Religion Has Been Around Since The Early Civilizations

In today’s society, both Christianity and Judaism are two of the most practiced religions by people all over the world. Both religions have some similarities, they both value the ten commandments. Also, some religious practices used in Christianity such as baptisms were derived from Judaism (Brodd 2016). Although society sees these two religions as similar, they both have vastly different ultimate goals. In order to help believer’s attain these goals, Jesus helps Christians and Moses helps the Jewish fully understand these goals.

Everyone believes in something and most of the time not everyone believes in the same thing. Religion has been a part of history for as long as anyone can remember. There are so many different religions that people are born into or chose to be a part of. This essay will explore the history of religion beginning with Buddhism (500BCE-now), then examining Rome and Christianity (30ce-now), and ending with the Protestant Reformation (1450-1565). Each topic will be discussed by first introducing an important person involving the topic and then the topic will be discussed in more detail. After those three topics are discussed this essay will then compare and contrast the topics involving religion and history. Once the topics are compared and

Throughout history, religion has been a very important part of all the empires, civilizations, and ages we learn about. Each religion has its own characteristics, texts, deities, and unique symbols that set it apart from others. Religion is more than believing in gods or following an ancient text, it created new civilizations and ideas. For one, religion influenced leaders and well known historical figures throughout world history. Leaders such as monarchs, referred to themselves as representatives to their god(s). Since their god(s) are not physically with them, someone has to step up and represent them. The Hebrew prophet Abraham, is believed to have been spoken to by God and angels. He then became the leader of the well-known religion, Judaism.

Emerson was an author in nineteenth century America; society and the church during that time were very different and much more conservative compared to society and religion in modern times. In the time that Emerson wrote Nature, religion greatly influenced law because it gave people ways to live, and a majority of the populous viewed those guidelines and beliefs of the church as laws, while as now the beliefs of the church are viewed almost as guidelines. Emerson was partially correct in his statement that says ethics changes, while religion stays the same in that that ethics changes with time, but religion does not change, but instead religion changes over time, though it takes extended periods of time for any major changes to become noticed.

Throughout the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, religion changed through each empire and time. In these times, there were people with the religion of Hindu, Judaism, Christianity, and Muslim (which contained two sects: the Sunnis and Shiites.) Three empires during this time included the Ottoman Empire, the Safavid Empire, and lastly, the Mughal Empire. These three empires between the 16th and 18th centuries were different and similar in many ways, however all three had different outlooks on religion and were very diverse. They were diverse because each ruler had his own opinion about religion and made the whole empire follow whatever he thought, meaning that each empire had a different amount of religious tolerance, if any at all. The Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal Empires varied in their views about religion.

Religion is a species-specific human universal phenomenon, complex, full of paradoxes, and found in all cultures. Social scientists and anthropologists since the late 17th century have attempted to rationally answer questions about religion, and while we can't evaluate the veracity of religion’s claims, we can attempt to understand its functions.

Religion transmuted rapidly over the years in modern Europe as many key figures spoke out in protest or suggest reform of the system they were acclimated to. This rapid change influenced numerous different parts of life as well. This period in time included not only reformation for religion, but also ordinary life. Change was formed in other areas such as politics, economics, and culture. Political change was greatly affected by religious change in this period.

The development and expression of Judaism from its start in God's revelation to one person (Abraham) to the important worldwide religion of today is due to the contribution of a number of significant people and schools of thought and of course the continuation of the community of believers worldwide. One of these special people was Moses Maimonides.

Religions have changed constantly throughout history, beginning with the Egyptians and continuing through current day. Most of all new religions begin as polytheistic. This most likely developed because the people of the ancient world suspected that one god could not take care of all their needs. Therefore, they created several gods to take care of everything in the natural world such as water, fire, animals, etc. The first evidence of written religion was on the Sumerian tablets, around 3,500 B.C. The Egyptians demonstrated the first progression of religion in the area, during the time period around 4,000 B.C. The Egyptians believed humans ranked as partners with the gods to maintain order; it characterized similarly to the Mesopotamian’s religion. After a while, a change in religion transpired.

Before the Incarnation, when God's declaration to humanity was partial and developing. This means that God uses physical appearance to reveal himself to us. St. John of Damascus (730 AD) describes the value of material things in knowing the invisible God. In the Old Testament, we encounter blessings, washings, kissings, ritual meals, circumcision, etc, all of which involve God providing his grace and revelation using created things, rituals, and symbols. At the heart of sacramental theology that is based on reflection on the liturgical ceremony of these rites throughout history,the incarnation, that God becomes a human in Jesus Christ. It is the most complete, and final, revelation of God to mankind. When God became human, he sanctified all

Moses’ mission criticized the Egyptian empire and helped energize the Hebrew people to exemplify a new community based on the belief of

Jesus had no patience with Jewish leaders who disagreed with his conclusions because of the way Matthew describes Jesus’s personal religion as Torah Judaism. Church comes from the Greek word Ecclesia, although the church never existed in Jesus’s life. While Matthew was in the church he saw Jesus as a hero and labeled the Jewish leaders as ‘blind guides” and “hypocrites.” Even though he had a high disregard for the Jewish opponents, Matthew remained respectful to their self-righteous, hypocritical teachings and urged them to pay attention to the words of the church.

Another contribution of earliest civilization would be religion, moral and values. Religion or the worship of God or Gods is most times used to explain the origin of civilizations. People had their own forms of religion, be it ceremonial burial or blessing rituals, everyone had their own way of explaining nature and where man came from. However, based on the morals the civilization was curbed, for example, if certain civilizations (Romans) did not mind violence and killing, then they would developed into a brutal civilization and to describe a tribe or people as peaceful or barbaric was based on their morals and the morality of each civilizations were what defined their religious beliefs.

As made evident throughout history, religion has been a cornerstone of civilization since the beginning of time. Religion, or belief systems, has paved the way for mankind by guiding us in thought and action. Even our present day laws reflect the influence of the social contracts, morals, and beliefs formed by religion. With this in mind I present the question, which came first man or religion? Despite its impact on man, religion was created by humankind in response to the unknown. As the result of many years of evolution humans became the first species to become self aware in a cognitive aspect. While we developed so did our desire for answers to questions such as those in regard to the meaning of life and mysteries of death. Religion became our way of rationalizing the concepts of life we could not understand. By putting our faith and belief into factors beyond our control, we have allowed religion to establish our cultures and histories.

Religion has always been an important part in the lives of human beings, and it was not different for the population of Pompeii. In this essay, based on the evidence available, we are going to see what place did the religion occupied in the lives of the people who lived in Pompeii, reaching the conclusion that since the origin of the city, the people were surrounded by religion, in both public and private spaces. Whether it was in the shape of a Lararium or temples, the population of Pompeii could express their devotion in different forms and places.