The religion it is a human practice of existential, moral and supernatural beliefs. When it comes to religion, reference is made to the social bodies that deal with the systematization of this practice, as we now know Catholicism, Judaism, Islam and many others.
All the cultures and civilizations described in the history of humanity have been characterized by religious practice, and some experts have even warned that the search for higher instances than material existence is a unique characteristic of the human being, which distinguishes it from the rest of the world. living beings. Even formally atheistic societies are based on a kind of religious order, by excluding the existence of a god from their conception.
Religion understand teachings about life
While there are structurally organized religions, others are tied to the traditions and cultures of a particular society. In any case, a religion encompasses teachings, rites, and practices. The study of religions classifies them by theological conception, by revelation, by origin or sectarian order. In addition, different societies can be monotheistic (that support the existence of a single god) or polytheistic (that support the existence of multiple gods, as were the ancient Greeks).
Followers in different religions
The different religions practiced in the world tend to have a high number of followers, the main ones being Christianity, with around 2,000 million, Islam, with 1,500, Hinduism, with 900, the traditional Chinese religion, with almost 400, and the Jewish religion. Christianity can in turn be subdivided into the Catholic religion, which recognizes the Pope (Bishop of Rome) as the highest authority, the Orthodox Christian religion (predominantly in the Balkans, Eastern Europe and North Africa) and the different Protestant confessions , of which the Anglican church and the Lutheran creed stand out.
Agnostics and Atheists
On the other hand, secularism or the non-practice of any religion, which includes both agnostics (those who believe that our character as human beings prevents us from determining the existence or not of a superior god) and atheists (those who deny the existence of a higher god), number about 1.1 billion on the entire planet. These facts are more accentuated in those regions of the planet in which the governmental structure is formally non-religious, as in the communist nations.
It should be noted that some states are governed by structures called theocracies, in which religious leaders are in turn political and state referents. Although in ancient times these forms of fusion of government and worship characterized the great Egyptian and Inca empires (in which the sovereign was considered a divinity), in modern times this system continues in force, as happens with some nations that profess the Islam.
Theology: Studying Religion
The study of religion is known as the theologyBut, to tell the truth, science and religion have their meeting points in disciplines such as comparative religion, organology, the psychology of religion, the history of religion, and other examples. Metaphysics and philosophy are also elements of contact between science and religion, with different variants, but with many factors in common even within the framework of different cults. Likewise, civil life is imbricated with religious practices, which is why different national holidays are directly related to customs related to faith (Christmas and Easter in Christian nations, Ramadan in Muslim countries, among others).
Philosophical doctrines, moreover, seek to reconcile religious doctrine with human reason. For example, pantheism postulates that all reality has a divine nature, or else, monism maintains the unity of everything that exists. It is noted that, although there is no consensus to define it as a religion, Satanism is a practice of rites, sometimes systematized, destined to worship supernatural beings linked to evil. In general, these customs are rejected by most of the great religions throughout the world.
Being able to choose your own path
In another order, it is important to state that freedom of religion is a fundamental paradigm of human rights; the free practice of religion for every citizen is on the list of achievements of modern democracies. However, respect for religious practices can be obscured by fanaticism, through which an attempt is made to impose a certain religion over others in the scope of a population group.
