What is Religion: Definition and 115 Discussions

Religion is a social-cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that relates humanity to supernatural, transcendental, and spiritual elements; however, there is no scholarly consensus over what precisely constitutes a religion.Different religions may or may not contain various elements ranging from the divine, sacred things, faith, a supernatural being or supernatural beings or "some sort of ultimacy and transcendence that will provide norms and power for the rest of life". Religious practices may include rituals, sermons, commemoration or veneration (of deities and/or saints), sacrifices, festivals, feasts, trances, initiations, funerary services, matrimonial services, meditation, prayer, music, art, dance, public service, or other aspects of human culture. Religions have sacred histories and narratives, which may be preserved in sacred scriptures, and symbols and holy places, that aim mostly to give a meaning to life. Religions may contain symbolic stories, which are sometimes said by followers to be true, that may also attempt to explain the origin of life, the universe, and other phenomena. Traditionally, faith, in addition to reason, has been considered a source of religious beliefs.There are an estimated 10,000 distinct religions worldwide. About 84% of the world's population is affiliated with Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, or some form of folk religion. The religiously unaffiliated demographic includes those who do not identify with any particular religion, atheists, and agnostics. While the religiously unaffiliated have grown globally, many of the religiously unaffiliated still have various religious beliefs.The study of religion comprises a wide variety of academic disciplines, including theology, comparative religion and social scientific studies. Theories of religion offer various explanations for the origins and workings of religion, including the ontological foundations of religious being and belief.

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  1. P

    What isnt science, is religion

    Something that is often said in one breath is: "Thats not science! ... Its religion (or pseudo-science)" Is it true that any method which tries to investigate reality but which isn't science, is religion or pseudoscience? Or are there other categories?
  2. F

    Math Textbooks: Too Much and Too Little Info

    I accept theorems on faith, without proof. Sorry, just found the analogy funny. My point is: I really do not like math textbooks (I refer to the calculus/DE level textbooks I have, and my memory from high school of finding math textbooks nearly unreadable). They seem to employ the least...
  3. S

    What is the Role of Religion in Society?

    It seems that most discussion on religions centers on whether a given religion is true or false. The conclusion is that it is unknowable or that the 'winner of the war' will decided. It might be interesting to discuss whether or not religion has VALUE to the individual and/or to society...
  4. F

    Why do religious people accept their religion the way they do?

    Why do religious people accept their religion the way they do? They base their entire lives around something that they know nothing at all about. They have so much fear of going to hell for example, they do nothing bad at all for their whole life, some haven't even touched a beer, haven't...
  5. A

    Time taken to form universe, religion vs science.

    in the bible, and quran it mentions Earth and heavens and everything was created in 6 days right? in the quran it mentioned that 1 day for god is equivilant to 1000 Earth years. now if 6 days mentioned, means 6 days of God's, that means 6000 Earth years it took to created the universe...
  6. Another God

    Is Richard Dawkins' crusade against religion causing controversy in our society?

    I'm posting this in social sciences because it seems like Richard Dawkins is on a crusade against the social aceptance of religion. So this topic is sort of a religion topic, sort of a biology topic, sort of a physics topic, but allin all its about our society and how we accept beliefs...
  7. J

    Religion the touch, the feel of mythology, the fabric of our lives

    Anyone else scared that the veil is causing the sane to be outnumbered (and out-believed) by the "majority". Ever read Ishmael...I know, i know, its only one book, but the idea of religion as mythology is pretty sane, IMHO. Wanting an explanation for "it all" is not the same as having one...
  8. BobG

    News Pew Research Center: Religion & Politics - Interesting Polling Data

    Interesting polling report from Pew Research Center on people's impression of mixing politics and religion: http://pewforum.org/publications/surveys/religion-politics-06.pdf Some of the results are surprising. 69% feel liberals have gone too far in keeping religion out of school and...
  9. M

    Philosophy of Religion: Humanism & the Nature of Man

    The issue of man is an extremely important one. Today's civilizaion has based its religion upon humanism; that is, the originality and worship of man. It is assumed that various religions in the past shattered man's personality, and forced him to sacrifice himself for his gods, admit his...
  10. K

    What drives us to seek a connection with something greater than ourselves?

    I don t understand people who feels that the only way to get some type moral guildances, control and spiritual attainment is through religion. The kind of religion that are more or less entail the worshipping of some god or deities. I am disgusted by people who feels the need to reduce the...
  11. Pengwuino

    So much for freedom of religion

    http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=118350 I guess the plan to convert all the heathens with displays of a christmas tree and red hats has been found out. :confused: :confused:
  12. V

    Religion to blame for societies problems

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/Columnists/Column/0,5673,1589406,00.html" Not surprising to some, but new studies shows that Christianity doesn’t necessarily mean morality.
  13. P

    Religion or Team Spirit: Which Matters More?

