Religion is defined into three main parts: 1. beliefs and worship: people's beliefs and opinions concerning the existence, nature, and worship of a deity or deities, and divine involvement in the universe and human life, 2. System: an institutionalized or personal system of beliefs and practices relating to the divine and 3. Personal beliefs or values: a set of strongly-held beliefs, values, and attitudes that somebody lives by. Each human being has their own view on religion and this is seen throughout the findings and is stated in the answer s to the analysis questions.
Were your questions relevant and did they provide you with the information referring to religion and the meaning of life?
The questions used in the questionnaire are:
What do you think the meaning of life is?
What are your feelings towards religion?
How often do you pray/worship?
What do you think of other religions and their views?
What are your beliefs on afterlife/heaven and do they affect your daily life?
These questions provided me with information regarding meaning and purpose in people’s lives. It is clear that all the people surveyed search for meaning and reason for life in their daily lives. It is shown in the way they act; influence others and how they resolve conflict by ways of love and peace. People believe there is an afterlife/heaven and they act accordingly to their views on it.
Classification of responses according to belief systems you have studied. Christianity
The majority of people surveyed follow the Roman Catholic Church except for one who follows the Uniting church. These churches all fall under the umbrella of Christianity but have different beliefs and views of the teachings. It is seen in the results from the surveys that...
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...ty not structured and he is the only non Roman Catholic. All Roman Catholic’s pray daily, weekly and attend church services once a week. While Uniting Church followers are not as obliged to pray as often and attend mass regularly. Many people are accepting of other religions besides those that promote killing and violence but believe in their religion only. All people surveyed believe in and afterlife and heaven they some are not sure what this may be (appendix 3, 7 and 8) while all followers of Roman Catholic and Uniting Church believe in ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself’ and ‘what goes around comes around’ and this will affect your afterlife. They live their lives this way as they see they will be rewarded for living good and for filing lives. Except for appendix 8 who lives in the present and is not concerned with afterlife but what is happening around her.
The contemporary Church is so often a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. It is so often the arch-supporter of the status quo. Far from being disturbed by the presence of the Church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the Church's silent and often vocal sanction of things as they are.”
“About 270,000 religious congregations in the US have combined annual revenue of $80 billion. Slightly more than 50 percent of Americans belong to a religious congregation. In terms of membership, the largest faiths in the US are Catholic (about 25 percent of the population); Baptist (16 percent); Methodist (7 percent); Lutheran (5 percent); Presbyterian (3 percent); Pentecostal (2 percent); and Episcopalian (2 percent). Church membership statistics are notoriously unreliable.”(Hoover’s 2008)
The goal of this paper is to determine if the Catholic religion has continued to modernize since Vatican II. In order to help analyze the modernization of Catholicism, this paper will examine the immigration of Catholics to America in the 19th and 20th centuries. Throughout this paper, I will reference Dr. Julie Byrne’s commentary, a professor in American religious history at Duke University, as a means of explaining how Catholicism has assimilated into American culture. Next, this paper suggests three challenges that Catholics are presently facing in the 21st century. Finally, this paper will elaborate on the growth in “irreligious Catholics” and its potential dangers. Although Catholicism assimilated into American culture during the 19th and 20th centuries, research and the rise in “irreligious Catholics” in the 21st century suggests it is possible that Catholicism has not continued to modernize.
Religion is a symbolic representation of society. The sociological approach to religious belief looks at how society behaves on a whole, to answer the question, “Why are people religious?” We express our participation in religious events through plays, acts of confession, religious dances, etc. To begin to understand why we have such term, let’s understand the common elements of religion. There are different types in which people believe in or follow and that is: animatism, animism, ancestral spirits, god and goddesses, and minor supernatural beings. Beyond these different elements, such one is to have religious leaders to follow.
While often people presume that Christian leaders have the same values and have the same thoughts regarding the definition of spirituality, the role of the church, and how the world affects our relationship with God, this assumption can be contradicted by the works of Eugene Peterson, John Van Sloten, Barbara Taylor, and Krista Tippet. Each has different views about these main topics, and these views generally reflect the different views of the church today.
