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What is Religion
Religions role in identity
Sociological definition of religion
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Recommended: What is Religion
Religion is Unnecessary Overall Introduction: What is Religion? According to Atheism.com Religion is the set of beliefs, feelings, dogmas and practices that define the relations between human being and sacred or divinity. Religion supposedly gives a person an identity and relationship. Religion deals with answers to identity-forming questions such as Selfhood - "Who am I?" "Where did I come from?" Meaning - "Why am I?" "Where will I go when I die?" Purpose - "What do I do?" "What is the purpose of life? No particular religion is ever really ONLY one type of dimension, but is rather a complex whole. The Ritual dimension is what believers DO! Rituals provide believers with a symbolic mode of communication designed to propel them out of ordinary experience and into extraordinary realities; Rituals are often based on the myths contained in a given worldview. Believers feel called upon to do what their great leaders did. Thus, Christians celebrate the ritual of the Last Supper (the Eucharist) just as Jesus did almost 2,000 years ago. And in participating in this unique, myth-based ritual, a full-on Christian is brought back into authentic Christian experience, which will be the basis of our discussion today, if such Dimension and others is necessary. My Introduction: Religion is the biggest killer of all time, with many countries being destroyed. The reason is simple. A religion that allows its faithful to "stray...
What is religion? Religion is defined as a system of symbols, myths, doctrines, ethics, and rituals for the expression of ultimate relevance. There are several different types of religions an individual can follow. Often a religion is introduced to a person early in childhood. I attended the 9:20 a.m. Sunday morning worship service at Bellevue Baptist Church, 2000 Appling Road, Cordova, Tennessee.
The most devastating wars in history have been caused by religion. World War II for example was Adolf Hitler trying to kill off the Jews. Hitler hated the religion. Some say this is because his art teacher was a Jew, and she unfairly hated his work, but the teacher’s religion is what enabled Hitler to segregate a race. If religion was not involved, many of the millions of Jews killed might still be living today.
Religion is a set of faiths or beliefs that is based around one or more central powers. Religion can take what is good and turn it to evil, especially in the case of the Taliban and crusades. Religion can be used for good as well, in the case of several modern day religions.
What is a religion? A religion is defined by Richard Schaefer as a unified system of beliefs and practices that relate to what is believed to be sacred (Schaefer, Richard T, 2009, pg 323). There are many world religions, such as Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hindu, and so forth, and while all of these different religions are very different they all have similar components (Schaefer, Richard T, 2009, pg 325-326, 330). It is these components that make a religion and they are beliefs which are the statements that members hold too, rituals which are the practices required of the member to perform, and experiences which is the feeling of being in contact with the divine (Schaefer, Richard T, 2009, pg 331). No matter what religion one belongs to, these will be present.
What has caused the most war, pain, and strife in the world? Religion. What has taught people to be kind, to love, to help one another? Religion. It has cowed many into worship and coaxed many into prayer. For some their entire world and existence is based on the principle that religion shall determine their next life, or lives, whether that be the afterlife or the next life on earth. That principle, in positive instances, has lead many into a life free of conflict, free of poor decisions, and free of unjust actions against others. In negative instances, it has been used as a basis for determining who is fit to live or to control entire populations of people. Besides these there are millions of examples of how religion has affected lives and how people view religion.
According to Ninian Smart, the seven dimensions of religion include practical and ritual, emotional and experiential, narrative and mythical, ethical and legal, doctrinal and philosophical, social and institutional, and material. The practical and ritual dimension involves rituals and practices that provide spiritual awareness of adherents. The emotional and experiential dimension includes the life changing experiences that either the leaders or followers of a religion go through. Narrative and mythical dimension are the stories and past records that preserve tradition and culture in the religion. Ethical and legal dimension of the religion are basically the codes of behavior that are followed and expected within the religion. The doctrinal and philosophical dimension is the belief system created by leaders for believers. Social and Institutional dimension is the organizational structure of the religion. Last but not least the material dimension includes works of people and preservation of sacred places creating symbolic representation of traditional beliefs. Using these seven dimensions, we will explore how they can be interpreted in the religion of Christianity.
The second sacrament is the Holy Eucharist. Catholics also call this Communion. This Sacrament, just like baptism, was seen several times in the bible and was given to Catholics directly from Jesus. The ritual practice of the Eucharist comes from Christ at the last supper. According to the book of Matthew,
Religion is perhaps one of the universe’s biggest mysteries. Is there some divine being or spiritual being guiding our lives? Religion is an understanding that there is something greater that guides and protects us. In today’s society, there are many different religions and they all practice and worship in different ways. Each religion presents diverse religious traditions, rituals and even beliefs. In other words, religion means something different to different people.
Rituals are a significant part of religious life. Stages in humans lives are marked by traditional events. Christians are baptised, confirmed and married in their ‘church’. Great importance is placed on these and other events and the rituals associated with them.
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the definition of religion is as follows: “the belief in a god or in a group of gods, an organized system of beliefs, ceremonies, and rules used to worship a god or a group of gods, or an interest, a belief, or an activity that is very important to a person or group” (Merriam-Webster.) My personal definition of religion is that it is a set of beliefs and practices that generally pertain the worship of one or more than one spiritual beings or representations of a spiritual power. Religion can be personal belief or an organization or group of people who have similar beliefs and values. There are many different types of religions in the world and have been since the history of mankind.
Ideologies creates a sense of community, purpose and order. Similarly, I find that my religion provides me with the conceptual frameworks in which to ground my life. My life revolves around my Islamic commitments, even school and work is set around my Islamic timetable. So to me, Islam is not just about praying, fasting and so on. Yet, it’s also about my moral conduct, the education that I seek and my worldly actions. Growing up in a community that practices an Islamic lifestyle and culture has convinced me that Islam is one of the exceptional religions which stress the development of the positive moral and ethical. I was taught to live peacefully, help each other and also tolerate with other religions. Not only that, Islam also governs all facets of my life such as moral, spiritual, physical, intellectual, social and economic via the Quran and the Hadith. I also learnt the true values of my faith which is Islam is not only for the Muslim world, it is to be practiced wherever I am.
"Religion" is the service and worship of God or the supernatural: a commitment or devotion to religion faith or observance defines the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. According to the Encarta World Dictionary, religion is 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. The definitions of the word "religion" vary from dictionary to dictionary, country to country and from person to person.
The definition of religion is the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods(Merriam-Webster). After this semester I have come to realize that religion is a much more advanced, complicated, and personal definition. Religion can’t be defined in one word or one term because there is a lot that religion entails. There really is no concrete answer of what religion is and the definition varies among different groups of people and individuals.
Religion is a form of practicing spirituality, it is a way to connect or communicate with their supreme being. It also influences individuals to perceive life, nature, ethics, or themselves in a different form, that way is my perspective of what religion is. Throughout this semester, we have learned about the major religions and other religions that are not so common. I have also gained more knowledge about not just the religion that I practice, Catholicism, but about other religions, beside own. By learning more about other religions and understanding the way they perceive society, nature, and how they function, it has changed the way I perceive religion.
Religion has screwed us up for a long time and we'd be better off without it. By "us" I mean Americans living in the 21st century. Without religions we would have fewer labels separating us from each other and we wouldn't hate Jews or Catholics or Muslims. If we didn't have religions, we wouldn't have to convert anyone or "save" anyone. If we didn't have religions, people could no longer get caught up in the fine lines of religious rightousness or be trapped in a double-standard morality. And most importantly, we would be truly free of religious engendered guilt that never quite goes away.