    Are you religious? Do you like being part of a team? I have a hypothesis on this, take the poll and give me some data. Data data data!
  14. M

    Court Rules Atheism a Religion

    http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=45874 What are your thoughts about this? I didn't post this in the politics section becaues I think it has some philosophical significance.
  15. N

    Albert Einstein: Theology & Religion Explored

    Read ALL of it: http://www.spaceandmotion.com/Theology-Albert-Einstein.htm BEFORE you reflect. This man has thought far too deeply and he must have read many books. If everyone on Earth developed this understanding there would be no need for so many religions and human unification...
  16. R

    Is Science Becoming a Religion?

    There appears to be a human need for some type of a set of religious beliefs. These beliefs are truths that are generally expected to be accepted without question. Religion typically has dealt with two basic issues: defining accepted behaviors and defining the relationship of individuals to...
  17. Loren Booda

    Is a Unified Theory Possible Through Semiclassical Physics and Cosmic Awareness?

    Is the unification of religion possible, and if so, what tenets might make it so?
  18. A

    News The role of religion in world conflicts

    Is religion the source of conflicts or is it merely a convenient way of identifying the combatants? For example the 'Troubles' in Ireland are often characterized as catholics vs protestants where actually many would argue that the root of the conflict lies not in religion but in the fact that...
  19. D

    Sikhism: Understand the Universal Energy

    Hey All, As majority of you people are mainly from europe.A few of you would have ever heard of religion called SIKHISM. As many of you would wonder "oh!...another religion",its strictly not that way.Every religion has its own ways of describing God whether its through a miracle, moral or...
  20. Z

    My Religion: A Skeptical Christian's Perspective

    and don't say science :) I myself, am a christian, but am skeptical with all these theory's.
  21. H

    Does Science Have the Potential to Become a Religion?

    Is http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=science&x=17&y=10 , we see that worship of God is worship of an ultimate truth based in fact. It is easy to accept that religion worships an ultimate truth. but it does not seem clear that science...
  22. B

    The Nature of Holiness: Beyond Religion & Superstition

    There is a human tendency to regard things as holy which is separate from religion or spirituality, though often associated. People have a tendency to in general value some objects or circumstances as special. Superstition involves holy objects + rationalization with a set of beliefs for their...
  23. R

    Was religion ever meant to give absolute truth?

    I have thought and thought about this over and over, and time and again, I come to the conclusion that there cannot be any 'absolute truths', about anything, as after all, each persons reality is different. Just as time is relevant to the observer etc. I believe so too is reality and therefore...
  24. I

    Was Albert Einstein Truly an Atheist?

    Do you agree than Albert Einstein was basically an atheist? There seem to be rumors that he was not, after all, he did use the word "God" on many occasions. However, I am pretty sure that his "God" was a synonym for Nature. Here is what Einstein had to say: "From the viewpoint of a Jesuit...
  25. M

    Why do people believe in religion?

    I have not seen anything in any holly book including (Bible & Quran) that bears any evidence of a super being’s writing , secretes of the universe or even a plausible reason for creation, other then things like worship me for I am your lord (medieval kings like attitudes) … I am not saying that...
  26. H

    Organized Religion: Is It Brainwashing?

    I recently saw the results of the pole, Do you consider organized religon to be a type of Brainwashing? and I was simply astounded by the amount of people who thought it was. I would like someone, just one person to explain to me how organized religion is brainwashing. To me I cannot even think...
  27. B

    Quotes on science and religion

    Ok. I have a upcoming debate about science and religion, and we were given a task to show our views on this subject given some quotes. Me, daringly ( :tongue2: ) chose einsteins quote, which is: 'Science without religion is lame; religion without science is blind' However, when i...
  28. ?

    Science vs Religion - supporting evidence?

    This is a subject i'd like to become a lot more educated on. I've seen a lot of science vs religion discussions on various other forums, and a lot of religious fanatics making statements about the flaws in accepted scientific theory... a lot of which I'm skeptical about, but unfortunately I'm...
  29. S

    Bad Religion and Evolutionary Biology at Cornell

    For any of the Bad Religion fans here, Dr. Graffin now has his PhD dissertation from Cornell available. It is in paperback book form titled "Evolution, Monism, Atheism and the Naturalist World-View: Perspectives from Evolutionary Biology". 252 pages. http://www.cornellevolutionproject.org/...
  30. P

    News Presidents (or future presidents) religion, an effect on the election?

    Hi everyone, I'm new and just wanted to say hello before i got into this topic so...hi! I am sure many of you know that John F. Kennedy was the first and only (as of now) United States President that was Catholic. I too am Catholic (although not as involved as some members of my church)...
  31. A

    Does Atheism Fit the Definition of Religion?

    Morality? I would like to explore the following concepts. 1. What is morality? 2. Is morality a byproduct of religion/s? (I only know about 3 major religions, Christianity, Judaism and Islam.) & Do all our moral values come from religion/s? 3. Where do you draw the line?
  32. A

    Domination & Control: Is Religion/Politics to Blame?

    Is religion/politics a major influence in domination and control rather than just human nature? It's natural for living beings to demonstrate behaviour of power and control. However, all species limit this behaviour, except for the case of humans. It is only in human culture we see the abuse...
  33. Doc Brown

    Religion - Looking for a book that deals with the origin of all religions

    Like many people, I find myself trying to figure out whether it is possible that we find ourselves in existence on this planet, along with millions of other species of living organism, by utter chance - a random occurrence in a universe/multiverse that we cannot comprehend. But I always find...
  34. B

    Where is religion with no opposing postulate and theorem ?

    Where is religion with no opposing postulate and theorem ? Then religion is true. Religion is proven by it's documented leaders. Christ's postulate is he is the son of God, witnessed by God. Proven by his works to forgive sins and heal. And finally by his resurrection from the dead. I...
  35. T

    Supreme Court Outlaws Student Pursuing Divinity Degree

    Well, the Supreme Court has done it again. They have outlawed a scholarship student from pursuing a degree in divinity. Now, how long can a Nation survive when the Supreme Courts keep separating our Nation from God? I say, not long. Our Nation is headed down the tubes at an ever...
  36. K

    Science vs Religion: Exploring Contradictions

    I am writing a HSC report on whether or not religion contradicts science (vise versa) and if so whether or not this then affects the way people follow their belief systems. I am Catholic myself, so I am able to think up evidence for the Christian and parts for the Jewish religions. (i.e. '7...
  37. E

    Spiritual integrity (why I rejected religion)

    One of the thoughts that my mind keeps generating is "Poetry is the music of ideas and music is the poetry of emotions." I do not appreciate Poetry being reduced to or called "mental speculation." "Spitituality is the music of the soul expressed through the poetry of living" Spirituality...
  38. D

    What Is Religion? Exploring Its Meaning in the Modern World

    What is Religion?? in ur opinion, what do you think religion is in our world today?...
  39. P

    Philosophy and Religion confusion?

    I'm not really going to comment to much on this. I was just wondering what some people's opinions were on the differences, if any, between philosophy and religion. I think some confusion arises because there can be more than one meaning to the word "philosophy". It could mean a belief system...
  40. N

    The Falsity of Religion: Twelve Indisputable Arguments

    The following is from http://www.thebirdman.org/Index/Relig/Relig-Atheist.html The Falsity of Religion: Twelve Indisputable Arguments By John "Birdman" Bryant Religion today hangs on the horns of a dilemma: On the one hand, it is false in the scientific sense, as we shall demonstrate...
  41. J

    Science with Ghosts OR Religion with Ghosts

    What do you guys think about ghosts? The idea that ghosts exist is usually thought to be a by-product of some sort of supernatural event, such as the death of someone generating a disembodied spirit or soul. Something that is beyond death, but trapped between here (Earth) and there (Heaven or...
  42. N

    Religion disproving Evolution and proving Creation through Science?

    Religion disproving Evolution and proving Creation through Science? Why must Religous leaders attempt to disprove evolution and prove creationism through science? A Biology instructor, I once had, made the comment: "This is science class, in science class we play science and in church we...
  43. K

    Could Evolution Explain the Origin of Religion?

    Tell me if you think this is a possibility: It came to me in Church today. Could religion be instilled in us through evolution as a way of allowing us to have intelligence and consciousness and not kill ourselves in large amounts? If everybody realized that there was no point to life aside...
  44. L

    Science Vs. Religion your opinion

    So what do you think about the "war" between science and religion!
  45. D

    Can You Believe in Both Science and Religion?

    I have grown up christian and thought nothing of it now though i am beginning to doubt christianity and believe in evolution and stuff such as that. has anyone else had that problem or am i alone...is there a way to believe in both?
  46. FZ+

    Debunking Religion? Discussion on Boundaries for S&D Forum

    Ok, I realize that we are opening a potential can of worms with this one... I don't intend this as a call to turn S&D into a new religion forum though, but to work out boundaries in case we get the stuff later. At which point can we say that a discussion of the religion can be done in this...
  47. radagast

    Is the religion forum being discontinued?

    The religion forum is hidden behind the Philosophy link and, it seems, no new threads can be started. Is this a prelude to discontinuing that forum?
  48. L

    Goodbye Religion Forum: The End of PF and Me

    Well that's a disappointment. No religion forum. I did participate in other forums like politics, general discussion, philosophy and feedback, but I think most of my posts were in the religion forum. From the number of posts and threads there it is clear that religion was a very popular topic...
  49. Tsu

    One-World Religion in Bible: Where to Find It

    Where (specifically) does it talk about a One-World Religion in the Bible?
  50. E

    Every religion that ever came out of the middle east has been a cancer on society.

    I truly believe this. Judaism, Christianity (in its many forms) and the Islamic religion have brought more pain and suffering than benefit to humanity. These religions all share a common design. They are all structured so as to control the masses by the fear punishment and the promise of...
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