Roles of the Catholic Church in Western civilization has been scrambled with the times past and development of Western society. Regardless of the fact that the West is no longer entirely Catholic, the Catholic tradition is still strong in Western countries. The church has been a very important foundation of public facilities like schooling, Western art, culture and philosophy; and influential player in religion. In many ways it has wanted to have an impact on Western approaches to pros and cons in numerous areas. It has over many periods of time, spread the teachings of Jesus within the Western World and remains a foundation of continuousness connecting recent Western culture to old Western culture.-
Through the close study of two of the aspects shown in the diagram, their contributions allow Christianity to be considered a living religious tradition. The significant contributions of Pope John XXIII, during both his papal and Pre-papal life have had everlasting effects on not only Catholicism, but Christianity as a whole and lead to the sense of Christianity being a living religious tradition. His works include two Papal encyclicals, Mater et Magistra and Pacem in Terris, along with his work being Apostolic Delegate of Greece and Turkey. Moreover, The significant practice of Baptism has further contributed to Christian being considered a living religious tradition as it accounts for the premise of most Christian beliefs to be initiated, especially in terms of salvation and affirming the beliefs in the trinity and following the teachings of Jesus Christ.
United by Faith main objective is to convince the reader to embrace a multiracial formation within their congregation, but it does provide a good balance on why some favor segregated congregations. Five main categories are presented in favor of this. The five are pragmatic reasons, theological reasons, cultural reasons, activist reasons, and sociological
The universe, and what it means to be alive is almost impossible to define; yet that does not stop humanity from trying. “Lonergan’s philosophy of the human person reveals that being human means having an unlimited number and variety of questions about life and the universe.” (Morgan, 1996). There is no limit on the number and variety of questions the human person will ask, "the most subversive people are those who ask questions” (Gaarder), as a result there are many varied and opinionated answers. This essay will explore three different theories on how one might find answers to life's ultimate questions. At one point or another, every human being has asked the question why: Why am I here? What is my purpose? What is the point? It is in our nature as human beings to reason, to think, to ask, it is what separates us from the rest of creation, and with this ability to reason, we are left with one question: Why? Throughout history many have tried to answer this question, some have come to the conclusion that meaning is found through God, and one’s faith. Others feel that life begins meaningless, and it is up to the individual to give life meaning; then there are those who believe that life has no meaning, and we are all essentially, just waiting to die, "The meaning of life is that it ends." (Kafka).
The Psychology of Religion is composed of a variety of different perspectives, which in certain cases proves difficult in determining both the clinical and pastoral implications of a theory. Modern-day psychology has demonstrated possible beneficial results in religious spiritual individuals, however, much of the current research has avoided questioning the “real” presence of the Divine or a Higher Being. Although a century has passed since his undertaking of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud readily settled the question of religion by declaring it a form of mental illness. While Freud’s Psychology of Religion is that religion only exists as a neurosis, his view provides the three clinical implications of hypnotism, free association, and dream analysis, each of which have also remained a source of criticism.
A religion is a system of beliefs usually involving the worship of supernatural forces or beings. Religious beliefs provide shape and meaning to one's perception of the universe. In other words, they provide a sense of order in what might otherwise be seen as a chaotic existence. Religions also provide understanding and meaning for inexplicable events such as a loved one being killed in an earthquake or some other unpredictable force of nature. For most religious people, their beliefs about the supernatural are at the very core of their world views.
There are probably as many definitions of religion as there are religions themselves. Behind the definitions lie differing intentions and originate from various sources. Everyone from scholars, to religious leaders, to scientists has weighed in his or her opinion. Even an entire field of academic study arose to help define religion. This academic study of religion has proven useful in facilitating a better definition of religion, as it has identified six key aspects to create a decent definition of religion (Shulman, Definitions of Religion Quiz). The six points are not being bias, not being too narrow, not being too broad, being substantive, being functional, and being comprehensive. Three definitions of religion—one acceptable, one lacking, and this author’s own—go through a compare-and-contrast analysis using these six points as the basis of critique in order to illustrate what makes a definition of religion either acceptable or lacking.
Ecumenical spirits influence various religions to lay aside theological differences, and accept and tolerate diverse beliefs coming together and forming ecclesiastical bonds. Historically, Catholics and Protestants fought each other, and not only through verbal exchange, but through physical means as well. World and religious leaders today advocate accepting all faiths and tolerance of differing viewpoints. For the most part they reflect the ideals of the general consensus. Popular opinion suggests that there are various paths to God, and it is narrow minded to believe there is only on...
There are several different cultures in the world today. Each culture has its own different traditions and values. One of the world’s most popular cultural differences has to deal with religion. Religion is defined as “an organized system of beliefs, ceremonies, and rules used to worship a god or a group of gods” (Meriam). One popular religion is Roman Catholicism. Being a catholic means different things to different people but it usually revolves around one central theme; doing the right thing according to God. While I am not Catholic, I can certainly understand some of the values and beliefs they have.
...o these questions bring comfort, a sense of belonging and meaning to certain cultures and societies. It brings an individual self worth and happiness, and the feeling that they have something to live for. This is one of the main reasons people decide to follow a certain religion – to bring them happiness and to do right by their religion, therefore contributing positively to society.