Shaun Casey Religion

　　There are many books on religion that try to break down each with enough facts to get the reader to understand. Though books are filled fact after fact and at times, slight biases, they sometimes forget to include values and reasons why people follow them. Because of this, students can miss out on a chance to get a deeper understanding of religion and the people that follow it. Huston Smith’s The World's Religion, Revised & Updated is that book that can broaden students’ viewpoint of all religions.

Religion is defined as A set of beliefs, values, and practices based on the teachings of a spiritual being (Mifflin). It is known that many of our behaviours are determined by the presence of religion in one's life. Religion implants its principles in a person and their attitudes, personality, morals and ethics and alters it to a great extent. This

In Stephen Prothero’s Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know – and Doesn’t (New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 2008) 1 – 372, Prothero discusses how the American society was once a religiously literate nation, how we became religiously illiterate, and how (if willing) we can become religiously literate again. Prothero states that “this book argues for both the constitutionality and the necessity of teaching about religion in public schools and higher education.” He further explains that the main goal of this piece is to “help citizens participate fully in social, political, and economic life in a nation and world

What is the true definition of the word religion? Well, religion is a set of beliefs and practices that recognize the existence of a god or many gods. We need religion in our lives because it gives us a sense of belonging to our common faith and helps us set morals in our lives. The importance of faith in our lives has created a bigger understanding to us and has showed us how we can have a closer link to it.

God calls us to serve and to do everything with love (1 Peter 4:10, 1 Corinthians 16:14). As a Student Affairs (SA) professional, my main goal is to help students discover their calling and equip them to better serve the world while integrating their faith. Smith (2004), states why it is important to serve as a mentor during a critical adult faith development stage. In The Council for the Advancement of Standards and Higher Education (CAS), CAS has incorporated faith, spirituality and religion into the standards and competencies that they advocate for individuals working as educators in the student affairs field ( Smith, 2004). In the CAS masters-level graduate program for student affairs standards (2004) the authors spoke to the essential need to incorporate spirituality.

Molloy, M. (2012). Experiencing the World’s Religions. Tradition, Challenge, and Change (6th ed.)Chapter 5. Retrieved from https://newclassroom3.phoenix.edu/Classroom

One of the most positive things about being an American is the ability to interact in “the melting pot” of various cultures all around. While most of us obviously identify with our own specific culture, the variety within our society is extremely diverse, allowing intercultural communication and presents a learning experience for those who are able to communicate and with one another. When observing and interacting with cultures other than my own, I am able to identify some similarities, as well as the differences from their culture to mine. Throughout this semester we have learned so many things about different cultures and worldviews, I have begun to learn a lot more about myself and my personal religious views. I have never followed a religious practice on my own choice, but it is encouraging to see how it positively impacts others in my life.

The meaning of religion is something that scholars, along with society at large, have attempted to define for centuries. Although the term cannot truly have one solid meaning, it is clear that religion is much more than a set of beliefs and practices. In Religion: The Basics, author Mallory Nye discusses his approach to studying religion. In arguing that culture and religion strongly influence each other, he explains that those studying religion must make people and culture their focus, as variations even within the same religions exist and must be considered. Moreover, Nye explains how religion is, essentially, a universal concept, as it takes form in an array of shapes across the globe. With Nye’s argument, I have developed new insights

Religion, whether we realize it or not, is a major element of American society (and also worldwide history). For many, religion is a significant part of their cultural identity. Religion plays a part in all levels of politics and is often an aspect of community events and organizations. Everyday, we all interact with people who have different religious backgrounds and personal beliefs. Children born into religious families are very connected with their religions from birth and this affects the way they will see the world for the rest of their lives. Even those who later explore other faiths or convert to other religious ideas will be affected in

Religion is important to most of the world's population. Throughout history, religion has played a key role in shaping events. While ignorance contributes to intolerance and hate, understanding how others believe fosters not only respect but also peaceful coexistence. Through the centuries, people have done much good in the name of religion (Haynes). Examples can be given to the Crusades.

Religion and spirituality reach into the depths of the human psyche and strongly influence a nation’s way of life.

According to Wikipedia 2014, “Religion is an organized collection of beliefs, cultural systems, and world views that relate humanity to an order of existence. It is also the most intensive and comprehensive method of valuing that is experienced by humankind”. Religion is often difficult to identify or define because it overlaps on many different boundaries in human experience. This complex phenomenon has led many theorists to attempt to form a cohesive definition, however, every theory has its limitations thus making this task utterly impossible to complete. Religion can also resolve matters on the private and public sector such as issues regarding life and death, love and sex, authority and freedom. Although religious traditions often challenge each other, they also offer individuals with a sense of security and direction. It can also dictate those who are in power versus those who are not, and often provides validation for imbalances in social, economic, and political power, as well as structure for advancement and revolutionary change.

In addition to the areas of ambiguity, there is the problem of religious ignorance (Giess, 2012; Haynes, 2011). There is a marked and dramatic ignorance among Americans about religious traditions including their own (Giess, 2012). Ignorance is no virtue and especially so when the opportunity to harm one’s students through intolerance and ignorance is more prevalent than ever before. The US, the predominance of the Christian religion notwithstanding, is becoming more and more diverse religiously (Gunther & Purinton, 2011). This type of ignorance is a contributor to the escalation of religious intolerance that has manifested itself in increasing numbers of hate crimes (Haynes, 2011).

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.

For many years we have defined religion as a system of believes particularly belief in a God or gods. The problem with this is that we categorize too much under the umbrella of religion that does not fit under this category; as Craig Martin argues in, A Critical Introduction to the Study of Religion, “The colloquial use groups together dissimilar things. All of those things we call ‘religions’ simply do not share a set of core properties”. We tend to define Catholicism when asked to define religion. Many very educated philosophers have tried to come up with a perfect definition of religion and failed. It is an important subject of study because it gives unimportant objects significant meaning. For example, it can turn wine into the blood of Christ. Religion is present in all of our lives in some form. Religion is not a term but rather a state of mind, an idea that cannot be grasped. We classify religion as a noun, but in actuality the name refers to the activity or function. Religion is more about the structure than the content. It does not need to be defined in order to adequately study or take part in it. Anthropologist, Talal Asad, argues, there is a flaw with every definition. This leads to the conclusion that religion simply cannot be defined.