The belief is often religious. Religious views and views. The role of religion in human life and society. What is religion

What is the role of religion in the life of each individual and society as a whole is a question that many philosophers reflect on, from ancient times to the present day. How do religious views change over time? Or do they remain the same?

Do the achievements of scientists, the benefits of civilization, changes in the way of life, occupations and needs of people influence religious beliefs? How does it feel to be a believer today? All these and many other questions arise not only for philosophers or students, but also for those who want to understand whether there is still a place for faith in God in the modern world or not.

What is religion?

Religion is a set of views, worldviews, sensations based on absolute belief in something supernatural. In addition to certain emotional manifestations and ways of thinking, it also includes social, managerial functions, and is also an integral part of people's culture.

Due to the multifaceted nature of this phenomenon, religion has several definitions. The main ones are:

• a form of social consciousness, which is based on a combination of beliefs, views that have arisen due to belief in the same supernatural force;
• a variant of organizing relationships between people, characterized by its own rules, traditions, ethical norms and other signs inherent in society;
• spiritual essence is a special type of a person's vision of himself, his own personality and the value of life, the world around him, everyday life and others.

It is impossible to give an exact and unambiguous definition of such a phenomenon as religion. It directly depends on which aspect of it is being considered.

Can religion be classified?

Religious views undoubtedly relate to a specific confession of a person. However, regardless of the nuances attached to this phenomenon by a particular religion, there is a general division - into two large types.

According to this division, each denomination can be of two types:

• objective general;
• personal.

The subjective, personal type is the individual religious views of a person, his direct perception of God. That is, this type is understood as everything that relates to personal thoughts and feelings associated with religion. For example, exactly how a person prefers to pray, which saints he turns to, whether he goes to a large church or to a small one - these are elements of the manifestation of religiosity attributed to the subjective type. Of course, what a particular person thinks about God, the degree of his faith, and so on that relates to thinking, is also included in the concept of the subjective type of religiosity.

The objective, or general type, includes all those characteristics that relate to religion as an institution, social and cultural phenomenon. That is, this type includes the formation of social consciousness, traditions, norms of morality and behavior, accepted in society, and much more. Everything that unites people, is common to them, can be included in the objective type of religiosity.

What does the word itself mean? How and where did it appear?

Religion is a word, the origin and exact meaning of which has been debated since ancient times. For example, Cicero believed that the term religio was derived from one of the Latin verbs, namely, relegere.

The word "religio" is translated into Russian as follows:

• object of worship, cult;
• piety, belief;
• piety.

One of the meanings of this term is conscientiousness, conditioned by the traditions and ideas of the professed faith.

The verb "relegere" has the following meaning:

• "collect again";
• "reconnect";
• "bind";
• "especially use".

It is impossible to accurately translate this word, there is no analogue in the Russian language, with all its wealth. The most accurate meaning in the context of religion is considered to be “to associate with the Highest,” that is, to belong to any cult.

Lactantius and Augustine shared the point of view of Cicero, interpreting religion as a connection between man and God. In other words, the fires determined the meaning of the term "religion" as a connection or reunification, a fusion of man and God.

In Sanskrit, a related term is dharma. Its value can be passed like this:

• the order of the universe;
• doctrine of the highest;
• the law of being;
• sample, standard of lifestyle.

In Islamic cultures, the term "din" corresponds to religion. Its main semantic difference is that the main meaning is “submission”. It is about the subordination of man to the will of God.

Every language or culture has a term analogous to the word "religion." Of course, there are differences in the subtleties and nuances of meanings, but the general meaning is the same.

In Russian, the term "religion" has been used only since the 18th century. Prior to that, their own Slavic expressions were in use, for example, the word "faith".

What is the role of religion in life?

The role of religion in the life of a person and society is diverse, its functions can be attributed literally to all spheres. Religion has an impact on how each individual and society as a whole act in certain circumstances.

For example, when faced with theft or violence, a Christian will act differently from a Muslim. At the same time, neither one nor the other will think about their actions, they will act intuitively. Thus, one of the roles of religion in people's lives is the formation of a mentality, characteristics, stereotypes of perception and behavior.

