Report on the Religious Life of Planet Earth Name: Course: Institution: Lecture: Date: Report on the Religious Life of Planet Earth According to Gottlieb (2004), religion is the belief of the existence of a supernatural being. Humans believe that this being, namely God, has power over everything in this world. People worship and respect God since they believe that he protects them and is the giver of life.
Human beings also believe that God is the creator of life in the world. The criteria to be used in determining whether people are religious will be carrying out a research to identify if they are religious. The next thing will be studying the religions present in the world. Using the criteria mentioned, there are various beliefs and behaviors, which confirm that religion exists in the world.
The first example is the presence of many religions in the world. Examples of these religions include Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and many others. Every person in the world is at liberty to join or form any religion he or she wishes. This freedom is only applicable if the religious practices are not violating any law of that given place (Gottlieb, 2004). The next example is the presence of places of worship.
Every religion has its sanctuary; therefore, this means that the earth has religious people. Christians use churches, Muslims worship in mosques, Hindus and Buddhists worship in temples. Places of worship have been in existence since the era of the early man; he set aside a part of his environment and made it a sacred place of worship.
This shows that religion has been on earth from the time man was evolving. The third example is the use of publications in religions. Religions like Islam and Christianity have special books they use in their religions (Gottlieb, 2004).
These books are said to contain the guidelines of how to be a faithful believer of that religion. For example, Christians use the Bible. They believe that this Bible was written by man through God’s inspiration; therefore, it contains the exact words of God. Muslims use their holy book called Quran. They also claim it was written by God’s prophet Muhammad under the direction of Allah. Gottlieb (2004) mentions some religion functions in this world. These functions are the ones that brought its existence. First, it makes human beings have values in them.
All religions require their believers to have good conduct and practice virtues that make it possible to co-exist. Religion explains where human beings came from and how they existed. People believe that God is the creator of plants and animals; hence, this explains how human beings came to existence. They seek refuge in God from any problems they experience. For example, they pray to God for success and solutions for problems they come across. Religion has influenced the daily lives of people and current affairs. The moral character of people is affected or determined by their religion.
They are expected to have good character and be exemplary to the rest of the community. For example, they should forgive; love others, practice honesty, justice and other values. Some of the current affairs that are influenced by religion are marriage issues like divorce and cohabitation. Religion does not allow couples to cohabitate (Gottlieb, 2004). This is because they should follow due marriage procedures. In most religious marriages, couples make a covenant of a lifetime commitment.
In terms of divorce, religions like Christianity and Islam allow married couples to divorce. This depends on the reasons that have brought about the divorce. Other issues that are influenced by religion include corruption and crime. Religious people are expected to fight corruption and crime because they are vices in the society.
Many religions in the world have different practices and experiences. Christians have their practices as well as Muslims and Hindus together with all other religions. For instance, for one to be a Christian, he or she has to believe that God exists and believe in Him. He or she should confess sins and repent to God.
In Islam, one is expected to profess Islam and live according to the principles that are written in the Quran (Gottlieb, 2004). Other religions have their practices and experiences depending on what their beliefs are. Generally, religion is an important aspect of man’s life because it continues to build his culture. References Gottlieb, R.
S. (2004). This sacred earth: religion, nature, environment. New York, NY: Routledge Publishers.
