Introduction. As history shows, religious faith or belief can often prove to be a much stronger force than considerations of pure self-interest. In some circumstances people will even sacrifice their life for their faith. In spite of whether this powerful force works for the good or bad of mankind, it would be a great mistake to think that the globalization and economization of thought has lessened religion’s importance. Religion continues to act as one of the major factor to better the human behavior. Man is incurably religious although the form and object of his religious feelings may change over time What is Religion? Do we need Religion? There is no proper definition for the world religion as everyone has its own point of view about the religion but there are few things that must be considered and understand when we go on a talk about the religion. What if there was not the true religion, the world would become the darkest prison. What if we were not been told that there are always two paths to spend your life the right path which is difficult because you have to follow rules and the law given by the god, and the other path is the easy path where there are no restrictions there is no obedience required. The main philosophy of the religion is that it gives us the right way of life but is there any right religion on earth? Does god exist? How god looks likes, there are many more questions that arise when we talk about the philosophy of the religion.
...ood or bad. In addition, it is important not to place all religions under one category. To avoid something that is too narrow, the definition needs aspects of religion other than intentions. To counter being too broad, perhaps, like the second definition, it needs to include a “holy” or “sacred” aspect. It needs to include various aspects of the practices to be substantive. The definition needs to be functional and so needs to include something the practitioner can take away from the religion. The comprehensive component is by default addressed through considering the previous points. The following is the revised definition of religion. Through sacred inspiration, beliefs, and practices, religion is a systematic manner of interacting with the world that can have either positive or negative consequences, depending on a given interpretation of the sacred inspiration.
Christians refuse to fight at war, they can still be part of war in a
What is religion? Each person’s definition of religion is different. Each person’s faith is different. This is a question that has been asked for centuries, and regardless of the answer given there is no right or wrong answer. Religion can be defined as a group of people who have shared beliefs who feel their life has purpose or meaning. This feeling or belief that their life has meaning can come from outside of themselves, as well as within. Taking this one step further, these shared beliefs put into action in the form of worship, can be easily identified because they happen regularly. It can be said the Primal religions were in fact not religions. Some may argue Confucianism is not a religion. Others may say Taoism is not a religion. However, one argument can be made. All three of these “religions” share “features.” Huston Smith, author of World’s Religions, says “six features of religion appear so regularly as to suggest that their seeds are in the human makeup.” These six features discussed in World’s Religions are as follows: authority, ritual, explanation, tradition, grace, and mystery (World’s, Page 67). First is authority, Smith argues religion is so complex that people will need assistance or guidance from those held in a higher light, or of a higher authority. Next is ritual, which can be happy (a wedding) or sad (a funeral), rituals are shared between people of the same religion in many forms as a sign of common beliefs. Following rituals, some explanation is required. Many of a religion’s followers ask for explanations, some ask, “What is my purpose in life?” Others may ask, “Who is God?” Depending on one’s religion, the questions or
“Religion is a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considering religion as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs”, as stated by Webster’s dictionary.1 Religion is basically the belief in a higher being who controls the life of the people, and ultimately decides the fate of a being after death. There about 21 major religions today each with thousands of different denominations, this branched from under them. Christianity is responsible for 32 of them by itself! There are so many different religions because of the difference of opinion in beliefs, and in the different denominations the difference in beliefs are very minor. The key aspect that differentiates these religions is usually because they worship different Gods.
Religion, “part of the human experience that has to do with a god or gods, a higher power, or the ultimate values of life” (Cason & Tillman 6-7), is one of the most controversial and interesting subjects for humanity. It has been around for as long as anyone can recall and they have difference and similarities in their founders, beliefs, and history. Religion has served to give some sort of a meaning to life and everything around it. In modern society, some religions have grown and expanded significantly. These larger religions have been classified as world religions. In addition, these world religions have been split into two categories known as Eastern and Western religion.
Religion is considered as a pervasive force in this world. It shapes people as to how they behave and interact with almost everything present in the society. Influencing behavior, character formations, ideals, policies, standards are just among the dimensions and societal perspectives affected and impacted by religion. Because of these applications and implications in human lives and existence, religion should be understood deeply, particularly, on how it affects the world. Looking at the American perspective of the term "religion," it could be simply
Religion can be viewed from many different perspectives. People throughout the world hold different religious values. One person’s religious value will not match the religious values of another person. Globalization as a whole has affected the way we view the different religions and our feelings towards them; it has moved towards a more symbolic representation of ideologies. Many have come to believe that the west is more superior to others. Martha Crenshaw argues that globalization is a key driver of terrorism because there is a comparison between countries having less access to means of production and others having more access. Furthermore, most religions go against each other’s beliefs and as for Islam; they have neglected the ideologies of the west. In order to understand how religious values are interconnected is through language games; we think in certain ways because of issues of power.
