Religion is a set of rituals, rationalized by myth, which mobilizes supernatural powers for the purpose of achieving or preventing transformations of state in man or nature. The religion constitutes our varied human response to transcendent Reality. The Religion is that system of activities and beliefs directed toward that which is perceived to be of sacred value and transforming power. The Religion is a system of beliefs and practices by means of which a group of people struggle with the ultimate problem of human life. However, Religion is a system of symbols which acts to establish powerful, persuasive, and long-lasting moods and motivations in people by formulating conceptions of a general order of existence clothing these conceptions with such an aura of factuality that the moods and motivations seem uniquely realistic. So, all the Religion usually has to do with man's relationship to the unseen world, to the world of spirits, demons, and gods. A second element common to all religions is the term salvation. All religions seek to help man find meaning in a universe which all too often appears to be hostile to his interests. The world salvation means, basically, health. It means one is saved from disaster, fear, hunger, and a meaningless life. It means one is saved for hope, love, security, and the fulfillment of purpose. And wherever people live, whenever they live, they find themselves faced with three inescapable problems: how to win food and shelter from their natural environment the problem nature poses, how to get along with one another the social problem, and how to relate themselves to the total scheme of things the religious problem. If this third issue seems less important than the other two, we should remind ourselves that religious artifacts are the oldest that archaeologists have discovered. And all religion springs, in the last analysis, not so much from fear of natural death as of final destruction. And then, religion is the price we pay for being intelligent, but not as yet intelligent enough or the religions, then, are systems of meaning embodied in a pattern of life, a community of faith, and a worldview that articulate a view of the sacred and of what ultimately matters also.
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