Why are there various religions?

1. 53

   UnspokenThoughtsposted 11 years ago

   Why are there various religions?
   
   Is religion another field that fictional authors just feel that they can partake in?

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2. 46

   Ericdierkerposted 11 years ago

   How many different loves are there? How many people are there? How many writers are there?
   You can count the bricks in a wall or the molecules in a leaf, but you will never count the different forms that love of God takes. Based on your question "explanation" you probably are incapable of understanding even one. So why would ask why there are "various"?
   I assume you have not visited various and seen why.
   But it is my prediction that you have another agenda here - what is it?

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      GypsyRose66posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I think it is a valid question and it has been asked by many. No need to be insulting; let kindness be your pen.

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   2. 46

      Ericdierkerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Let us see if my pen was kind. Let us not judge but see truth. I would like very much for this to be a sincere inquiry into the concept of variation in proclamation. It it is I shall raise this man up.

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   3. 53

      UnspokenThoughtsposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks, I am a firm believer of God,  but you may have been misunderstood, which is understandable, because you cant tell someones tone from text, well this was not a question for me to attack religions but rather yet learn about there coming about

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   4. 46

      Ericdierkerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      MIa Culpa. So why the reference to fiction writers?

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3. 63

   Lady_Eposted 11 years ago

   I think there are many religions because many are seeking some kind of peace.

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   1. 61

      GypsyRose66posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Yes

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4. 61

   GypsyRose66posted 11 years ago

   Human beings are all trying to answer unanswerable questions: the purpose of life, the meaning of death, why suffering exists, and so on. Each culture has its own unique worldview and way of understanding the mysteries of life and death. As such, the answers to the unanswerable are as varied as the many cultures of people that inhabit this planet and these varied answers are the basis of religion. This is why there are so many religions in the world. Religion is evidence of the varied cultural perspective on life and as such, there is no "wrong religion."

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      watergeekposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Right on! That includes languages, both symbolic and literal. Some religions castigate others for worshipping the "Great Spirit" or "Allah" instead of God. Excuse me? They're the same beingness by a different name.

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      GypsyRose66posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Great point. The word "god" is a title, like king or president, it is not the proper name of a diety.

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   3. 84

      SidKempposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      In fact, my father in law, George Lindbeck, a world renowned Christian theologian, wrote about religions as languages of belief in his book The Nature of Doctrine. It shows a path to mutual respect for differences that seem irreconcilable.

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5. 0

   John King IVposted 11 years ago

   Because there are many people, many nations, many custums, different cultures.......    it is a part of human nature, to speak many different languages, and to be in division, and yet also to have diversity.

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6. 74

   somethgblueposted 11 years ago

   Religions for the most part were created with the best of intentions however the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
   
   Most Religions have been twisted from their intended purpose into a means of control by creating a paradigm of victim consciousness.
   
   Most Religions would have their followers believe that by seeking guidance from the spiritual overseers of the said Religion they may find salvation.
   
   By creating this paradigm the followers are constantly seeking help from outside sources, this prevents them from learning how to seek guidance from within.
   
   The reason their are so many different Religions is that this is a tried and tested sure fire way of gaining control over a large group of people for whatever purpose is required.

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      Ericdierkerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Just out of interest "most religions" means what? And your knowledge of "most religions" comes from what source?  Now I am not saying I disagree with you, but such an authoritarian position must offer some relation to experience. Teach me.

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   2. 74

      somethgblueposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Tuition in the school of experience is expensive, I suggest that you simple grow a brain. After you have accomplished this then you can learn how to use it. My source of course would be me, since I learned how to use my brain almost fifty years ago!

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   3. 61

      GypsyRose66posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      There is a lot of truth to religion being the "opiate of the masses."

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7. 84

   SidKempposted 11 years ago

   The need for religion goes back long before the beginning of history. In fact, at least one species of animal, elephants, seem to need to grieve their dead.
   
   People were scattered all across the world for tens of thousands of years, not in communication with one another, and every group (tribe) had some type of religion.
   
   Each of today's religions is a blending and combination of earlier faiths.
   
   Religion, music, and storytelling are needs as basic as food, water, and shelter. Creating meaning and harmony for human life is essential for human beings.
   
   So yes, that way, religion is like fiction and art. But if you intended to imply that "fiction" in some way is about un-truth, and just a "thing people can do," I think you might be off target. Art, fiction, and religion are all part of the human quest for truth, love, and harmony.

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      Ericdierkerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Right on. let us keep questing

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8. 89

   Doc Snowposted 11 years ago

   Because there are various communities.
   
