Religion is a unified system of thoughts, feelings and actions that gives its members an object of devotion, such as a god or spirit, and also a code of moral conduct. Most religions are concerned with the supernatural, in other words, forces and powers beyond human control. They also deal with the afterlife.
Many people believe that the practice of religion helps them cope with life’s ups and downs. It gives meaning and purpose, strengthens family bonds, promotes social stability, provides a basis for self-control and may motivate them to work for positive social change. However, religion can have negative effects on society as well. It can be a source of violence, hatred and war. It can also be a cause of stress and anxiety.
It is not easy to define what religion is. Some definitions exclude beliefs and practices that many people passionately defend as religious. For example, some definitions of religion only include belief in a god or other supernatural entities, whereas others consider agnosticism and atheism to be religious as well. Other definitions of religion only include belief in orthodox Christianity. This excludes the world’s two largest religions, Islam and Buddhism.
The word “religion” is derived from the Latin verb religio, which means “to revere.” Some scholars argue that religion is the organized and formalized expression of a person’s belief in something divine. This view is sometimes called natural religion or monotheism. Other scholars argue that the concept of religion is a cultural phenomenon and that there are many different religious systems in the world.
Several philosophers have written on the nature of religion. Early modern philosophers argued that religion and science are mutually exclusive, while later thinkers such as Hegel and Marxists took a more positive approach to the relationship between religion and science. In the twentieth century, Continental philosophers including Martin Heidegger and Jean-Paul Sartre wrote about religion as an important element of human life.
Those who study religion are often concerned with how it influences society and individuals. They look for evidence that religion serves a variety of functions, including providing meaning and purpose in life, strengthening family ties and social cohesion, serving as an agent of social control, promoting psychological and physical health, and motivating people to work for positive social change. In addition, they are interested in evaluating the impact of extrinsic versus intrinsic practices of religion on outcomes. Extrinsic practices of religion are activities that a person does for social, economic or other reasons, while intrinsic practice is the experience of spirituality without such an ulterior motive. Research has shown that extrinsic practices of religion have a negative effect on societal and individual outcomes, while intrinsic practice has a positive impact. It is not known why this is the case. Research is ongoing.