Another example of how religious beliefs affect people and public consciousness are traditional norms regarding appearance, behavior and lifestyle, family structure and everyday life. Moreover, they often exist in parallel with a completely different perception of reality. For example, divorce is still a terrible disaster for Catholics and is not approved by the church. The same applies to this phenomenon in Orthodoxy. Along with this, in the secular relationships of people, this is an absolutely normal event that does not become a shame or a stigma. Developing the topic of marriage, it should be noted that in different religions, people's relationships are not the same. Mormons believe in Christ, but polygamy is practiced in their society. Catholicism, on the other hand, requires people to choose a single partner and be loyal to him.

Thus, religion dictates what is considered normal in society. This is its role. Modern realities, however, do not change the fundamental foundation of social consciousness, ethics, norms adopted in society, but only supplement and correct it.

This is clearly seen in the example of family organization. Christianity considers it the norm to build relationships with one partner. And secular registration of marriage in countries with Christian cultures is also carried out with one person. After all, it is impossible, for example, in Moscow or London to register an official family union with several partners at once. However, modern realities, in which a person has much more opportunities, rights and freedoms than in ancient times, allow for the possibility of an official change of partner, that is, a divorce.

But the main thesis of the norm of building a family, embedded in the mentality of a person by religion, does not change from this. At the same time, family relationships with several partners are not officially built. Since the family is a unit of society and a miniature reflection of everything that is accepted in it, then, based on this example, conclusions can be drawn regarding other processes inherent in society.

Thus, the role of religion in the life of society and individuals can be defined as fundamental, shaping norms, traditions, rules and mentality, influencing behavior, thinking, culture and relationships.

What are the functions of religion?

A person's religious views form his behavior, attitude to the surrounding reality, perception of reality.

It is possible to single out the following main functions of religion for society:

• regulatory;
• legitimizing;
• ideological.

Each of these functions has specific features, depending on what religious teachings are at their basis.

About the ideological function

The formation of a worldview is one of the most important social functions of religion. Various religious teachings in this context are nothing more than the primary system of human values, which take the form of unconditioned reactions.

In other words, it is a meaningful component of thinking, that is, a combination of views and stereotypes through which a person perceives objective reality. They form the traditions, rules and norms that characterize a particular society.

On the legitimizing function

The meaning of this term is legality, legality of something. In practice, this concept is expressed in restrictions on specific actions, deeds and even thoughts. An example of the limitation of thought can be medieval religious education and other persecutions of scientific activity.

In the modern world, this function is reduced to the observance of religious commandments, which underlie the criminal law of any state. Most of them are described by the books of the New Testament and other sacred ancient texts. These are prohibitions on murder, theft, adultery, debauchery and other similar actions.

About the regulating function

In the context of this function, religion is perceived as an orientational, normative system that gives integrity to society.

In other words, religious relations become the foundation of secular relations in all spheres and areas of people's life. They regulate even spheres that are far from spirituality, for example, a typical diet. In countries with Muslim culture, it is impossible to find pork dishes on the menu of restaurants or cafes. In India, beef salad is not served in catering establishments.

That is, the regulating function of religion lies in generally accepted standards, guidelines that each member of society follows.

What are religious centers?

This concept has several meanings. As a rule, it means the immediate place in which religious rituals are performed, that is, sanctuaries, temples, cathedrals, mosques, etc.

However, the concept of "religious centers" has other meanings. These are governing bodies, administrative formations that regulate spiritual work, determine its goals and, in fact, lead church activities. An example of this is the Vatican, the religious center of Catholicism.

Also, this term refers to certain places in the world that are traditional for pilgrimage. For example, the monasteries of Athos or Jerusalem are places that many Christians seek to see.

What is the significance of religious views and ideas in the life of a modern person?

Despite the fact that religiosity is not the main feature of most modern people, they themselves experience and demonstrate its influence almost constantly.

In the modern world, religiosity, the inherent beliefs about the world order, views on relationships between people are a kind of stabilizing factor that gives solidity and meaning to everything that happens around.

Faith in God surrounds a person from infancy. In childhood, this still unconscious choice is associated with family traditions that exist in every home. But later, a person can consciously change their confession. How are they similar and how do they differ from one another?

The concept of religion and the background of its appearance

The word "religion" comes from the Latin religio (piety, shrine). This is an attitude, behavior, actions based on belief in something that transcends human understanding and is supernatural, that is, sacred. The beginning and meaning of any religion is belief in God, regardless of whether he is personified or impersonal.

Several prerequisites for the emergence of religion are known. First, from time immemorial, man has been trying to go beyond the boundaries of this world. He seeks to find salvation and consolation outside of it, sincerely needs faith.

