what does religion simply mean? there's alot of religions out there...?
372872
Religion usually means people reaching out for God.\n\nChristianity believes God is reaching out for people.
945040
well, there are people from all kins of religions here. hinduism, sikhs, christians of course, jews, muslims, baha'is, you name it.. also, the pagan population is spiking! :)\n\ni have been religious for maybe 2 months.. i've always been a christian, but i hadn't even like opened the Bible until two months ago once i bought one. i read it, and felt peace and finally understood why i was a christian. since then, i have been much more religious. :)\n\ni question my religion daily.. so i'm still unsure, but one day i will have the answer.
715060
yup, that's why there are so many different branches of basically the same religion, mormons, jesuit, RC, church of england, jehova's witnesses, ahmish, methodists etc etc. They all follow certain parts of the bible more than others. I've always wondered whether what is written down is accurate or happened at all. A good similie would be chinese whispers on a massive scale. Personally I don't believe in any of it, a massive sceptic here. If there is only one god, why are there so many different religions? Why don't we all believe the same thing?
831969
Mostly organized religion!
1032501
(Note: I was raised Catholic and now consider myself agnostic.)My observations of religion throughout history:  Religion has always been there.  All religions give guidelines for how to live life.  Many people have died for the sake of religious beliefs.\n\nReligion has always been there...  How many religions (including all of the "extinct" religions) have there been?  How many do you worship?  Do you really have reason to believe that yours is the right religion?  Haven't you noticed that most children worship the same religion as their parents?\n\nAll religions give guidelines as how to live life...  the 10 commandments: dont kill, dont steal...   Yup that these types of things sound good to me.  Did I really need a list of things I should not do?  What about torture?  Why isn't that on the list?  Through education I developed a moral compass and a concious.  A way of knowing what is right and wrong.\n\nMany people have died for the sake of religious beliefs... This is my beef with religion.  It unites those within it, but it divides those of the different religions.  If its such a good thing why do so many die in its name?\n\nSo why am I not atheist?  I honestly don't know if there is a God or not.  Maybe God did create everything and is now on the sidelines.  I hope their is a God.  I really do.  My dad's passing was one of the hardest experiences of my life.  I hope he was not reduced to nothingness.  Still I must be honest with myself.  I DONT KNOW.  Anyone who says they do is lieing in my opinion.  If they did really know then it is no longer a question of faith.  Sure if I met God I'd worship him/her/it/them.  But I'm not going to blindly follow ANYTHING, much less something as powerful as religion.\n\nIf there is a God and they stand in judgement upon a person's death I do not believe that God will care if we went to church on Sunday, gave money to the church, or repented before our death.  They will care how we lived our life.  Did we try to improve the lives of the people around us?  Did we try to do the right thing?  Did we treat others as we wish to be treated?  And if there is this judgement followed by a heaven/hell, I believe I will be meeting my dad in heaven.  Until then I will try to do the right thing, not because of religion, but because ITS THE RIGHT THING TO DO.
526311
"Religion is commonly defined as a group of beliefs concerning the supernatural, sacred, or divine, and the moral codes, practices, values, institutions, and rituals associated with such belief." \n\nScience can be your religion if you want it to be. Not all religions believe in a God, it is more about a life style. Religion is something you hold great truth to. It is the most important thing in your life. It is what you live for. That is the way I understand it anyway.
456809
My school RI teacher when I was 11. She told me (what iv ealready printed a few times on this site, i just feel i should share it) that religion is like a mountain with God at the top. There are many paths up that mountain, each looking different, but theyre all just part of the same mountain. Hows that for influence on a developing mind?
1027578
It is a way of explaining a person's relationship with the spiritual aspect of life.  There are so many choices because so many ways of explaining it have arisen all over the world ever since people started to develop religious thought. There are so many ways of looking at this relationship, that so many different religions were developed.
418138
Technically, fundamentalists exist in all religions. \n\nIt simply means those who consider themselves as getting back to basics (the fundamentals) of their religion.\n\nTolerance of others -- very individual and depends on each person.  There is no way to attach tolerance or intolerance to such a broad spectrum of persons.
180115
It isent. I study all religions. I have a bumper sticker that says: God is big, hes in every religion. Religion is just a foundation for you to seek in the begining of your path and try to get you in the right path of enlightment. But being spiritual and religion really go hand in hand. Believing there is a higher power or god or whatever you choose to call god.. and knowing hes omnipresent is a good start.