Throughout history, religion has helped form the basic fabric of society. From an early age, religion provided the answers to any unexplainable natural phenomena. The question of why the world worked in a particular way was easily answered with “because [name of deity] made it that way.” Religion was everywhere; everyone had their own ideas about how the world worked and what their role was in the universe. Each likeminded group held that their religious beliefs were the root cause of their happiness and general satisfaction with life. Centuries of religious dominance eventually gave birth to a widespread idea that strong religious beliefs are essential to living a happy and fulfilling life. Even today, in a society dominated by scientific advances, religion finds a niche in catering to people’s spiritual needs. Indeed, despite the societal changes that have occurred in modern times, religion has remained largely unchanged since its early days. The belief that religion factors heavily into one’s life satisfaction and happiness has also remained much the same, despite today’s complex and ever-changing society. The problem lies where religion is viewed as a major way to achieve happiness, and this perspective can lead to blind acceptance of religion solely on the basis of its supposed universal benefits. Basically, a new way of looking at religion is needed: seeing it not as the end-all happiness tool, but as a small factor in a complex web of happiness and well-being.
Scholars have been trying to come up with a well-founded, acceptable and universal definition of religion for years; however, none of these definitions so far are a perfect fit for all religions of the world. There are many things in our life that are well defined and well understood but, unfortunately, religion is not one of them. There is no common ground and understanding of what religion really means. Religion is what we make of it, so no one can truly define religion in a way that is meaningful across all borders as it is outside of the realm of reason and rationale and the definitions we give could be either too exclusive or inclusive.
Religion can be defined as a system of beliefs and worships which includes a code of ethics and a philosophy of life. Well over 90% of the world 's population adheres to some form of religion. The problem is that there are so many different religions. What is the right religion? What is true religion? The two most common ingredients in religions are rules and rituals. Some religions are essentially nothing more than a list of rules, dos and don 'ts, which a person must observe in order to be considered a faithful adherent of that religion, and thereby, right with the God of that religion. Two examples of rules-based religions are Islam and Judaism. Islam has its five pillars that must be observed.
Conflict and violence is around us throughout the world and the mass media has made a huge impact of what we think of violence and the relation to religion, especially in the last couple of years. In addition violence has been considered as being part of human nature and comes from our biological structure of aggression. It is an out let for us to relieve stress levels and some believe that it can be a device of vengeance and a positive mechanism to human survival. For example it is a system for the survival of the fittest and reproduction. Another way that we can look at it on a different spectrum is the way religious beliefs utilise non violent mechanisms that try to diminish the impacts of aggressive behaviour. When we think of religion and violence we do not think to situate them together. This is because “theologically, it can certainly be concluded that all religions have the goal of peace” . People who are outsider of a religious tradition can make many generalisations. In this essay it will discuss why some religious traditions in South East Asia oppose violence. In addition the rejections of violence have shaped and changed religious practices within Jainism, Hinduism and Buddhism. There have also been many generalisations about the above traditions. Moreover I will try and answer why non violence has become a generalisation and how it has impacted India as a whole.
Religion plays an enormous role in the history of mankind. Wars have been fought over it, lives have been surrounded by it, and it has directly or indirectly shaped the lives of many individuals. Culture and religion play a large role in developing each other. People’s religion is decided by their culture. The prominence or the lack of religion will develop someone’s religious identity have play a core role in determining what that person believes.
Human beings have always been curious about the meaning and purpose of life. Religions try to answer the curiosity people have about there being a higher source, typically identifying this greater domination as God. Some beliefs teach that there is only one G-d this is defined as a monotheistic religion. Some examples of monotheistic religions are Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Although each sect has a different perspective on teachings and beliefs they have one common thread; the belief in a singular deity.
Religion is defined as the belief in or worship of a controlling power and or a God. A similarity between Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Christianity is each has an individual leader, God, or gods that are worshiped. In Islamic religion the God is
Religion, as defined by Webster’s Dictionary is a belief in and reverence for a supernatural power accepted as the creator and governor of the universe (Houghton Mifflin, 2001). With that said, there is no commonly accepted definition of religion. Different people and different experts have different views of religion. Many people associate the religion with belief in some entity generally described as God. But then different religions and even people within a formally defined religion may hold different views about the nature of God. The only commonality between all religions is that they are all directed at guiding the individual behavior in directions that are expected to lead to their personal good as well as that of the society in general. Unlike other social institutions though, history has proven religion can rally people on a global level (Powell, 2009). Whether your experience is limited to the diversity within the United States of America or firsthand observations abroad, religion, or opinion of some form, religion is instilled and deeply rooted into all people.