Secondly, a person wants to give an objective assessment of the world. And then, when he cannot explain the origin of earthly life only by natural laws, he makes the assumption that a supernatural force is applied to all this.

Third, a person believes that various events and incidents of a religious nature confirm the existence of God. The list of religions for people of faith already serves as real proof of the existence of God. They explain it very simply. If God did not exist, there would be no religion.

The oldest species, forms of religion

The origin of religion took place 40 thousand years ago. It was then that the emergence of the simplest forms of religious beliefs was noted. It was possible to learn about them thanks to the discovered burials, as well as rock and cave paintings.

In accordance with this, the following types of ancient religions are distinguished:

• Totemism. A totem is a plant, animal or object that was considered sacred by one or another group of people, tribe, clan. At the heart of this ancient religion was the belief in the supernatural power of the amulet (totem).

• Magic. This is a form of religion based on belief in the magical abilities of a person. The magician with the help of symbolic actions is able to influence the behavior of other people, natural phenomena and objects from a positive and negative side.
• Fetishism. From among any objects (a skull of an animal or a person, a stone or a piece of wood, for example), one was chosen to which supernatural properties were attributed. He was supposed to bring good luck and protect from danger.
• Animism. All natural phenomena, objects and people have a soul. She is immortal and continues to live outside the body even after his death. All modern religions are based on the belief in the existence of souls and spirits.
• Shamanism. It was believed that the head of the tribe or cleric possessed supernatural power. He entered into conversation with the spirits, listened to their advice and fulfilled the requirements. Belief in the power of the shaman is at the core of this form of religion.

List of religions

There are more than a hundred different religious trends in the world, including the oldest forms and modern trends. They have their own time of origin and differ in the number of followers. But this large list is based on the three most numerous world religions: Christianity, Islam and Buddhism. Each of them has different directions.

World religions in the form of a list can be represented as follows:

1. Christianity (almost 1.5 billion people):

• orthodoxy (Russia, Greece, Georgia, Bulgaria, Serbia);
• catholicism (Western European states, Poland Czech Republic, Lithuania and others);
• protestantism (USA, UK, Canada, South Africa, Australia).

2. Islam (about 1.3 billion people):

• sunnism (Africa, Central and South Asia);
• shiism (Iran, Iraq, Azerbaijan).

3.Buddhism (300 million people):

• hinayana (Myanmar, Laos, Thailand);
• mahayana (Tibet, Mongolia, Korea, Vietnam).

National religions

In addition, in every corner of the world there are national and traditional religions, also with their own directions. They arose or became especially widespread in certain countries. On this basis, such types of religions are distinguished:

• hinduism (India);
• confucianism (China);
• taoism (China);
• judaism (Israel);
• sikhism (Punjab state in India);
• shinto (Japan);
• paganism (Indian tribes, peoples of the North and Oceania).

Christianity

This religion originated in Palestine in the Eastern part of the Roman Empire in the 1st century AD. Its appearance is associated with faith in the birth of Jesus Christ. At 33, he was martyred on the cross to atone for human sins, after which he was resurrected and ascended to heaven. Thus, the son of God, who embodied a supernatural and human nature, became the founder of Christianity.

The documentary basis of the doctrine is the Bible (or Holy Scripture), which consists of two independent collections of the Old and New Testaments. The writing of the first of them is closely related to Judaism, from which Christianity originates. The New Testament was written after the birth of religion.

The symbols of Christianity are the Orthodox and Catholic cross. The main provisions of faith are defined in dogmas, which are based on faith in God, who created the world and man himself. The objects of worship are God the Father, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit.

Islam

Islam, or Islam, originated among the Arab tribes of Western Arabia at the beginning of the 7th century in Mecca. The prophet Muhammad became the founder of the religion. From childhood, this man was prone to loneliness and often indulged in pious reflections. According to the teachings of Islam, at the age of 40 on Mount Khira, the heavenly messenger Jabrail (Archangel Gabriel) appeared to him, who left an inscription in his heart. Like many other world religions, Islam is based on belief in one God, but in Islam it is called Allah.

Holy Scripture is the Koran. The symbols of Islam are the star and the crescent. The main provisions of the Muslim faith are contained in dogmas. They must be recognized and unquestioningly performed by all believers.

The main types of religion are Sunnism and Shiism. Their appearance is associated with political disagreements between believers. So, Shiites to this day believe that only direct descendants of the Prophet Muhammad carry the truth, and the Sunnis think that this should be an elected member of the Muslim community.

