The Four Characteristics of Religion
“DISCUSS THE WAYS IN WHICH THE FOUR CHARACTERISTICS OF RELIGION INTERACT TO CREATE A DYNAMIC, LIVING FAITH TRADITION”
Religion is the belief and worship of an extraordinary and supernaturally controlling power that has developed and become an essential factor in the way humans have ordered and made sense of the world in which we reside in and is defined by its characteristics. To create a dynamic, living and breathing religion, it must have all of these characteristics that distinguish and separate a religion from others. These include beliefs and believers, sacred texts and writings, ethics and rituals and ceremonies. Each and everyone of these aspects combine and interrelate to create a powerful and passionate, living faith tradition.
Beliefs is a term best defined as ideas that are considered true and express the self understanding of the tradition. Central to all religions is a belief that there is a reality greater than the universe, even greater than the mere human intellect and differentiated between the dimensions of immanent and transcendent. Every religion has a core belief that a person must adhere to, to truly belong to that religion and this is referred to as its paradigm. In Buddhism, the paradigm is a belief in the Three Refuges - The Lord Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha. For Hinduism, the belief that ultimate union with Brahman is the only real purpose for humans, is extremely fundamental. Every religion has a paradigm and in addition, has other beliefs that flow out of its core paradigm which accepts different denominations and variants and in collaboration work together. For instance, there are other beliefs that are upheld by some within a religious tradition but not by others. In Christianity, there are a great number of denominations where many of the beliefs share variation, yet the paradigm is clearly that Jesus Christ died and rose from the dead, in order to save humanity from sin and death. Believers are the individuals who live
Religion is the belief and worship of an extraordinary and supernaturally controlling power that has developed and become an essential factor in the way humans have ordered and made sense of the world in which we reside in and is defined by its characteristics. To create a dynamic, living and breathing religion, it must have all of these characteristics that distinguish and separate a religion from others. These include beliefs and believers, sacred texts and writings, ethics and rituals and ceremonies. Each and everyone of these aspects combine and interrelate to create a powerful and passionate, living faith tradition.
Beliefs is a term best defined as ideas that are considered true and express the self understanding of the tradition. Central to all religions is a belief that there is a reality greater than the universe, even greater than the mere human intellect and differentiated between the dimensions of immanent and transcendent. Every religion has a core belief that a person must adhere to, to truly belong to that religion and this is referred to as its paradigm. In Buddhism, the paradigm is a belief in the Three Refuges - The Lord Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha. For Hinduism, the belief that ultimate union with Brahman is the only real purpose for humans, is extremely fundamental. Every religion has a paradigm and in addition, has other beliefs that flow out of its core paradigm which accepts different denominations and variants and in collaboration work together. For instance, there are other beliefs that are upheld by some within a religious tradition but not by others. In Christianity, there are a great number of denominations where many of the beliefs share variation, yet the paradigm is clearly that Jesus Christ died and rose from the dead, in order to save humanity from sin and death. Believers are the individuals who live