Just what exactly is Religion?Trying to define Religion is not easy. There are many views on what it is, and what it does for mankind. And there seems to be as many churches as there are people. Recent statistics report that as much as 86 percent of the world’s population is religious. And of the remaining 14 % only 2.3% profess to be anti-religious or atheist. The rest may call themselves agnostic, or simply spiritual, or they just don’t care. I found several definitions of religion that may help. Dictionary.com says: : 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. 2. a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects. World English Dictionary 1. belief in, worship of, or obedience to a supernatural power or powers considered to be divine or to have control of human destiny. 2. any formal or institutionalized expression of such belief. 3. the attitude and feeling of one who believes in a transcendent controlling power or powers In a nutshell: People who conform to a set of beliefs about a supreme being or entity. As a part of this combined belief structure; laws, order, and a ritualistic formality must be adhered to. Usually with regards to peace, safety, love and life after death. As evidenced by the staggering number of people who claim a religion, there must be great comfort in conforming to a (any) religion. And most people will decide on their particular religion as a young child. The church they choose will most likely be the same church their parents and grandparents chose. It’s obvious geographically, how religions are prominent within their regions. Once in a while people break the cycle, as missionaries and others impress their own beliefs on a new generation. My main debate with my mother a devout Christian, is that if she had been born in India, she would most likely believe in Hinduism. Since 80% of the Indian population is Hindu. Which she adamantly denies. Explaining that she would still be Christian. And that’s what I see about most people and their religion. Part of it is to believe, without a doubt in your doctrine. “Blind faith”, as they say.
What is the difference between superstition, occultism, and Catholicism? Do all religions start out as a unique set of coincidences? Anytime some unexplainable, "supernatural" event occurs, people fall over each other to worship and make offerings to it. How many times has an image of Jesus appeared on a greasy napkin that solidifies the beliefs of not only the napkin user, but also his wife, his mother and 300 others who came to see it? And how many metaphoric napkins have caused the start of religions? For a comparison of belief-based religions to experience-based spiritual practices and to the Zen method in particular go to Martial Arts Insight/Jesus Mohammed Zen method Millions would die and have died in the name of their deity. How many wars have been fought over two opposing Religions? How many hundreds of millions have died throughout the millennia….in the name of God. Think of the Catholics and Protestants fighting for 30 years in northern Ireland. You can call it political, but the denominations tell the real story. Both believe so much in their own religion, that they are willing to fight….and kill, their neighbors. What about the US/ Afghanistan war? The Clash”Where the ideologies of evil get refuted” Can we not agree that there are Christian/Muslim overtones? The Christians have pressed their ideals on the Muslims for decades. And the Muslims want them to mind their own business. Again, there’s political and private agendas as well. But I’d be willing to bet the Jihadists blowing themselves up (not to mention innocent bystanders), in the name of Ala are thinking only of their Religion. This kind of inflexible, unyielding, religious belief system is nothing new. It’s been going on as far back as we can remember. Even ancient cave markings tell the same stories of war that we see today. Why exactly do religious people feel they need to sell their ideals to the rest of the world? From conversations at work, to leaving tracts on public toilets, to living in foreign countries…….their entire lives revolve around convincing others to believe what they, themselves believe. They are sales people, and the other 6 billion are their customers. They build big, fancy, expensive buildings. They put reader boards out front with cute sayings changed weekly, in an attempt to lure the unsuspecting “sinner” inside.
They “witness”, or tell their story to everyone that makes eye contact. They put ads on the radio and television, as well as billboards, T-shirts, and bumper stickers. They knock on doors and even send missionaries to foreign countries to “sell” to the natives. Many historical, world conquests were in the name of God. Many indigenous people were given medicine and trinkets by the missionaries until trust was earned. Then they were convinced to disown their Pagan ways. The ways that they had believed for generations. So that they could believe like their new, trusted friends. If they did not give up their old religions, they were slaughtered……in the name of god. If they did conform, they could then graduate to salesman status themselves. Let’s not forget the many rituals and laws that go along with almost any given religion.The list is as long as it is ridiculous for every different church. -Make a imaginary crucifix on your chest. -Kneel on a rug, facing east before praying. -Eat a cracker and drink grape juice to symbolize flesh and blood. -Say a chant, such as "Hail Mary, full of grace." For forgiveness. -Whip yourself to a bloody pulp to chase away the demons. There’s prayers, songs, chants, symbols, gestures, books, testaments, historical figures, hierarchy, sacrifices ……..the list is very long.
There are many, many different Denominations within many Religious cultures.
Christianity is the perfect example. It started with the death of Jesus Christ and a handful of “believers” (Dare we say cult?) Then they went about selling their beliefs and their religion went main stream. Then they began to quarrel amongst themselves about different interpretations of teachings and stories and laws. They would disagree to the point that they would split. One church would become two. The old church might believe in worship on Sunday and the new would argue that it should be Saturday. Then each of these churches would split again over full body dunking or sprinkling of water for baptism…..or maybe no baptism at all. And so on and so forth, these churches would split over a difference in interpretations and beliefs….and they continue to still split to this day. Therefore Christians had a family tree that started with Jesus, and then had Catholic and Protestant babies. The Protestant baby goes on to have a long line of descendants including:Protestants, Baptists, Methodists, Lutherans, Pentecostals, assembly of God, Church of God, Orthodox, and many, many, many more. My home town. A Village of 1,413 people. 1 gas station, 1 store, and 1 post office; But 5 churches. It's no different than virtually any other piece of man’s social structure. We just can’t seem to agree. So without further ado, here is a list of every present day religion that we could find, in order of estimated followers: 1. Christianity; Apr. followers……………………………………… 2.1 billion 2. Islam; Apr. followers……………………………………1.5 billion 3. Agnostic/Atheist(non believers) Apr. followers………...1.1 billion 4. Hinduism Apr. followers……………………………….900 million 5. Chinese Traditional Apr. followers…………………….394 million (Confucianism and Taoism fall into this category. ) 6. Buddhism Apr. followers………………………………376 million 7. Indigenous Apr. followers………………………………300 million 8. African Traditional and Diasporic Apr. followers……..100 million 9. Sikhism Apr. followers………………………………….23 million 10. Juche Apr. followers……………………………………19 million 11. Spiritism Apr. followers…………………………………15 million 12. Judaism Apr. followers………………………………….14 million 13. Baha’i Apr. followers…………………………………….7 million 14. Shinto Apr. followers……………………………………..4 million 15. Cao Dai Apr. followers……………………………………4 million 16. Zoroastrainism Apr. followers…………………………..2.6 million 17. Tenrikyo Apr. followers…………………………………..2 million 18. Neo-Paganism Apr. followers…………………………….1 million 19. Unitarian-Universalism Apr. followers……………..800 thousand 20. Rastafarianism Apr. followers………………………600 thousand 30. Scientology Apr. followers………………………….500 thousand To me, it's simply superstition at it's best. Yes, there may be a God. There may indeed be a supreme being who is controlling us like a Cosmic-Antfarm. But I'm not sure that we need to sacrfice or first born child to appease the snot-nosed brat watching us from inside a Super Nova.
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