Buddhism

Buddhism originated in the 6th century BC. Homeland - India, after which the teaching spread to the countries of Southeast, South, Central Asia and the Far East. Considering how many other most numerous types of religions exist, it is safe to say that Buddhism is the most ancient of them.

The founder of the spiritual tradition is Buddha Gautama. This was an ordinary person, whose parents were honored with the vision that their son would grow up to be the Great Teachers. Buddha was also lonely and contemplative, and very quickly turned to religion.

There is no object of worship in this religion. The goal of all believers is to achieve nirvana, the blissful state of insight, to free themselves from their own shackles. Buddha for them represents a certain ideal, which should be equal.

At the heart of Buddhism is the doctrine of four Noble Truths: about suffering, about the origin and causes of suffering, about the true cessation of suffering and the elimination of its sources, about the true path to the end of suffering. This path consists of several stages and is divided into three stages: wisdom, morality and concentration.

New religious movements

In addition to those religions that originated a very long time ago, new faiths still continue to appear in the modern world. They are still based on faith in God.

The following types of modern religions can be noted:

• scientology;
• neoshamanism;
• neopaganism;
• burkhanism;
• neo-Hinduism;
• raelites;
• oomoto;
• and other trends.

This list is constantly being modified and supplemented. Certain types of religions are especially popular with show business stars. For example, Tom Cruise, Will Smith, John Travolta are seriously interested in Scientology.

This religion arose in 1950 thanks to the science fiction writer L.R. Hubbard. Scientologists believe that any person is inherently good, his success and peace of mind depend on him. According to the fundamental principles of this religion, humans are immortal beings. Their experience lasts longer than one human life, and their abilities are unlimited.

But everything is not so simple in this religion. Scientology is considered in many countries to be a sect, a pseudo-religion with a lot of capital. Despite this, the trend is very popular, especially in Hollywood.

Religion is a certain worldview that seeks to cognize the higher mind, which is the primary cause of everything that exists. Any belief reveals to a person the meaning of life, his purpose in the world, helping to find a goal, and not an impersonal animal existence. There have always been and will be many different worldviews. Thanks to the eternal human search for the root cause, the religions of the world were formed, the list of which is classified according to two main criteria:

How many religions are there in the world?

The main world religions are Islam, Buddhism, each of which is subdivided into numerous large and small branches and sects. It is difficult to say how many religions, beliefs and beliefs there are in the world due to the regular creation of new groupings, but according to some information, there are thousands of religious movements at the present stage.

World religions are called so because they have gone far beyond the borders of a nation, a country, spread to a huge number of nationalities. The non-worlds confess within a smaller number of people. The monotheistic view is based on the belief in one God, and the pagan ones assume the presence of several deities.

The largest world religion, originated 2,000 years ago in Palestine. It has about 2.3 billion believers. In the 11th century, there was a division into Catholicism and Orthodoxy, and in the 16th, Protestantism also separated from Catholicism. These are three large branches, the rest of the small ones exist over a thousand.

The main essence of Christianity and its distinctive features from other religions are as follows:

Orthodox Christianity has adhered to the tradition of faith since apostolic times. Its foundations were formulated by the Ecumenical Councils and dogmatically enshrined in the Symbol of Faith. The teaching is based on the Holy Scriptures (mainly the New Testament) and the Holy Tradition. Divine services are performed in four circles, depending on the main holiday - Easter:

• Daily.
• Seven.
• Movable annual.
• Fixed annual.

There are seven main Sacraments in Orthodoxy:

• Epiphany.
• Anointing.
• Eucharist (Communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ).
• Confession.
• Unction.
• Wedding.
• Priesthood.

In the Orthodox understanding, God is one in three persons: Father, Son, Holy Spirit. The Ruler of the world is interpreted not as an angry avenger for the misdeeds of people, but as a Loving Heavenly Father who cares about his creation and bestows the grace of the Holy Spirit in the Sacraments.

Man is realized in the image and likeness of God, with free will, but falling into the abyss of sin. The Lord helps those who wish to restore their former holiness and get rid of passions on this path.

