Religious Life of Planet Earth, Research Paper Example

I will employ several tools to determine whether earth people are religious or not. First of all, I will study their behavior towards the nature and natural phenomenon. If they have rules and stories regarding nature and natural phenomenon that continue to persist over time almost unchanged and often involve supernatural deities, it points to the existence of religion on earth. On the contrary, if their understanding of the nature and natural phenomenon has evolved over time, it possibly points to more objective attitude rather than spiritual relationship with nature. The last scenario means people on earth are more interested in understanding the workings of the nature rather than the meaning or purpose behind them. Similarly, if people think they come with a purpose to the world and owe some obligations towards their creator/s, it also signals the presence of religion(Study Religion). Similarly, if they often attribute events in their lives to external forces, it is also a sign of the importance of religion in their lives.

I observe that some people perform same actions such as reading a particular scripture or paying respect to some sculpture on almost every occasion whether they are celebrating or going through a period of sorrow. This probably signals the importance of religion in their lives in both good and bad times. I also observe that some people in the community always gather at particular places during particular times whether on a daily, weekly, or annual basis even though they do not have any relationship with each other. The third thing I observe is that they sometimes recite in language they do not speak or understand yet they seem to give tremendous respect to that language.

One of the roles of religion on earth is to provide moral code to the followers (Sobrado, 2011). Another role of religion is to provide identity to the followers. Many people on earth consider their religious affiliation to be an important part of their overall existence and many countries include religious affiliation information in official identity cards and/or documents. Religions also seem to provide psychological support to their followers because many followers claim their religious beliefs help them get through difficult times or make positive changes in their lives. Another role of religion is to provide answers to the philosophical questions as to why they are on earth and what may happen after death. By providing answers to philosophical questions of their followers, the religions provide guidance regarding the purpose of life. Religions also seem to shape social order to providing guidelines regarding political and legal affairs of the society.

I observe that some people perform same actions on almost every type of occasion. It may be that instead of religious customs, their actions merely represent their cultural traditions. Similarly, the gatherings at particular places during particular times or days of the year may be community events such as town meetings or non-religious events such as Independence Day celebrations. I also observe that some people give tremendous respect to a language they don’t speak or understand but can read them. One possible explanation may be that those language were spoken by their ancestors but times have changed and their descendents are merely showing their respect to the language and trying to preserve it from going extinct. One example is Native Indian languages as many Native Indians in America do not speak or understand the language of their ancestors because they have grown up speaking English.

References

Sobrado, T. (2011, November 27). The Role of God, Religion and Morality in Contemporary Society. Retrieved November 4, 2012, from http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/tony-sobrado/the-role-of-god-religion-_b_1171653.html

Study Religion. (n.d.). What is Religion? Retrieved November 4, 2012, from http://www.studyreligion.org/what/index.html