Religion is a cultural system of beliefs, practices, and ethics that are organized around core values. It takes many forms in different societies, but all religions share some common elements. Religion has important consequences for the people who practice it, whether they believe in a god or not. The major religions of the world include Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism and Confucianism. These religious beliefs have had profound influences on politics, economics and art. They have been used for liberation and oppression, and as a source of hope and despair.
There is no definitive definition of religion, but sociologists use several criteria to distinguish between religions. A few key concepts are belief in a transcendent being or entity, ritual behavior, morality and social cohesion. These criteria are not mutually exclusive, and some theories of religion combine them.
The idea of a god or spirits is central to most religions, and people often believe in a supernatural order. They often feel a need for meaning in their lives and a desire to be part of something bigger than themselves. Belief in life after death is another common feature of religions. Religions may have evolved out of human curiosity about the universe and our place in it, or out of fear of uncontrollable forces beyond mankind’s ability to understand.
Sociologists have identified some general functions of religion, such as providing moral guidance, a source of social cohesion, and support for the weak or vulnerable. They have also noted that religion can promote conflict and division, and that religious differences are sometimes a motive for persecution and wanton violence.
Since the dawn of humanity, questions have arisen about our place in the world and our purpose here. Answers have varied across time and place, and some answers are universal, while others reflect the unique cultural milieu in which they developed. Many cultures have established religions to help provide a sense of identity, stability and meaning.
Philosophers have struggled to find an essence of religion. Some have analyzed the concept of religion as an abstract taxon, like literature or democracy, and sought to determine its necessary and sufficient properties. Others have opted for a hermeneutic approach, seeking to interpret the significance of religions in terms of subjective mental states and experiences. Examples include Hans Jonas’s intelligent application of modern existentialist categories to his study of Gnosticism and Rudolf Otto’s analysis of religion as the experience of the holy.
Some scholars have criticized these stipulative definitions of religion as being too narrow or Eurocentric, or as making it difficult to compare cultures. Others argue that the notion of a stipulative definition is flawed, because the term religion is merely a name for a set of patterns, and that the historian should therefore study these phenomena analogically rather than univocally. These arguments are similar to those that have been made against the concept of race or sex, and suggest that it is possible for an empirically grounded theory of religion to emerge from this approach.