Six Characteristics Of Religion

In Kevin Riley’s article “From Tribal to Universal”, him and several other historians argue that religious traditions emerge within and through traditions and beliefs that already exist. These new religions borrow from, adapt, and reject older traditions. Their ideas along with beliefs, can often be traced back and connected to multiple existing systems of belief. The documents collected in “Tribal to Universal Religion” help us understand and analyze the relationships between various religions, some of which did not originate in the same place, and their common ideas. Kevin Riley is surely right about religions borrowing from, adapting, and rejecting older traditions. This idea is clearly seen through the creation of Buddhism and Christianity.

Religion has changed dramatically over the past few decades. Where years ago, it was limited to a few specific set of beliefs in which the majority of people conformed to and few people deviated. Nowadays, religion is immeasurable and varies depending on where you live. Despite all the changes, there are a few basic elements that every religion follows such as; a set of stories, sacredness, community, belief of a higher power, rules/ethics, offer hope and a way to connect with the divine. Although the building blocks are the same, each organizations, religious practices and beliefs are unique.

Western scholars of religion have attempted to define the term religion for a long time. Often times, these definitions are too narrow and are based on the individual’s own background and

As the tools and resources for reading texts evolved, we trust “experts” in differing fields to provide us with authoritative information. Because of the history of these traditional texts, the battles between religious groups, and the adoption of these religions by different groups, reason and information from the social sciences is implicitly authoritative for Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

Religion can be "defined as a system of human norms and values that is founded on a belief in a superhuman order (p.210)." Religion helped cultures define

The issue of the emergence of religion is a very tense issue. The very nature of what constitutes a religion is undefined. Furthermore, archeological evidence alone doesn’t give full insights into religious practices.

Even through the religious books that people choose to read, they are retaining a sense of individuality through personal spirituality. By picking and chooses from the doctrines of various religions, people are retaining the right to choose how they want to interpret each book and even what they will incorporate into their own personal spirituality. Rather than following the doctrines of one specific religion, and giving parts of what they want up, people retain the ability to do what they want by reading books “tailored to meet the religious demands of an increasingly diversified consumer culture” (Hedstrom, 128). From these books, people decide whether the content aligns with what they are looking for rather than if their lives align with what the text is saying. From this perspective, people use insight they gain from reading religious books to interpret their own reality. Rather than following the principles laid out by a religious institution, individuals who read religious books maintain the ability to decide how they will interpret and respond to the text. By looking to religious books to form a personal spirituality, people find a way to retain their

Sharing ideas, stories and origin myths, would have been a widely-used form of communication, especially with the possibility of language barriers. The stories that make up the Christian bible for example, have roots in ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia and Greece (Campbell 1959). These cultures did interact with one another, and Mathisen does nothing to scientifically prove his assertion that all cultures stemmed from a mother civilization and the entire shared language was based on the

A religious family in the story Why I am a Pagan by Zitkala-sa, talks about how this little girl was taught certain things that her family has always gone by. What she was taught, she now holds close to her life dearly, while also relying on it every moment of the day. Her life shows us a different view on cultural identity, how she was taught something important not only to her, but in everyone else’s as well. By showing her what the kind of men in her life mean the most to her. She says something about her religion, how it reflects her past, present, and future, along with what she stands for. She says, “I was taught long years ago by kind missionaries to read the holy book, these godly men taught me also the folly of our old beliefs.” (Zitkala-sa 2) In her culture, and

“Religion is a belief concerning the supernatural, sacred, or divine and the moral codes, practices values and institutions associated with such belief.” (Religion) People who have religious beliefs or practices usually believe in a higher being, practice worship, and have practices of ethics and politics. “The word myth comes from the Greek word mythos, which means [word,] [speech,] [tale,] or [story,] and that is essentially what a myth is: a story.” (Morford, Lenardon, and Sham, 3). Like religious stories, myths are often entertaining, morally instructive and inspirational.

Religious beliefs often are reflections onto a civilization; the ancient people observed what was occurring around them and recorded an explanation

Interpretation is a powerful force. It shapes the way people see the world and guides them in their actions. It causes disharmony and leads to unity, and the power that interpretation wields can especially be seen when it comes to religious matters. Interpretation of religious texts and laws plays a significant role in religious communities. The way the people in these communities live their lives is governed by the the manner in which they and their authorities interpret their sacred texts and laws. As society changes, the influence that their interpretation has over their decisions impacts the way in which religious communities deal with these changes.

It is difficult to describe the entire religious phenomena. Some argue that religion does not even exist, to begin with. Religion is described to be a significant

Defining religion is a difficult task, as it can mean many things to different people and raise conflicting biases and views. Many people claim that religion is just simply the belief in God. If that were true then it could be argued that there wouldn’t be multiple religions in the world today. Instead the definition of religion needs to be narrowed down more than simply stating that it is a belief in God. An adequate definition of religion is the general belief, which may include a superhuman or supernatural being that is often times, but not always, associated with some form of worship, usually offers some insight into life after death and has a community of followers.

I propose to define religion as idea and practice that postulate reality away from that which is instantly available to the senses. This board definition lets us to look at a very wide range of context of religion. In each society people construct their world. They may have a shared set of beliefs in sprits and gods and as a result fit directly into western definitions of religion. In