Religious traditions play a huge role with humans and their beliefs of who controls the world. Religion is believed to have many different meanings to different people.The definition of religion varies but the common definition is people in an organization that to worship together and have the same beliefs.
It is also viewed a system of belief that worships a God or gods, prayer, and moral code. In this paper, you will read explanation of how religious traditions describe and encourage relationships, the key characteristics of religion, and the conflict issues in the study of religion (Molloy, 2010).A relationship with the divine is believed to be very vibrant, lively, and real. It may feel abstract to some people, but there is power in shaping this relationship. It is never too late to begin a relationship with the divine. Establishing a relationship and obligating time to share with the divine is the main key to any religion.
Praying, meditating, studying the Bible, Veda, Quran, or spending time with nature are some ways to build a relationship with the divine. For example, praying is very important to Christians and is a spiritual method used to communicate with God (Molloy, 2010). A relationship with sacred time can be viewed different ways, depending on the religion. Christianity, Islam, and Judaism believe time is starting in a straight line from beginning to the end of the universe.Time is considered to be very important, limited, and unrepeatable. Buddhism believes time is cyclical; meaning the world moves through endless and changes constantly.
In this case, time is not critical because the world is not moving to some ending point. The relationship with sacred time has a better outcome because they appreciate the present or time more than being oriented to the future (Molloy, 2010).A relationship with sacred space or the natural world expresses how each religion view the universe. Some religions, such as Christianity believe their sacred space is heaven and that the natural world was created by God who guides the universe according to a cosmic plan.
Christians use churches as their sacred place to worship God, the Creator.Worship day is mostly on Sundays. Other religions like Buddhism, believe their sacred place to be eternal, which means there is no beginning or end. Buddhists uses temples to worship. The Buddhist temples were created to symbolize the five elements of Buddhism.
The elements are air, water, fire, earth, and wisdom. The sacred space or place defines peace within a religion (Molloy, 2010).A relationship with each other is the male and female roles of religion. The gender is used to define a person and is a critical part of being human.
What is considered to be male or female gives another basis for comparing religions. The dominate role of many religions are considered to be a male imagery. The key characteristics of religion are made up of eight elements. The belief system is a worldview of several beliefs.
The community is a shared belief system where ideals are praised in a group setting. Central myths are stories retold or reenacted through religious beliefs. Rituals are beliefs that are enacted and made real through ceremonies. Ethics are rules and social guidelines of human behavior from supernatural realm.
Characteristic emotional experiences are emotions of guilt, mystery, awe, conversion, devotion and “rebirth,” that deal with religion.Material expression is the use of instruments and objects to express your belief. Sacredness is when ceremonies make a distinction between the sacred and the ordinary. Some key critical issues in the study of religion are insight into religious traditions, family traditions, people, what religions share, and everyday life. Other issues are tolerance and appreciation of differences, intellectual questioning, and help in one's own religious quest.
The study of religion builds a person education, because religions are so wide-ranging and influential. Religion is instilled in a child at an early age and varies by each individual culture. In conclusion, religion is connection between who you are and what you believe.Even though many religions exist today, each has its own belief system and sacredness. Religion is a very conflicting topic and will be always viewed differently according to each individual. It is important that each individual respect everyone’s religion preference to maintain a healthy environment.
ReferencesMolloy, M. (2010). Experiencing the world’s religions: Tradition, challenge, and change (5th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill
