization or group of people who have similar beliefs and values. There are many different types of religions in the world and have been since the