Talking about religion can stir up a discussion for hours. When one thinks of religion, it mostly reverts to Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Catholicism, and so on. I never knew how in-depth the topic of religion could be. When it comes to religion, everyone has their own opinions and definitions of what it might be and how it is. Religion plays a major role in diverse cultures and nations. The way one interprets religion can be influenced by their culture, traditions, and household. For example, as a kid, you grasp more of whatever religion your parents have and the things they do considering that you live with them. In each religion, they have different morals, beliefs, practices, and views which can be differentiated based on cultures and traditions.
Religion, in my opinion, is the act of social-cultural practices of faith and worship. Personally, for me, religion is not something that I would consider as important because you do not have to take religion seriously to believe in God and do the right thing. You can worship your God or Gods, have faith, and praise them without having religion attached to it. Religion can give guidance in dealing with supernatural, transcendental, and spiritual elements. In particular, Christians are supposed to follow the rules of the Bible, but some don’t, and some may not even accept Christianity as a religion, but that does not take away the love one may have for their God. You have some people claim to not be Christians, but they have the same beliefs as them and praise God just the same. To illustrate, I have some family members who would not quite be considered Christians, but when it comes to God, they do what most Christians may do.
Save your time!
We can take care of your essay
- Proper editing and formatting
- Free revision, title page, and bibliography
- Flexible prices and money-back guarantee
Growing up I believed in God, but I did not really go to church unless I was with my aunt. I prayed, worshiped, and praised him still without really being involved. Although I was not as involved in what most Christians do, I still had a relationship with God himself, which is why I feel as if religion is used more for guidance. There are multiple religions, you have some that have multiple Gods and others just one, and some that have different practices and texts. As I get older, I am more able to indulge in more Christian-like things, learn not just about Christianity but other religions, and get a deeper understanding of what religion means.
To answer the question of what religion is, I chose to use Augustine’s definition of religion, because out of all the definitions provided, I felt that it related more to me. In Augustine’s definition of religion, he states that “man is one of your creatures, Lord, and his instinct is to praise you”. What I get from that is God created man as well as other creatures here on the Earth, and our instinct as man is to praise him. For instance, when one goes to church, one claps, dances, sings, and shouts, which is a form of praising; churches are known as the house of the Lord, so when you go to his ‘house’, you praise him. Everyone has their own forms of ways that they choose to praise God, but overall they praise him. This part of the definition supports what I was taught in my Christian household.
In Christianity, we are taught that God created the Earth, as well as us, humans and animals. In the book of Genesis, it talks about how God created us, in return we are supposed to love him and praise him. Also, in Augustine’s definition of religion, he includes that “[God] made us for [himself] and our hearts find no peace until they rest in [him]”, which is quite similar to what is said in the book of Genesis. The definition overall fits what I was taught growing up and from the church. I believe that there is more to religion than what the definition states; however, the definition best fits what I know and understand about religion compared to the others given.
Stuck on your essay?
