Meaning of religion (what is it, concept and definition)

What is Religion:

The religion is a system of beliefs, customs and symbols set around an idea of divinity or sacredness.

Religions are doctrines made up of a set of principles, beliefs and practices on questions of an existential, moral and spiritual type.

Etymologically, the word religion comes from the Latin religĭo , religiōnis , which in turn comes from the verb religāre . This is formed from the prefix re , which indicates repetition, and from the word ligare , which means 'to bind or tie'.

Thus, religion is the doctrine that strongly links the human being with God or the gods. Religion can be understood, in this way, as the action and effect of reattaching God and human beings.

Currently, the largest religions in the world, considering their number of faithful, are (in decreasing order):

• Christianity (2,100 million), Islam (1,900 million) and Buddhism (1,600 million).

The word religion, on the other hand, can be used figuratively to mean that an activity or an obligation is carried out constantly and rigorously. For example: "Going to the gym every day is, for him, a religion."

Origin of religion

The instituted religions appeared for the first time after the Neolithic revolution, which involved the settlement of human groups, the division of labor, the development of agriculture and, with it, a greater time devoted to observing nature.

Neolithic religions, unlike previous shamanic-type experiences, were structured around three elements: temple, priest and sacrifices (or offerings), which in turn are an expression of the conceptualization of the sacred and profane.

Role of religion

The function of religion is the consolidation of a value system that allows, on the one hand, the cohesion of the social group based on a common project, and on the other, to create a certain degree of spiritual satisfaction through faith to overcome suffering and achieve happiness.

All religions have their bases and foundations in symbolic / historical stories called myths, myth being understood as a story that explains the origin of life, the justification of its state and its future projection.

All the religions are sustained in diverse currents of thought that try to explain who we are and why we have come into the world.

In cultures with writing, religions are based on texts of a sacred nature, which gather their followers around the same spiritual community.

Characteristics of religion

• It is structured around the belief in one or more forces superior to the human being. It is an interpretation of life, to which it attributes a maximum value. It justifies the characteristics of life, therefore it offers comfort and / or hope. between the sacred and the profane. Constructs an ethical code. It forms a project for the future. It favors the cohesion of the group that practices it. It is projected through symbols, such as myths or stories (oral or written), objects of sacred art, bodily expressions and rituals. Needs a prophet or shaman. Those religions that are written, give rise to temples, priests and sacrifices (or offerings).

Types of religion according to the theological concept

Religions, likewise, can be classified according to different criteria, such as their origin, their type of revelation or their theological conception. The theological conception, on the other hand, can be divided into:

• Theism, which supposes the belief in absolute divine entities, creators of the world and providents, which in turn is divided into monotheism, polytheism and dualism.
  • Monotheism: to this group correspond all the religions that assume the existence of a single God. In this category are Judaism, Christianity and Islamism, also known as the book religions. Polytheism: all those religions that believe in the existence of different gods are polytheists. For example, the ancient religions represented in Egyptian, Greco-Roman and Nordic mythology. Currently, we can mention Santeria in Latin America. Dualism: refers to those religions that accept the existence of two supreme antagonistic principles, good and evil. Pantheism, according to which everything that exists participates in the divine nature insofar as the divine is immanent to the universe.
  No theism, which implies the non-belief of absolute divine entities, since they are spiritual currents that conceive of divinity in a different way, as is the case in Buddhism, for example.

See also:

• Spirituality. Faith.

Current monotheistic religions

Judaism

The Judaism is the oldest monotheistic religions of the world and, like others, is Abrahamic, ie, based on the stories of the patriarch Abraham. Judaism preaches the existence of one God, creator of the universe, and announces the advent of a messiah.

In this religion, the family is very important, and much of the Jewish faith is based on the teachings received at home. The Torah or Pentateuch is the holy book of the Jews. Jewish cults are held in synagogues, and are led by a rabbi.

Some of its sacred symbols are the Star of David and the menorah. The star is on the flag of Israel and the menorah on the shield. Currently, it has some 14 million faithful worldwide.

Christianity

As Christianity we call the religion that recognizes Jesus Christ as the son of God the Father in communion with the Holy Spirit. It is a messianic religion, that is, it believes in the messiah or 'sent' anointed by God. The term Christianity comes from the word Christ, which means 'anointed'.

The holy book of Christianity is the Bible and the churches are the place of preaching of the teachings of Jesus and the prophets collected in the Bible. Preachers are called priests, bishops, elders and / or pastors according to the name of Christianity.

The main denominations or tendencies of Christianity are Catholicism, Orthodoxy, Anglicanism and Protestantism, within which is Lutheranism and various dissident groups of the Catholic Church such as free evangelicals.

See also:

• Christianity Characteristics of Christianity.

Catholicism

Catholicism is the religious doctrine that represents the Roman Catholic and Apostolic Church, whose supreme authority is the pope, who resides in the Vatican, which is why its history is closely linked to that of Western Europe. It has some 1,214 million faithful worldwide.

