The Nature and Characteristics of Religion

700 Words3 Pages
Christianity, Islam and Judaism. These religions are major because of the number of adherents/believers meaning that majority of the world’s population are followers of these religions. In Australia, majority of people are Christian at 20.7%, 1.5% are Islamic and 0.4% follow Jewish faith and these statistics are still rapidly increasing (2001 ABS). Religion is the strong belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a God or Gods, it can also be defined as the answer to the search for meaning since religion answers the fundamental questions in life and what it means to be human; Why am I here? Where did I come from? What happens when I die? Why do bad things happen? Who made the world and the universe? People turn to religion to find a sense of meaning and purpose to life. Beliefs, sacred texts, ethics and rituals/practices are the four characteristics that make up all religions. All religions are founded on beliefs. Beliefs sustain and hold religion and are followed and held by believers. For example, the core belief of Islam- the belief is the day of judgement where God will show mercy and judgement to decide whether the believer is rewarded in Heaven or appointed to Hell. Sacred texts can be written or oral and have been passed on from generation to generation. Texts such as the Torah in Judaism include the recordings of the relationship that the Jewish people have with their God; Yahweh. Sacred texts contain the core beliefs, customs, teachings and ethics of a particular religion. These texts are not only read but are also recited and studied. The purpose of ethics is to classify and distinguish what us acceptable and unacceptable behaviour. They determine what a follower is able to freely and restrict themselves from doing. Throughout the Bible, ethics are outlined and are written in metaphorical ways. An example of ethics is
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