Catholic teaching is a major trend in Christianity, spread mainly in Europe, Latin America and the United States. This doctrine has much in common with Orthodoxy in understanding God and the relationship between the Lord and man, but there are fundamental and important differences:

• the infallibility of the head of the Pope's church;
• Sacred Tradition is formed from 21 Ecumenical Councils (the first 7 are recognized in Orthodoxy);
• distinction between the clergy and the laity: people in dignity are endowed with Divine Grace, they are assigned the role of shepherds, and the laity are herds;
• the doctrine of indulgence as a treasury of good deeds performed by Christ and the Saints, and the Pope, as the Savior's deputy on earth, distributes the forgiveness of sins to whomever he wishes and who needs it;
• adding your understanding to the dogma of the Holy Spirit coming from the Father and the Son;
• the introduction of the dogmas of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary and Her bodily ascension;
• the doctrine of purgatory as the average state of the human soul, which is cleansed from sins as a result of difficult trials.

And also there are differences in the understanding and performance of some of the Sacraments:

It arose as a result of the Reformation in Germany and spread throughout Western Europe as a protest and desire to transform the Christian Church, ridding it of medieval ideas.

Protestants agree with Christian ideas about God as the Creator of the world, about human sinfulness, about the eternity of the soul and salvation. They share the understanding of hell and heaven, while rejecting Catholic purgatory.

Distinctive features of Protestantism from Catholicism and Orthodoxy:

• minimizing church sacraments - up to Baptism and Communion;
• there is no division into clergy and laity, every well-prepared person in matters of Holy Scripture can be a priest for himself and for others;
• divine services are held in their native language, based on joint prayer, reading psalms, sermons;
• there is no veneration of saints, icons, relics;
• monasticism and the hierarchical structure of the church are not recognized;
• salvation is understood only by faith, and good works will not help to be justified before God;
• recognition of the exclusive authority of the Bible, and each believer interprets the words of Scripture at his own discretion, the criterion is the point of view of the founder of the church organization.

The main directions of Protestantism: Quakers, Methodists, Mennonites, Baptists, Adventists, Pentecostals, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons.

The world's youngest monotheistic religion. The number of believers is about 1.5 billion people. The founder is the prophet Muhammad. The sacred book is the Koran. For Muslims, the main thing is to live according to the prescribed rules:

• perform prayer five times a day;
• observe the Ramadan fast;
• give charity 2.5% per year of income;
• make a pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj).

Some researchers add the sixth duty of Muslims - jihad, which manifests itself in the struggle for faith, zeal, and zeal. There are five types of jihad:

• internal self-improvement on the path to God;
• armed struggle against non-believers;
• struggle with your passions;
• separation of good and evil;
• taking action against criminals.

Today, extremist groups use sword jihad as an ideology to justify their bloody activities.

World pagan religion, denying the presence of the Deity. Founded in India by Prince Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha). Briefly reduced to the teaching of the four noble truths:

1. All human life is suffering.
2. Desire is the cause of suffering.
3. To overcome suffering, you need to get rid of desire with the help of a specific state - nirvana.
4. To free yourself from desire, you need to follow eight basic rules.

According to the teachings of Buddha, to acquire a calm state and intuition, to clear the mind will help:

• correct understanding of the world as a lot of suffering and sorrow;
• gaining a firm intention to curtail your wishes and aspirations;
• control of speech, which should be benevolent;
• performing virtuous acts;
• trying not to harm living beings;
• the expulsion of evil thoughts and an attitude towards good;
• awareness that human flesh is evil;
• persistence and patience in achieving the goal.

The main directions of Buddhism are Hinayana and Mahayana. Along with him, there are other religions in India that are widespread to varying degrees: Hinduism, Vedism, Brahmanism, Jainism, Shaivism.

What is the oldest religion in the world?

The ancient world was characterized by polytheism (polytheism). For example, the Sumerian, Ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman religions, Druidism, Asatru, Zoroastrianism.

One of the ancient monotheistic beliefs is Judaism - the national religion of the Jews, based on the 10 commandments given to Moses. The main book is the Old Testament.

Judaism has several branches:

• litvaks;
• hasidism;
• zionism;
• orthodox modernism.

There are also different types of Judaism: conservative, reformist, reconstructivist, humanist and renovationist.

Today it is difficult to give an unambiguous answer to the question "What is the oldest religion in the world?", Since archaeologists regularly find new data to confirm the emergence of various worldviews. We can say that beliefs in the supernatural have been inherent in humanity at all times.

The huge variety of worldviews and philosophical convictions since the emergence of mankind makes it impossible to list all the religions of the world, the list of which is regularly replenished with both new trends and offshoots from already existing world and other beliefs.