Student Answer: For me a religion consists of several different elements that are not universal to all religions found today. First, a religion is one that is shared and practiced by a group or ‘communal in nature’. Second, a religion has a unified set of beliefs that not only define the world and our place in it but also provides a set of ethical standards and guide to life. Third, I think a religion should invoke an emotional response from the believer through a supernatural connection with a higher being or God. Finally, I believe a religion should identify certain things that are sacred to the religion (Molloy, 2010). Community or ‘communal in nature’: Having more than one person or a small group of people become followers of a religion is a testament to its validity in society. To me this is the most important aspect of defining religion. A true religion should be able to use its teachings and belief system to retain and cultivate new followers by connecting with them on a personal level. Unified set of beliefs and code of ethics: What separates a religion from groups of people with an idea is the unified belief in something. Even if the exact details of those beliefs are not universal the overall beliefs are the same. An example would be all the different Protestant Churches, and the different sects of Islam and Buddhism. A religion’s beliefs should be (mostly) the same across the world. Also, there should be an ethical or moral code of
The definition of religion is, “a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects” (“Religion”). Many of the world religions at first glance appear to be very similar. However, on closer examination, the differences in the religions are made clear. For example, Mormonism is often described as a branch of Christianity because both religions have Jesus as a central figure. Despite this misconception, Mormonism and Christianity have major differences in their historical backgrounds, key writings, definitions of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, beliefs about salvation and what happens after death, among other
Religion is a common set of belief held by different individuals available within a society. Religion concerns itself with purpose, cause, and nature considered for the creation of a superhuman agency fitted with several moral codes. The codes provide guidance on how humans should conduct themselves throughout their life time. Religious beliefs are known to fall into a pattern of 8 different elements such as the belief system, community, central myths, rituals, an ethical system, experiences of the emotions, expressing religion in a material manner, and the ability of being sacred (Jacobs, 2005).
As a result, I believe that the best definition of religion is “a set of guidelines that defines who you are, whether or not you worship a god or gods. Religion varies from person to person and is based on personal faith and it is also greater than its followers and allows individuals to explore the true meaning of life” (Nguyen and Ibaviosa et al., 2014)
Religion is a set of beliefs and practices that generally involves praising of a higher being or power. Religions are defined between two categories, immanent and transcendent. Immanent religions are generally non-theistic and focus more in the presence rather than what is ahead and recognises a divine being or power as a constantly reality. Transcendent religions tend to have a belief in a divine being or powers whose existence goes beyond human limitations and focuses on the consequences of an action (Douglas, 2015). There are four main aspects that all religions have in common, these are beliefs, sacred texts and writings, ethics and rituals.
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.
Religion is defined as the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially personal God or gods according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary. Humans have a historical tendency to search for greater meaning and purpose and this is why people hold on their religious beliefs. Most people follow the same traditions and values of their parents. Religion can be considered a tradition influenced by values which affect people’s actions and traits. Two examples of religions are Christianity and Buddhism based on the teachings of Jesus Christ and Gautama Buddha respectively. They have spread from where they originated and had changed the religion has moderated in the past decade, these different religions claim different knowledge and utilize histrionic stories for teaching, and to gain followers and popularity.
Religion is entwined with every aspect associated in modern society. Religion is defined as the human beings’ relation to that which they regard as holy, sacred, absolute, spiritual, divine, or worthy of especial reverence. Many religions believe in the same God but practice their religion very differently. Judaism and Roman Catholicism are two unique religions that have many similarities and differences, though they both are derived from the same idea of God.