Like all Christianity, Catholicism centers worship in the person of Jesus. However, it admits veneration and respect for the Virgin Mary and the saints. The Bible used by Catholics corresponds to the so-called Alexandrian Canon Bible or version of the seventies , which contains a total of 72 books.

Orthodox Catholicism or Orthodoxy

As Orthodox is called the religious doctrine of Christian origin that emerged from the schism of the Catholic Church in 1054. It maintains the same body of beliefs that Catholicism, but differs in some dogmatic differences or customs. For example, Orthodox priests can get married, unless they aspire to be bishops or patriarchs.

The supreme authority is a governing council, the Holy Ecumenical Synod, where unity comes from doctrine, faith, cults, and the sacraments. In this all the patriarchs participate. The pope is recognized by the Orthodox as one more patriarch and not as the supreme authority. Currently, it has some 300 million faithful.

Anglicanism

Anglicanism is an established Christian confession that originated in England in the 16th century, when the so-called Anglican Church was founded. Anglicanism responds to the spiritual leadership of the Archbishopric of Canterbury. The Anglican word means 'from England'.

This denomination of Christianity accepts the Nicene creed and the creed of the apostles, also accepts the practice of the 7 Catholic sacraments and allows the episcopate to adapt to the reality of each country where it has representation.

Protestantism

Protestantism began with the Reformation promoted by Martin Luther in the year 1517, which gave rise to the Lutheran religion or Lutheranism. However, over the years many Protestant-inspired Christian movements have emerged, where free evangelicals (Pentecostals, Baptists, etc.) and various sects are counted, making the movement very diverse.

Protestantism proposes to eliminate the mediation of priests for salvation and to obtain salvation only by the declaration of faith.

At the same time, it rejects from Catholics the worship of saints and the transubstantiation of Jesus into bread and wine. Protestantism also rejects the Catholic edition of the Bible, and opts for the Hebrew Canon or the Palestinian Canon , which contains a total of 66 books. Currently, there are around 700 million protesters in the world.

See also:

• Protestant Reformation Protestantism.

Islamism

Islamism is a monotheistic religion of Abrahamic inspiration. Its main prophet was Muhammad, born in Mecca around the year 570, in western Arabia. The word Islam in Arabic means 'submission' to Allah (God). The one who accepts the faith of Islam is called a Muslim or, in Arabic, muslim , which translates 'who submits'.

The holy book of Islamism is the Koran, where the word of Allah was revealed to the prophet Muhammad. The Koran mentions more than twenty prophets from Adam to Muhammad, including Noah, Abraham, Moses, Solomon, and Jesus. In addition to the Koran, books such as the Torah, the Psalms and the Gospel are considered texts revealed by God. The place where the Islamic faith is practiced is the mosque.

Current polytheistic religions

Hinduism

Hinduism is a polytheistic spirituality from India. Within Hinduism there is a great diversity of philosophical and spiritual tendencies, but all are unified in two elemental aspects: the belief in the supreme god called Brahma and the belief in reincarnation.

See also Hinduism.

Current non-theistic religions

Buddhism

Buddhism is a philosophical and religious doctrine with a great presence in all the countries of Asia. Currently, it is widespread throughout almost the entire world.

It is a non-theistic religion, developed from the teachings spread by his Siddhartha Gautama, around the 5th century BC. C., in the northeast of India. It contains a wide variety of doctrines, schools, and practices, shaped around its philosophical principles.

For Buddhism, life includes suffering, and the origin of such suffering is desire. As long as the desire is extinguished, the suffering will be extinguished. Thus, the noble way, constituted by wisdom, ethical conduct, meditation, attention and full awareness of the present, is the method to extinguish suffering.

The symbol of Buddhism is the one that represents dharma (law, religion). The dharma chakra , as such, is represented as a wheel (' chakra ' in Sanskrit) with eight or more spokes.

Difference between religion and religiosity

The word religion refers to a socially sanctioned and institutionalized religious doctrine, which involves strict codes and norms around a temple, a priest, and rituals. That is, religion is the standard belief system.

Religiosity refers, rather, to the forms of expression of the faith, whether personal or collective, as well as the behavior of the subjects regarding the creed they profess. In this sense, there may be a correspondence between the instituted religion or not.

For example, Easter processions or festivals dedicated to patron saints, such as San Juan or San Pedro, are expressions of popular religiosity. These, although within the Catholic universe, are not part of the official rituals of the Church, but depend entirely on the laity. Therefore, heretical elements can sometimes sneak in or mix with other beliefs available in the cultural environment.

Natural religion

In philosophy, natural religion is one that removes the symbolic and imaginative elements attributed to divinity, to refer it to the strict terms of reason. Therefore, there is talk of deism. The concept of natural religion is opposed to the concept of positive religion, to which correspond all those that go to stories and symbolic elements.