All people have heard the word "religion", many belong to a particular religious denomination.However, few people know and can explain what is religion.
This term is closely associated with concepts such as "Faith" and "God."On this basis, it is possible to define what is religion.It is a form of consciousness and spiritual totality of perceptions and emotional experience, which is based on the belief in some supernatural beings and forces (spirits, gods, angels, demons, devils, etc.), which are the object and subject of worship and adoration.Summarizing, we can say that religion is mere words.This term means the worship of certain gods.
However, for full disclosure of this complex issue (that is religion) have to look at the history and understand the role of religion in society and the development of human civilization.
Even at the dawn of humanity, people could not explain the occurrence of certain natural processes.Therefore, they prefer to think of floods, droughts, thunder, lightning, sunrise and sunset actions defined evil or good gods and supernatural beings.Over time, there were also specially trained people - shamans, priests, the Druids, the brahmanas, who were able to communicate with the manifestations of the underworld, the gods and spirits.Their main task was the prediction of crop failures or productive years, wars, natural disasters, and appeasement of certain supernatural beings.Each event had its own god.Patrons were at war, thunder, sun and so on.Belief in many gods are such names as polytheism or paganism.
Gradually, with the development of civilization and society, eliminating the need for the beginning of a huge number of supernatural forces.People had the idea of unity.Such a belief in one God is called monotheism.In the history of religion it is considered to be the first in this matter were Jews who believed in one God Yahweh.There were some attempts to introduce monotheism in Egypt in the form of the cult of a single patron sunlight - Amon Ra, but such attempts have failed.Here enters the arena the question of what religion is monotheistic.This flow was not only a religious, but also political and social.For the development of monotheism demanded unification of disparate tribes and territories into a single state.However, every tribe, every village and community had their own beliefs and gods.Politically, the belief in one God could unite and bring people together.And the pagan priests became priests, rituals turned into the mysteries, spells transformed into prayer.
There are three major world religions are: Buddhism, Islam and Christianity.The principal called them because of the large number of their followers - believers.However, according to the definition, explaining that such a religion, it is not quite true.The same Buddhism, in fact, not a particular religion, as it is - a great scientist and a belief in certain dogmas and the forces of nature, and not in one single god.But Christianity, by contrast, was transformed into a religion of teaching.Nowadays increasingly popular so-called "neo-paganism" - attempts to revive the polytheistic pagan religions of the past.
