Intro to Religions

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Our world has thorough religious systems that significantly alter how people live and societies function. Learn what comprises a religion and how it should influence one’s decisions. 

Definitions

  • Religion is a set of beliefs and practices that give life purpose and clarity.
  • Religion attempts to answer where we came from, what we’re supposed to do, and where we’re going.

Scriptural Take – Romans 1:18-23

  • Our sinful tendency is to suppress the truth (1:18).
  • We have only considered God because He has revealed Himself to us (1:19).
  • God has made Himself intentionally observable within nature (1:20).
  • An unwillingness to glorify God leads to worthless thinking (1:21).
  • If people don’t accept God as He is, we attempt to create images and systems lesser than Him (1:22-23).

Major World Religions

  • Much of the world’s conflicts originate from sincere spiritual adherents obeying religious mandates. 
  • In 2024, Population Education identified 85% of the world as having a religion. 
  • More specifically ¾ of the global population is within the following:
    • Christianity: 31%
    • Islam: 24%
    • Hinduism: 15%
    • Buddhism: 7% 
  • 16% of people worldwide, predominantly in China, Japan, and the United States, identify as the “nones.” 
  • The “nones” can be agnostics, atheists, or those who don’t identify with a particular religion.

Two Major Theories   

  • Evolution of Religions  
    • Some believe in the hierarchical structure of the development of religion, ranging from belief in spiritual forces to belief in one God. 
  • Original Monotheism
    • Others believe that all religion began with a belief in one God and has changed over time. 

Foundations of Major Religions 

  • Monotheism
    • The belief in one God alone. 
    • Imagine a painter outside the painting.
    • Christianity, Judaism, Islam 
  • Henotheism
    • The belief in several different gods in which one reigns supreme.
    • Hinduism 
  • Polytheism 
    • The belief in many gods as divine. 
    • Buddhism, Hinduism 
  • Animism  
    • Believing that all things possess a spiritual element. 
    • For example, things in the environment have a soul and can form social relationships. 
  • Mana 
    • The belief is that the universe contains a spiritual force.
    • Prevalent in Pacific Asian Islander cultures

Misled Hope

  • It is offensive and incorrect to say that all religions are attempting to answer life’s questions the same way.
  • One or none of the religions can be correct, but they all cannot be.