What does it mean to be religious? According to John Bowker (2006), it can mean so many things to different people (p.6). Therefore, John Bowker argues that being religious does not have a perfect explanation and it does not mean one simple thing. I totally agree with John. I agree because “as a religion develops, disagreements can arise” (Coogan, p 10). Everyone had his or her own true meaning of being religious. In addition, religion is a key element in most human cultures. John and I believe that understanding the differences within a religion, you can cultivate many skills that will serve individuals well during their lifetime. For instance, I learned a lot about Christians and Muslins. I am not a very religious person, but I do believe there is a god. Within those two religions, a lot of debates occur about god. Christians believe that Jesus was the Son of God. Unlike Islam, Muslims do not believe that he was the Son of God. Islam suggests that Jesus was a prophet. Essentially, I trying to make a point that both have different views on religions, but both want to serve a purpose to be happy with in. My next question is what is a religion. I understand that when it comes to defining the term “religion” it tends to be difficult. As stated earlier, there are millions of definition or interpretations of the word. Nevertheless, we have to realize that even though it is hard to understand what make up a religion to different people, we have to understand that it serves a
The term religion is defined as the belief in and worshipping of a power superior to that of humans. Basically, all religions have the same purpose, but the way this purpose is pursued can be very distinctive. The approach of these religious traditions can allow them to become very prosperous and dominate. All religions possess a cherished text that contains the beliefs and practices specific to those followers. In order to attain a successful religion, there must be a designated place and day for worship. Also, it is critical to have a trusted and honorable leader that is able to guide the congregation into a successful worship service, or to act as the religious authority of a community. The ancient religions of Judaism, Christianity, and
The different approaches in how many people define religion gives different effects on how people actually group the word in different categories. According to the book “introduction to the study of religion” the authors gives a brief statement about how religion is interpreted. They state two definitions “1. Religion is awareness expressed through symbols of relationship to, or participation in, the fundamental power of life. And 2. Religions are symbol systems that facilitate relationship to, or participation in, what the members understand to be the fundamental power of life.” (Ring, Nash, MacDonald, and Glenmon, p 79). This explanation the book gives explains why it is so difficult to define religion. There are
Similar to the way in which people can choose from a wide assortment of religions, there are also many ways of viewing religion. One of these view points is existentialism, which states that where there is faith, not matter what in, a person has a right to make there own chooses. Many believe that this individual freedom then leads to risk in faith and often times doubt that cannot ever be separated from faith. It would be like having a huge tangled ball of two different colored string, However, you only want one of the colors, so you work relentlessly to untangle this massive ball. Yet when you have finally finished, you realized that there never were two different stings. There is only one string that is both colors. It is the same with faith and doubt, no matter how hard you work to remove doubt from faith they will still be the same piece of string. In his work “Saint Manuel Bueno, Martyr,” existentialist writer Unamuno discusses this entanglement of faith and doubt. While it is important to recognize that faith can not exist without doubt, I believe it is more interesting to analyze if doubt can exist without faith.
Religion is defined as "the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God" . There are many recognised religions of the world, which all teach its followers to live life "the right way", whose definition varies according to the religion itself. They have some beliefs and practices that distinguish themselves from each other. Some examples are differences and similarities of Buddhism and Islam.
Religion has many classifications, such as tribal, classical, transcendental and cosmological, usually based on one's belief and understandings. Religion also has many definitions, usually based on one's experience. A particular definition that I found was Religion originates in an attempt to represent and order beliefs, feelings, imaginings and actions that arise in response to direct experience of the sacred and the spiritual (Connelly, 1986). Religion also has many characteristics such as rituals, symbols and myths which play in an important part in how religion is viewed. We will take a look on how the definition, classification and characteristics of religion and how it ties into our understanding of the universe and
My favorite definition of religion is by Thomas Tweed, “Religions are confluences of organic-cultural flows that intensify joy and confront suffering by drawing on human and superhuman forces to make homes and cross boundaries” (Tweed, 54). Meaning, religion is a convergence of factors that intensify joy and confront suffering by leaning on both human and
From my studying of religion, I have come to understand that religion itself is not as straight forward as many people, including myself, tend to believe it is. Religion has such complexity that it is extremely difficult to define it in just a few words. This difficulty of finding a clear definition of what religion is seen when limitations are drawn about what religion involves and other activities such as a worship of chocolate then becomes a religion due to the fact that it could possible hold the same religious aspects to some individuals.