The Four Characteristics of Religion free essay sample

Religion is the belief and worship of an extraordinary and supernaturally controlling power that has developed and become an essential factor in the way humans have ordered and made sense of the world in which we reside in and is defined by its characteristics. To create a dynamic, living and breathing religion, it must have all of these characteristics that distinguish and separate a religion from others. These include beliefs and believers, sacred texts and writings, ethics and rituals and ceremonies. Each and everyone of these aspects combine and interrelate to create a powerful and passionate, living faith tradition. Beliefs is a term best defined as ideas that are considered true and express the self understanding of the tradition. Central to all religions is a belief that there is a reality greater than the universe, even greater than the mere human intellect and differentiated between the dimensions of immanent and transcendent. We will write a custom essay sample on The Four Characteristics of Religion or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Every religion has a core belief that a person must adhere to, to truly belong to that religion and this is referred to as its paradigm. In Buddhism, the paradigm is a belief in the Three Refuges The Lord Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha. For Hinduism, the belief that ultimate union with Brahman is the only real purpose for humans, is extremely fundamental. Every religion has a paradigm and in addition, has other beliefs that flow out of its core paradigm which accepts different denominations and variants and in collaboration work together. For instance, there are other beliefs that are upheld by some within a religious tradition but not by others. In Christianity, there are a great number of denominations where many of the beliefs share variation, yet the paradigm is clearly that Jesus Christ died and rose from the dead, in order to save humanity from sin and death. Believers are the individuals who live and carry out the practices, rituals, ceremonies and ethics in today’s society and are just as important as beliefs due to the simple fact that one can not exist without the other. All religious traditions have a system of beliefs which offer a comprehensive image of reality and without believers to believe in the core beliefs and values of a religious tradition, the tradition can thus no longer maintain and remain as a dynamic, living religion. Every religious tradition must possess the important characteristic of sacred texts and writings, whether they are written, spoken and/or made into images, to aid the adherents to understand the significant beliefs of their religion. A number of sacred texts are regarded as particularly foremost, for they have been given to humans in the form of a revelation from God. The Qur’an in Islam, along with the Bible in Christianity and the Torah in Judaism, are all believed to be revelations from God. These sacred texts and writings perform numerous important purposes where for many religious traditions, the life and words of the Founder can be found in them, presenting believers with the most important role model and practical exemplar for which they can base their lives and morals around. A vital fact to point out is that sacred texts and writings are continually evolving and adapting to assist and support their adherents, even providing rules and directions, still relevant and worthwhile in this dynamic society we live in. That point identifies how much this incessantly variating characteristic contributes to religion profusely, as it relates and establishes the reality that we live in a perpetually changing world and society. The central paradigm of a tradition is often summarised within great stories found in sacred texts such as the Exodus of the Jews from slavery in Egypt and the Mahabharata in Hinduism where we see the encounter between Arjuna and Krishna which all help believers come to an understanding of the essential teaching behind each story and makes apparent how the further strengthening and developing of this characteristic has thus aided in creating a dynamic living religion. The purpose of ethics is to set what is right and what is wrong. Religious traditions spell out the consequences of beliefs and teach that humans have certain obligations and expectations towards other humans and towards the environment. It really puts into practice the paradigms of a faith tradition. A great majority of laws are derived from certain religious traditions even till today through many societies. This characteristic of religion is constantly changing and most importantly rejuvenating and revitalising itself in the face of multiple challenges and disputes that challenge and confront the traditional ethical teachings of religions. This is evident in controversial issues such as biological cloning, marriage, abortion, euthanasia and contraception. The commandment of love in Christianity and the teaching of ahimsa which looks at the necessity of avoiding harm to any sentient life form in Buddhism each exemplify the idea that adherents believe that God or gods expect the human individual to be good and will be judged accordingly and gives reason to why religious traditions in general are strongly opposed to the ideas brought upon from in particular modern science and medicine as they contradict the core beliefs of the traditions. Ethics generally originate from values the believers feel that God or gods wish we humans to adhere to. They are found in sacred texts and writings and an adherent of any religion is expected to follow them. Religious ethics are and have been gradually adapting to cater for this changing, dynamic society. Where ethics is the practical application of belief within a religious tradition, rituals and ceremonies are ways to celebrate and reinforce the central belief system and structures for that tradition. Religious rituals affirm the values, meanings and purposes that are shared within a tradition and centre one’s mind on the meaning and implications of the events that surround them through sacraments, customs, meditation, chants, prayer and rites. The significance and personal growth of an individual is enhanced by rituals and ceremonies and is more commonly conducted publicly, where the community of adherents can come together through the commonality of core beliefs. For instance, the marriage ceremony, entry into the Sangha in Buddhism or a bar mitzvah ceremony when a boy has turned thirteen and is considered ready to observe religious precepts and able to participate in public worship is held in the celebration of initiation and a rite of passage. This indicates that rituals and ceremonies are essential to a religious tradition, in upholding the act of becoming a true member of a faith. They help members of the tradition remember their beliefs and reinforce the link between present faith and history. It thus presents an adherent a living sense of belonging, identity and moral structure to aide by in this continually changing world. To summarise, these principal characteristics of religion beliefs and believers, sacred texts and writings, ethics and rituals and ceremonies create a great and dynamic religion. A religion full of energy, life and innovative thoughts, that learns to evolve to the social norms of the times and continuously reinvigorate itself to come out even better than before. Each and everyone of these characteristics combine and interrelate to nurture and strengthen a dynamic living religion.