414467
I think religions are the means people use to try to connect to God or a higher power or some sort of original state from which they feel separated. All religions hold elements of truth, but because the teachings come through people, they are going to be influenced by the personality, experiences, culture, etc. of the person. I think lots of people get revelations or insights from a higher power, although not everyone feels compelled to shout them from the mountaintop. The wisest religious people I know are humble about what they know and open to achieving deeper understanding. If God is omnipresent and omniscient, how can we possibly think we know everything there is to know about Him/Her/Whatever? Like the blind men and the elephant, we get hold of one part and think we know the whole creature. When we start to appreciate what is universal in all religions and in all people, we begin to get a glimmer of real truth.
178862
Religions are not sensitive. Sensitive is the way people thinks about the religion.I know that all religions say to live in peace,do good to others,pray to God,speak truth,love human being,do not quarrel.The sensitivity is the people who hold the religion.
831270
Christianity, Buddhism, Muslim, Jewish, Wicca, Paganism, Hinduism, Scientology, Mormonism, I continually study religion, it is one of my great passions. You can't have a good conversation on religion unless you know what the person you are talking to is talking about.
994361
quite well said.\nNice religion isn't it??\nJust like any other religion I've encountered.
69129
Religion (from dictionary.com): \n   1.\n         a. Belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers regarded as creator and governor of the universe.\n         b. A personal or institutionalized system grounded in such belief and worship.\n   2. The life or condition of a person in a religious order.\n   3. A set of beliefs, values, and practices based on the teachings of a spiritual leader.\n   4. A cause, principle, or activity pursued with zeal or conscientious devotion.\n\n\nBuddhism follows all of the above: \n1a. They have reverence in a supernatural in that they have a very spritual view of the world, they may not have a god, however they do believe in Nirvana (somewhat like heaven, a release from the karmic cycle), and tend to meditate on these thoughts. \n1b. This is an institution based on belief, however they do not worship anything particularly. I would say that Buddhism fits a bit looser into the first definition than the others. \n\n2. This seems to be talking about something more like a monk rather than the actual religion, however still applicable. \n\n3. Obviously thye do follow the teachings of a religious leader: Siddhartha who reached enlightenment and was the first to become a Buddha. They do base their practices on his teachings: the 8 fold path etc. etc. \n\n4. Obviously the followers of this religion do feel a lot of devotion to it, and I have met many people who feel such "zeal" in this practice. \n\nSee: \nhttp://www.buddhanet.net/\n\nhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/buddhism/index.shtml\n\nhttp://www.religioustolerance.org/buddhism.htm\nFor more information.
494052
My interpretation is that religion is not meant to be understood - you believe things on faith.
230883
Estimates vary.  One reason for this is that there is really a methodological debate about the lines between "religions."  For example, does one count all of Christianity as one religion, or are the different major traditions (Protestant, Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Assyrian, Nestorian, Mormon, Coptic, Anabaptist, etc.) each separate religions, or are the individual denominations within those traditions (e.g., within Protestantism, the literally thousands of individual sects) "religions"?  Is Islam one religion, or are Sunni and Shi'a separate religions?  Is Buddhism one religion, or are Mahayana and Theravada traditions separate, or are the different Mahayana sects all different religions?--you see my point.\n\nSound complicated?  It only gets worse.  Because there is no one universal definition of what is and what is not a religion.  Are only "organized" religions included (official, self-declared sects)?  Or what about spiritual systems that are not organized in that way?  What about belief systems that are para-religious, like "agnosticism" or "secular humanism" or state-sponsored cults like the Juche belief system of North Korea, or the "cult of the Republic" of the United States whose religious holidays you might be observing without even noticing it on Memorial Day?\n\nHere's a safe rule of thumb:  by even conservative estimates, there are probably over 1,000 religions in the world today.  That doesn't count the vast numbers of religions that have largely disappeared from the past.  And by other estimates, the totals are closer to 20,000.  Now remember, many of those faiths might have relatively few adherents, compared to enormous sects like, say, Roman Catholicism within Christianity or Shi'a in Islam, but that's still quite a total--and even that doesn't include the enormous number of people who have essentially personal, idiosyncratic spiritual belief systems.\n\nGood luck working this question out.  But the important thing to know is this:  anyone telling you there's only One True Faith is not going to help you answer this question, because your question is about information-seeking, and that answer is about bigotry and proselytizing.  That may be mandatory in some faiths, but it's not very educationally helpful in understanding the family of world religions.  I would encourage you to check out the sites below to learn more about other faiths.