Religion
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Religion is the word used for a number of cultural phenomena. These phenomena have an influence on thought; very often, religious ideas are the basis of behaviour: Religions often define what is right, and what is wrong. There is no definition of religion that is accepted by all scientists.
Very often, religions are based on tradition. Many religions have rituals that need to be performed by the followers of the given religion. Religions have had a great influence on the arts.[1] Many say there are supernatural beings, usually called gods, or spirits. For some, there is just one, often called god. Other religions speak about principles, such as Dao or Dharma, or they tell about the past or future of Mankind, such as Nirvana, or the Afterlife.
Some religions are very close to philosophy, or they integrated some philosophical teachings, some think spirituality is an important part of religious life.[2] [3]
In some cases, religions have become institutions; this is not always the case though.
The biggest religions in the world today are Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Sikhism, Judaism, Bahá'í, Confucianism and Shinto. These are commonly called World Religions[4], but there are many others[5], such as:
People who do not believe in any religion are often called atheists,those who say that they are not sure agnostics.[6][7]
[change] At the start
It looks like people have had religions for a very long time. The first traces of religions can be found with hominids like homo sapiens and Neanderthals. These started to bury their dead in special ways, about 120.000 years ago. Homo sapiens soon started to be different, with they things they gave to the dead. Many works of art were found with burials. Starting about 40.000 years ago, the artworks become more common. Today scientists believe these artifacts had a religious significance. Finding the meaning may be hard, as these people did not have writing yet.
[change] See also
[change] References
- ↑ Britannica - Religion.
- ↑ Example of philosophy and religion.
- ↑ Another example of Philosophy in religion.
- ↑ Classical World Religions.
- ↑ Major Religions by adherents.
- ↑ Secular, Nonreligious, Agnostic, Atheist.
- ↑ Atheism and Agnosticism. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
