Preview

The Four Characteristics of Religion

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1212 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Four Characteristics of Religion
“DISCUSS THE WAYS IN WHICH THE FOUR CHARACTERISTICS OF RELIGION INTERACT TO CREATE A DYNAMIC, LIVING FAITH TRADITION”

Religion is the belief and worship of an extraordinary and supernaturally controlling power that has developed and become an essential factor in the way humans have ordered and made sense of the world in which we reside in and is defined by its characteristics. To create a dynamic, living and breathing religion, it must have all of these characteristics that distinguish and separate a religion from others. These include beliefs and believers, sacred texts and writings, ethics and rituals and ceremonies. Each and everyone of these aspects combine and interrelate to create a powerful and passionate, living faith tradition.

Beliefs is a term best defined as ideas that are considered true and express the self understanding of the tradition. Central to all religions is a belief that there is a reality greater than the universe, even greater than the mere human intellect and differentiated between the dimensions of immanent and transcendent. Every religion has a core belief that a person must adhere to, to truly belong to that religion and this is referred to as its paradigm. In Buddhism, the paradigm is a belief in the Three Refuges - The Lord Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha. For Hinduism, the belief that ultimate union with Brahman is the only real purpose for humans, is extremely fundamental. Every religion has a paradigm and in addition, has other beliefs that flow out of its core paradigm which accepts different denominations and variants and in collaboration work together. For instance, there are other beliefs that are upheld by some within a religious tradition but not by others. In Christianity, there are a great number of denominations where many of the beliefs share variation, yet the paradigm is clearly that Jesus Christ died and rose from the dead, in order to save humanity from sin and death. Believers are the individuals who live

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    There are many different definitions of religion, but two we are studying about is Paul Tillich’s definition and Melford E. Spiro’s definition. Paul Tillich is a Christian theologian and philosopher who defined religion “the state of being grasped by an ultimate concern, a concern which qualifies all other concerns as preliminary and which itself contains the answer to the meaning of life. Melford Spiro, a contemporary anthropologist defined religion “an institution consisting of culturally patterened interaction with culturally postulated superhuman beings.” I prefer Tillich’s definition.…

    • 333 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    World Religions 1

    • 457 Words
    • 2 Pages

    1. Define religion. Religion is the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods, a particular system of faith and worship, and a pursuit or interest to which someone ascribes supreme importance.…

    • 457 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Ethics virtual

    • 422 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Religion: Is an organized collection of beliefs, culture, system and world views that relate humanity to an order of existence.…

    • 422 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    What is religion? Religion is “a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered 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.” (Religion, 2012) Basically, one’s religion is the set of beliefs which that person feels encompasses his or her beliefs regarding the powers of the universe and religious practices.…

    • 817 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Crucible Religion

    • 1229 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Religion, “The belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods.”Religion has been a part and of human life since time immemorial. Religion represents a great system of human thought. Religion attempts to search for a deeper meaning to life, to find facts about the universe, about the laws of nature. Though science has advanced today, science is directly opposed to religion, even so religion has not lost its importance, because science is beyond the comprehension of many, and religious trends are easy to convince. Religion just gives us a clue of what is going on in this world, its like a guide.…

    • 1229 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Religion is the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, esp. a personal God or gods. In addition it is details of belief as taught or discussed. The Pythagorean sect was people’s yearning for a deeply spiritual religion that could provide the means for purifying the soul and for guaranteeing its immortality (Stumpf & Fieser, 2008). Religion can be a denomination of different churches that people attend such as Baptist, Presbyterian, Catholic, Pentecostal and many more.…

    • 347 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Religion means different things to people, a religious person must have a transcendent aspect of life, e.g., the existence of supernatural power above human beings. The religious perspective of an individual is dependent on how the person is persuaded by people who raised him or her. The descriptions or definitions of religion tend to be inadequate because they contain two major problems, e.g., they are either too narrow or too vague.…

    • 934 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Aspects of Religion

    • 1428 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The characteristics of religions can be classified into four main aspects the first being belief. Beliefs are the central pillars of religion beliefs are what shapes the views of the followers of the religion and offer us a comprehensive and dynamic vie of reality and teaches them how to best live there life. Beliefs are ideas that are considered true and divine without the need for proof and convey a deeper insight into our spirit and life. Such as the belief Christian belief that we will be sent to either heaven or hell after death depending on how we live our lives.…

    • 1428 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Religion is the belief in, worship of, or obedience to a supernatural power or powers considered to be divine or have control of human destiny.…

    • 2083 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    There are many religions of the world and each has been a major contributor to the human thought and artistic expression. From the beginning of time to the present day people have expressed their deepest convictions about the universe and mortal life in worship through their religion, philosophy, and belief systems. The Oxford English Dictionary defines religion as “the belief in a superhuman controlling power, esp. in a personal God or gods entitled to obedience and worship” (web definitions for religions). A belief in a God or Gods is found in most faiths and many commonalities exist within the more major religions of Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Judaism, Hinduism and Confucianism, as well as some of the secondary belief systems.…

    • 1587 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    What exactly is the definition of religion? The most basic place to start is with the linguistic roots of the word. Re- meaning again, lig- meaning join or to connect in Latin leads to the idea that religion means to join together two things such as the human or earthly world and the sacred world. However it is important to that the word religion is a western word…

    • 736 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    What Is Religion

    • 1852 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Is religion a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny or is it a system of symbols, myths, doctrines, ethics and rituals for the expression of ultimate relevance (Carmody, 2008). Religion is the human quest for experience of, and response to the holy or sacred and a combination of all individuals desire to attain the promise of a better life than that here on earth, human spirituality. Religion is the voluntary subjection of oneself to God (Catholic Encyclopedia, 1913).…

    • 1852 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Religion Influence

    • 1367 Words
    • 6 Pages

    A religion is a set of beliefs and practices in reference to a higher divine power that a person follows. Religion is often an important part of the life of its practitioner and therefore one’s thoughts and actions are heavily influenced by it. Religion is a belief system, and it is the basis of what one believes is true or false and on whether something is important or trivial.…

    • 1367 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Religion is a social institution composed of a unified system of beliefs, symbols, and rituals based on some sacred or supernatural realm that guides human behavior, gives meaning to life, and unites believers into a community. Many people feel that religious beliefs answer the unanswerable questions about the meaning of life or death, giving them a sense of meaning and purpose in their lives on earth and afterlife. According to Emile Durkheim, sacred refers to those aspects of life that are extraordinary or supernatural. He wanted to identify similarities between certain religions and different cultures, finding a common denominator. Religion is classified into four main types which include simple supernaturalism, animism, theism, and transcendent…

    • 159 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Nvq Level2

    • 794 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Religion- religion means what we believe in and our faith. Religion is a collection of beliefs, culture and world views. Many religions presents by symbols, traditions and sacred histories to give meaning to the life, or explain the universe.…

    • 794 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays