Common practices in Religion
Sam Lebron
REL/133
July 2, 2015
Mr. Firpo Carr

What is Religion?
Wow, what a broad and perhaps complicated topic to discuss, even for many professional scholars throughout history, the task of establishing a concept, or definition to the word has proven challenging. Why is Religion so complicated to understand? I believe it is because there is simply too many types of religions in the world. Religion is something that has been debated for centuries, and even been at the center of many wars among countries. Religion itself is so sensitive in my opinion, because it can be used to unite groups, but also if not treated properly, it can also cause division. I also believe Religion has probably been around cultures since the beginning of time, it has been that need for us humans to seek where we came from, and why were we put on this planet that ultimately created what we know today as Religion. I am not sure if one can truly define its meaning with a simple answer. I am almost certain that if I was asked to come up with a definition or my interpretation of what Religion means, write it down, and compare my answer to another random person’s answer, we would most likely have two different opinions as to what Religion truly means. According to many, Religion is simply the belief in a God, or several Gods, the supernatural, or whatever gives meaning to life. For many, the mere factor of belief or faith brings them a sense of hope, salvation, and even peace, for others, Religion is all about symbolism and rituals, something that needs to be expressed to, worshiped, and or physically seen, but not necessarily felt. One thing I am certain of is that Religion has played a fundamental role in helping us humans seek meaning to our existence (studyreligion.org, 2015).

References
Studyreligion.org, Why study Religion? Staff, (2015). Retrieved from http://studyreligion.org/why/index.html