an online book by David Gurteen
Religion is a range of social-cultural systems, including designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relate humanity to supernatural, transcendental, and spiritual elements—although there is no scholarly consensus over what precisely constitutes a religion. Different religions may or may not contain various elements ranging from the divine, sacredness, faith, and a supernatural being or beings.
The origin of religious belief is an open question, with possible explanations including awareness of individual death, a sense of community, and dreams. Religions have sacred histories, narratives, and mythologies, preserved in oral traditions, sacred texts, symbols, and holy places, that may attempt to explain the origin of life, the universe, and other phenomena.
Religious practices may include rituals, sermons, commemoration or veneration (of deities or saints), sacrifices, festivals, feasts, trances, initiations, matrimonial and funerary services, meditation, prayer, music, art, dance, or public service.
There are an estimated 10,000 distinct religions worldwide, though nearly all of them have regionally based, relatively small followings. Four religions—Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism—account for over 77% of the world's population, and 92% of the world either follows one of those four religions or identifies as nonreligious, meaning that the remaining 9,000+ faiths account for only 8% of the population combined. The religiously unaffiliated demographic includes those who do not identify with any particular religion, atheists, and agnostics, although many in the demographic still have various religious beliefs.
Many world religions are also organized religions, most definitively including the Abrahamic religions Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, while others are arguably less so, in particular folk religions, indigenous religions, and some Eastern religions. A portion of the world's population are members of new religious movements. Scholars have indicated that global religiosity may be increasing due to religious countries having generally higher birth rates.
The study of religion comprises a wide variety of academic disciplines, including theology, philosophy of religion, comparative religion, and social scientific studies. Theories of religion offer various explanations for its origins and workings, including the ontological foundations of religious being and belief.
Credit: Wikipedia - religionWe’re social creatures, we depend on each other, which is why we need a sense of concern for others’ well-being. Compassion is what’s important and you don’t have to be religious to practise it. Practising compassion here and now—living a meaningful life—is what is most important. Credit: Dalai Lama Posts where this quotation is embedded A … Continue reading We’re Social Creatures Dalai Lama
We are moving into a new period of human consciousness which we don’t yet fully understand. When we say a new period of human consciousness, we mean that the perception of the world will be different, at least as different as between the age of enlightenment and the medieval period, when the Western world moved … Continue reading We Are Moving Into a New Period of Human Consciousness Henry Kissinger
In this book, The Righteous Mind, Jonathan Haidt shows how moral judgments arise not from reason but from gut feelings. He shows why liberals, conservatives, and libertarians have such different intuitions about right and wrong, and he shows why each side is actually right about many of its central concerns. Credit: Amazon The Righteous Mind … Continue reading The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion Jonathan Haidt (2013)
Gurteen Knowledge Blog April 1, 2023, 11:12I am currently reading The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt. Jonathan is a social psychologist and author known for his research on moral psychology, political psychology, and the psychology of religion. It is an insightful and thought-provoking book in which Jonathan sheds light on why we hold different moral beliefs … Continue reading Anyone Who Values Truth Should Stop Worshiping Reason The Righteous Mind
For to say that, assuming the earth moves and the sun stands still, all the appearances are saved better than with eccentrics and epicycles, is to speak well; there is no danger in this, and it is sufficient for mathematicians. But to want to affirm that the sun really is fixed in the center of … Continue reading Assuming the Earth Moves and the Sun Stands Still Cardinal Bellarmine (1615)
If everything must have a cause, then God must have a cause. If there can be anything without a cause, it may just as well be the world as God, so that there cannot be any validity in that argument. It is exactly of the same nature as the Hindu’s view, that the world rested … Continue reading If Everything Must Have a Cause, Then God Must Have a Cause Bertrand Russell (1927)
Spirituality is often considered a religious term but should not be confused with religion. Our society needs a secular definition regardless of our religious beliefs. A single, widely accepted definition cannot define spirituality. It is, however, frequently defined as “connected to the soul” or an “appreciation of the divine“. It is also often seen as … Continue reading Spirituality A deep appreciation, respect, and love for the universe, the world, all life, and humanity
Lashon Hara is a Jewish religious term for derogatory speech about a person. Fascinatingly, in the Jewish tradition, it is considered a grave sin to speak it even if true. Note: This description of Lashon Hara is primarily intended for non-Jewish readers. Jewish readers should be very familiar with the law. The law of Lashon … Continue reading Lashon Hara Jewish religious term for derogatory speech
