The Oxford Everyday Dictionary defines religion as a belief in a superhuman controlling power, but is there more to religion than this? I believe so. I am going to investigate a number of factors that I believe make a religion.
Faith
Faith is one of the most powerful concepts in religion. To have faith is too believe and believing is the source of all religion. Faith is a term used often in the New Testament. “Without faith it is impossible to please, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is the rewarder of those who diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).
Christians have faith in Jesus as a messiah and they believe that he was anointed as ruler and saviour of humanity. Muslims believe the same of their messiah Allah. Faith in Islam is called Iman. Iman is a whole person submission to Allah which includes belief in the heart and profession by the tongue.
Rastafarian’s show their faith in a more obvious way than Christians, although not so much other religions. Rastafarian’s wear dreadlocks as an open declaration of faith and loyalty to the divine Halie Selassie. Some non-rasta’s see dreadlocks as an act of rebellion not of faith and the same view is taken on the use of cannabis is Rastafarianism. Cannabis is used because Rastafarian’s believe that it helps them cultivate a stronger faith by bringing the faithful closer to God. In conclusion faith is at the heart of all religion some followers show it obviously through clothes or accessories others know they have faith in their heart. Without faith their would be no religion today.
The Essay on The politics of Latino faith: Religion, identity, and urban community
Historical site Introduction Historic sites are places well known for materials that are rich in political, cultural, military or social life history. These materials have been conserved due to their cultural heritage relevance. I have always had a sentimental longing of visiting historical sites since my childhood and out of this affection, I resolved to pay a visit to the Empire ...
Religion as a way of life
When asked what is religion a Hindu friend of mine Rishi Patel answered “ Religion is a way of life according to your particular religious doctrine eg. Holy Book or holy laws”. This is a common response from followers from all religions. Is religion a way of life or is it just that the faithfuls lifestyle is constructed around their religion?
Islam affects Muslims daily lives in many ways. First is the five daily prayers. Muslims must conduct these prayers at specific times and facing towards Mecca. Before these prayers can be conducted Muslims must go through a washing ritual to ensure they are clean and pure. These prayers are called Salat. Another way Muslims lives are affected is the fasting during the moth of Ramadan. In Arabic this fasting is called Sawm. God prescribes fasting for all able Muslims during the month of Ramadan starting at the sighting of the new moon.
As with many religions Buddhists live are also affected by their religion. Buddhists must live by the four noble truths (Life means suffering, the origin of suffering is attachment, the cessation of suffering is attainable and the path to the cessation is suffering) and the five precepts (Refrain from killing, refrain from stealing, refrain from lying or gossiping, refrain from sexual misconduct and refrain from taking intoxicants).
Christians must live by the ten commandments. Although their lives are affected, religious laws are there to help the faithful become a better person therefore their lives are affected for the better. Although as I have shown religion is a way of life chosen by the faithful, if religion were to be defined as a way of life we would have to consider such lifestyles as vegetarianism as religion. In conclusion religion does affect the faithfuls lifestyle but religion cannot be defined as a way of life.
Belief in a God/Gods
When asked what religion is many people will give the answer “A belief in a God” and as we know most religions have a god. Muslims have Allah, Christians have Jesus and Jews have Adonai (meaning my Lord).These religions believe in one god or monotheism. Some religions have a belief in many gods or polythesim especially Pagan religions. This being said some pagan and non-pagan religions do not believe in any god such as Toaism, so religion cannot be confined to just believing in a god. Although many would consider a religion who does not believe in a god to not be a religion.
The Essay on Why Religion and God Are Not Necessary in Modern Day Society
88% of us claim to be religious. Religion has been around since 223,000 BCE. The world would be nothing without it. You can’t get a sense of history or the language of Britain without having to study religious texts. But is religion necessary in the 21st century? The simple answer is no. No, we don’t need to believe in religious stories to feel comforted, no we don’t need to believe in an ...
Conclusion
I have found defining religion a hard task to undertake. Religion is a very tricky subject because there are so many different religions whose practices are very different. I have found some definitions to restrictive while others are far too broad which allow football teams to be considered religious. I believe the main factor of religion is Faith. After investigating a lot of religions I came to the conclusion that
Religion is any specific system of belief about deity, often involving rituals , a code of ethics and a philosophy of life.
