The variety and number of religious sects and beliefs around the world are so large that sociologists have a difficult time getting to a single definition of religion. In Western communities, people usually identify religion with Christianity: the firm belief in Jesus Christ as the Son of God who promises saving through faith and life after death. Yet religion as a worldwide phenomenon presents a much more detailed picture because most of the world’s religions lack the critical concepts of Christianity. To avoid visualizing t religion from a culturally inclined point of view, sociologists first define what faith is not.

First, religion is not seemingly monotheistic, which is the belief in monotheism, or a single god. Instead, many religions accept polytheism or the belief in multiple deities. Till other faiths, such as Confucianism, recognize no gods at all.

Faith is not necessarily a body of moral rules and demands regarding the behavior of believers. The idea that deities somewhat keep track of how believers behave is new to many religious divisions.

Religion is not always a belief in the unknown, heaven, hell, or even life after death. Confucianism, again as an instance, majors acceptance of the natural harmony of the universe, not finding truths that lie above it.

Finally, religion is not necessarily a definition of the origins of creation. The Christian story of the first beings Adam and Eve explains the origins of the human race. Many religions, but not all, have the same myths as the starting point.

Having examined what faith is not, sociologists consider what characteristics do constitute a religion. Sociologists generally explain religion as a codified set of moral beliefs concerning holy things and rules governing the behavior of believers who formulate a spiritual community. All faiths share at least some characteristics. Religions use symbols, summon feelings of awe and reverence, and use rituals for their adherents to methods. Religion is not the same as magic, which involves superstitious beliefs and behaviors designed to bring about the predetermined end.

Religion has many rituals and ceremonies, which may include using candles, having processions, kneeling, praying, harmonizing hymns, chanting, listening to holy readings, feasting on specific foods, avoiding other foods on special occasions, and so forth. These rituals, because of their religious background, may differ quite a bit from the methods of ordinary daily life. Religious individuals may engage their rituals and ceremonies alone, at home, or within unique spaces: shrines, temples, churches, synagogues.

In most traditional communities, religion plays a crucial role in cultural life. People often make religious symbols and rituals into the material and artistic culture of the organization: literature, storytelling, painting, music, and dance. The individual society also decides the understanding of priesthood. A priest makes sacrifices to a deity or deities on behalf of the community. In smaller hunting‐and‐gathering communities, no priesthood exists, although certain individuals major in religious (or magical) knowledge. One such majoring is the shaman, who the organization believes controls supernatural things. People may consult the shaman when native religion fails.

2.0 Rationale

Since the beginning of time, humans have maimed others in the name of God to defend or advance their religious convictions. What was confirmed during the Crusades, the Protestant Reformation, and World War II are still making headlines nowadays as suicide bombers die in the name of their God in the middle east, many countries in Africa, and many other countries around the world. “Religious beliefs are the most held beliefs in our communities,” said Dr. Howard Miller, Professor of Christianity. “They are limits, and limits are worth dying for.” While this might seem like a powerful statement in no small part of the globe’s population, Miller asserts that reduction of religious views, an absolute “enlightenment.” Buddhists, by the opposition, spiritually follow the Buddha, a human who attained “enlightenment,” or high truth and wisdom. There is a tremendous difference between beliefs and practices within each religion. “One can’t discuss core beliefs of globe’s religions because adherents of those religions have been conflicting among themselves for years as to what constitutes the central belief systems,” says Dr. Kamran Aghaie, a professor in Middle Eastern history and an expert in the Islamic religion. “For example, while many people will focus on the pentagon Pillars of Faith as core Muslim beliefs, in reality, many Muslims do not engage them regularly.” also, in the United States, where 80 percent of the population is Christian, a vast majority will say they believe Jesus Christ was the son of God. Still, the debate over Jesus as man versus divine being has been contentious since the religion began. “It took nearly five centuries for Christian notion about the Holy Trinity to come forth in the form in which we now understand it,” said Miller. “During this time, Christians struggled with queries about Jesus and his relation to God and other issues basic to their beliefs.” In addition to the internal conflicts happening within and among religions. Many modern debates erupt over defining the line between the religious and the secular.