Religion is a cultural system of beliefs, practices and ethics that offer guidance for living. Some of its characteristics include a belief in one or more gods, a moral code, sacred texts and symbols. It can also involve group rituals, community and a sense of history and tradition. Some religious people have a strong desire to believe in something that is bigger than themselves, such as a higher power or a soul.
Religions can vary widely in their beliefs and teachings, but most share certain core beliefs. A central tenet of most religions is that there is a higher power or spiritual force, and that this spirit is all-powerful, all-knowing and all-loving. In addition, many religions encourage believers to be good, do good deeds and help those in need.
The word “religion” comes from the Latin religio, which roughly translates as “scrupulousness” or “devotion”. In antiquity, it may have referred to a particular god or group of gods, but later the term came to be used to refer to all forms of morally virtuous behaviour, even when such behaviour did not involve any beliefs in unusual realities. Thus, Emile Durkheim defined religion as whatever practices unite a number of people into a single moral community.
Some scholars reject the idea that a definition of religion must be monothetic, and argue that to define it as institutions or disciplinary practices excludes the influence of mental states on human life. These scholars are sometimes criticized as having a Protestant bias.
Other scholars take a polythetic approach, in which they try to establish a set of criteria that would distinguish a religion from non-religions. A problem with this approach is that it can produce false positives, in which an institution or disciplinary practice is mistakenly judged to be a religion because it meets a few of the criteria.
Animism is the earliest form of religion, and it involves the belief that everything has a spirit. The spirits are viewed as animating the world and bringing it to life, including rocks, rivers, weather systems and human handiwork. In some animism religions, spirits are viewed as both male and female.
Religions can help humans cope with the fear of death, and provide a sense of purpose and meaning to life. They also provide social support and moral guidance. Some research suggests that regular participation in religion can be beneficial to health, and may lower risk of suicide, drug abuse and violence.
There is little doubt that religion plays a major role in the lives of two-thirds of the world’s population. Totally secular approaches to public policy, psychotherapy and education can only ignore this fact at great peril. This is especially true in the West, where religious values have a profound impact on the political system and the daily lives of millions of Americans. Behavioral scientists should pay more attention to these invisible forces that shape the everyday decisions of so many people. They can then make the world a more civil and peaceful place.