One of the fundamental pillars of a country's culture is religion.. Some countries of the world share not only customs but the same type of religion and traditions. Those who, on the other hand, practice different religions, both their culture and traditions and beliefs, are also different.
In today's post we are going to talk about everything that revolves around this world, we will analyze what religion is, its history and the different types of religion that exist on the planet. It is a topic that many people are unaware of due to misinformation, and it can be of great interest.
The different religious beliefs have a great impact on the society and culture of a country. As we have commented, each of them contributes something to its faithful and therefore act or think differently from other culturesDepending on whether we are talking about Christianity, Protestantism, or Catholicism, there will be a different thought or idea on one topic or another.
What is religion?
In this section we are going to address the issue of religion, to learn what it is and the different types of religions that exist today.
Religion is defined as a set of beliefs, behaviors and cultural values, as well as ethical and social. Through these beliefs and behaviors, the religious community is associated with the sacred and the divine.
Each of the religions that are present today in the various societies, are constructed through a set of principles, beliefs and practices. All this is based on questions that have to do with existence, morality and the spiritual.
As a result, religion becomes a way of life for its followers that offers them help in adverse situations, when they believe that everything is going wrong. Good behavior and following the guidelines imposed by each of the religions provides you with protection before difficult times, as well as a meaning for life and an explanation for death.
Focusing on the etymological meaning of the concept of religion, two proposals are presented. The first one says that religion Comes from latin religion, which in turn is derived from the verb religare whose meaning is associated with "bind" and "bind". Therefore, religion is understood according to this proposal of meaning as a link between human beings and the divine.
The second interpretation about religion, Comes from latin religious, word that means scrupulous. In this case, religion would be seen as the scrupulous monitoring and compliance with norms and beliefs.
Thus, religion has become the path that unites human beings with god or other divine forces.
history of religion
El The discovery of bodies of both homo sapiens and buried primitive Neanderthals is considered the first evidence of existing religious ideas. thousands of years ago, that is why it is said that the history of religion is as old as the life of the human being.
Other of the oldest religious manifestations can be found in Turkey, in the oldest sanctuary known to date. These religious testimonies are a set of megaliths dating from 9 thousand before Christ. In Egypt, are what are estimated to be the first religious texts, written in the Egyptian pyramids.
A long time ago, in what is known as Axial Era, the first religious and philosophical traditions with a great influence on societies began to be created.. Some of them were the monotheism that emerged in Persia, the Platonism of Greece, the Buddhism and Jainism of India, and the Confucianism and Taoism that emerged in China.
As time progresses, religions begin to spread throughout Europe and Asia. The various religions begin to spread through different territories, Christianity does it in the West, Buddhism in the East of the Asian continent and Islam, it does it in the Middle East, Central Asia, North Africa and some other areas of India and Europe. .
As we already know religion also suffered conflicts in its advances through various territories. Wars between Arabs and Byzantines, the Crusades, the Spanish reconquest, etc.
Around the fifteenth century, with the European conquest and colonization, the Christian religion spread throughout America, the Philippines, parts of Africa and Oceania. At the beginning of the XV, specifically in the year 1517 the Protestant Reformation began under Martin Luther.. This event led to the initiation of a series of religious conflicts between Christians and Protestants.
Another historical event that marks the history of religion is the estallido of the French Revolution in 1789, is considered the main consequence of the disunity between church and state in several countries, and consequently the fall of their beliefs in Europe.
Despite all this, the following of religion is still valid in today's society. In many countries, religious beliefs are very actively followed by the majority of the population, while in other cultures atheism or following their own theories is promoted.
Types of religion according to the theological conception
Source: https://es.wikipedia.org/
First of all, we want to talk about the types of religions in which they are divided according to the number of gods believed in.
The concept of theism is related to the absolute divine beliefs, creators of the world. These can be divided into three types; polytheists, monotheists and dualism.
On the one hand, there are polytheistic religions, in which it is believed that there is not only one God, but that there are several divine presences. An example of this type of religion is the Roman, in it each of the gods is represented through the human form and with divine powers.
On the other hand, we find Monotheistic religions, unlike the previous ones, in these it is believed that there is only one God. This type of belief is typical of Christianity.
When we refer to dualism, we do it to refer to religions that accept that there are two supreme principles how are good and evil.
Lastly, mention the idea of non-theism, this concept is based on the non-belief of absolute divinities. They are usually spiritual currents that see divinity in a different way.
Main existing religions
Once we know the types of religions that exist depending on whether one believes in a god, gods or directly does not believe in the absolute divinity, We are going to focus on knowing what are the main religions that exist throughout the world.
Christianity
This religion arises in the first century, and Jesus Christ is recognized as the Son of God. During the years of his life he chose twelve apostles who were in charge of spreading his word. Together with the Holy Spirit and the Father, they form the Trinity.
The sacred book of this religion is the Bible, and the Churches are the sacred place for the preaching of God's message.. Christianity, like many other religions, is divided into different branches; Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox.
In Catholicism the main figure is the Pope who is in the Vatican. It focuses on the worship of a single figure, that of Jesus. It allows the veneration and monitoring of other divinities such as the Virgin Mary and the different saints or patrons.
On the other hand, the Orthodox branch, maintains the beliefs of Catholicism, but is far from it in terms of some dogmatic differences. The supreme authority in this case is a government council, the figure of the pope is recognized but is not considered the supreme authority.
And finally we talk about Protestantism, which is separated from the Catholic Church as we have seen in the previous section. It is divided into different denominations such as Lutheranism, Anglicanism, Baptism, Methodism and Calvinism.
Islam
Founded by Muhammad in the seventh century and whose origin is found in the revelations that the prophet had, to whom the archangel Gabriel appeared, who pointed out that he had been chosen as a prophet and that he should spread the word of Allah.
In this religion, the sacred text is found in the book of the Koran, in which the revelations are located What did the prophet experience? There are two main types of Islamic denominations; Sunni and Shia.
El Sunnism, is followed by a greater number of believers, in addition to following the book of the Koran too, they are followers of the Sunnah, a set of sayings and facts related to Muhammad. They defend the existence of five fundamental pillars that are faith, prayer, giving Zakat, Ramadan and the pilgrimage to Mecca.
On the other side are the followers of the Shiism, to which a smaller number of Muslims belong. It arises after the death of the prophet Muhammad among the followers of Ali.
Hinduism
It comes from India, it is one of the oldest known religions in the world and believe in a polytheistic spirituality. They comprise a set of diverse doctrines, and a great diversity in terms of philosophical and spiritual tendencies.
All these doctrines and tendencies come together in two fundamental common aspects, the belief in a supreme god (Brahma) and that all creatures go through the cycle of reincarnation.
Budismo
This type of religion is within the group of non-theistic religions, for which its supreme figure is not a God. We speak then, of a philosophical and religious doctrine arising from the teachings propagated by his Siddhartha Gautama.
This doctrine is very present in all the countries of Asia and is spreading through different territories throughout the world. Within this religion, you can find different doctrines, schools and practices, all based on philosophical principles.
According to the message of Buddhism the development of our life includes the suffering whose origin is the desire. When that desire is extinguished, that suffering we were talking about will disappear at the same time. The way to end that suffering is built by wisdom, ethical conduct, meditation, attention and full awareness of what is happening in the present.
Religions over the years can evolve and undergo changes. As we have seen, religions are a doctrine that base their beliefs, customs and praises on divine beings and those they consider superior in some cases.