Rel 134 Week 1 Relgious Beliefs

Religious Beliefs

Robert Rodriguez

Rel/134

July 7th, 2016

Mr. Pirrelli

Religious Beliefs

Religion is described as a belief system that helps one to deal with their own mortality. There are many different religions in the world today, all of them have different belief systems, traditions and ways to approach life. All ethnicities, countries and cultures are devoted to different gods and worship them in a manner of ways. Most belief systems start with traditions.  Traditions can have many similarities and many differences. Most scholars agree that there are eight elements that traditions must have a combination of to be considered a religion. The eight elements will be identified, as well as the three main western religions, with ways they are similar, also there are different fields of approach when studying religion academically and critical issues to consider.

The three main western religions are Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The eight elements that make traditions in to religions, are easily to identify in these three religions. Those eight elements are: “Belief system, beliefs that fit together into a fairly complete and systematic interpretation of the universe, this is also called a worldview. Community The belief system is shared, and preached to a group of followers. Central myths Stories that express the religious beliefs of a group are retold and often reenacted. Examples of central myths include the major events in the life of the Hindu god Krishna, the enlightenment experience of the Buddha, the exodus of the Israelites from oppression in Egypt, the death and resurrection of Jesus, or Muhammad's escape from Mecca to Medina. Ritual Beliefs are enacted and made real through ceremonies. Ethics Rules for human behavior are established. These are often viewed as having been revealed from a supernatural realm, but they can also be viewed as socially generated guidelines. Characteristic emotional experiences Among the emotional experiences typically associated with religions are dread, guilt, awe, mystery, devotion, conversion, liberation, ecstasy, bliss, and inner peace. Material expression Religions make use of an astonishing variety of physical elements such as statues, paintings, musical compositions, musical instruments, ritual objects, flowers, incense, clothing, architecture, and specific locations. Sacredness A distinction is made between the sacred and the ordinary, ceremonies often emphasize this distinction through the deliberate use of different language, clothing, and architecture” (text book pg7). Judaism, Christianity and Islam have all eight of these elements.  All three are also similar in the fact they believe in only one God. All three religions also have a sacred book, the Bible, the Quran and the Tanakh respectively. They all three also have a sacred place to group together and worship, Jews go to temple, Christians go to church and Muslims go to mosque. They have many things in common and have the eight elements required to be considered a religion.