   Religion is intertwined with specific cultures, and (I would say) grows out of them.  In the past, there were communities which had relatively little contact around the world--each created its own religious tradition organically.  "Scripture", for most, came later, as societies became literate and relatively larger and more prosperous, and could afford priests, scribes, prophets and seers.  As the technology of travel became better and better, these cultures came into contact more and more frequently (and sometimes abrasively.)
   
   Religion changed, adapted, was exported and imported--Buddhism arose in India, but barely survives there though it has flourished across most of the rest of Asia--and metamorphosed.
   
   Fiction is an intentional creation by an individual; religion is the creation of communities.  What is truest in religion is not the dogma, but the cultural function belief and ritual play in supporting individuals and communities both as they traverse this 'vale of tears' (and joys.)

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9. 59

   tim30044posted 11 years ago

   In my estimation, there are various religions because there are various people. Although there are few major religions, there are many factions (denominations) within it because there are many different beliefs, for whatever reason, within that religious belief.
   
   Personally, I am non-religious, yet even with my disbelief,  I find that there is a variety of beliefs in disbelief.
   
   This is indicative of how we (humans) are similar, yet dissimilar.

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10. 60

    JeniMarie17posted 11 years ago

    I think when it comes to writing it is somewhat interesting to go to the unknown. What someone wonders about. I think that are so many different types of religion because not everyone is the same all people are a tad different. I do not believe or agree with my mother or father who are big into Christianity. I also think it is comforting for people to believe in a God. I think that the unknown is religion and that is something that can only be left up to what someone can think up.

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11. 68

    Bob Zermopposted 11 years ago

    My best answer is that there are different religions because people are different, and they have different understandings of the world. We're speaking of sincere indvls here, not (for lack of a better word) the posers, right? So to also answer your description question - no, I think the majority (or some, we can disagree over specific) of religions evolved sincerely from people trying to understand the world.

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12. 65

    mariasialposted 11 years ago

    There are various religions because people are of varied types as well they think different and they behave differently. They all know one thing that God is great but they express themselves in the different way.

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13. 70

    Shyron E Shenkoposted 11 years ago

    I believe that different religions, splintered from each other as followers became disenchanted with the teachings of the ones they were following, and others of like minds for numerous reasons splintered off into different religions.
    
    I do not think that the writers of the Bible were fictional authors.

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14. 52

    graceinusposted 11 years ago

    Deep within every human spirit lies the knowledge of something out there that is far greater than oursevles. And it's that spirit part of us that seeks the relationship with that which is greater than us.

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    1. 84

       SidKempposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Beautiful - but is it only "out there," or is it not also "in here," inside each of us, as well.

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    2. 52

       graceinusposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       I would think that would depend on us and that which is greater.

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    3. 72

       Harishprasadposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       Sidkemp and graceinus , you both completed the whole concept of religion and that too with such an unique brevity. So wonderful !

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15. 72

    Harishprasadposted 10 years ago

    Unspoken Thoughts, very valid question indeed. I would point to another direction- why is there science ? To search the causes of the complexities in nature and utilize the discoveries for our benefits. Why is there police ? To maintain law and order. Why is there food? To sustain our bodies. Why is there water ? To quench our thirst. Why is there cloth ? To cover our nakedness ( we have labelled nakedness as not good obviously due to the constant use of clothing ). Why are there man and woman ? To give birth to humans and thus save the human species from extinction. Why is there oxygen ? To sustain our lives. Why is there breath ? To enable us to draw oxygen inside us in our lungs. Why is there alphabet ? To create words. Why are there words ? To create language. Why is there language ? To describe feelings and the things surrounding us and also the abstract things beyond the comprehension of the common people. Why there are abstract things ? It is because human minds have not understood /grasped all the aspects of creation and human existence. Why are there creation and human existence ? When this question first struck the mind of a human ( perhaps unknown as yet ) , a quest began to find out why ? So humans upon humans thought and thought persistently and the search is still on. Such humans did not only think about the question but also illustrated in words. The most sophisticated words gave birth to the different wonderful religions all over the world, including the modern religions of the world. Since the thought of a single thinker/saint/prophet was not possible to be spread among the sporadic populace of the world, thoughts of various thinkers/saints/prophets spread among the people and after interpretation and reinterpretation, established religions came into being ( it is to be noted that ancient humans passed on such religious learning verbally from generations to generations and only after a long passage of time, written records were kept ). It is fascinating that still so many religions are in existence and due to the advent of the modern information technology, new meanings are being derived out by the international community and religions are being seen in a different light altogether. isn't it interesting and heart warming that today the whole world as an entity picks up some content and ponders over it collectively and expresses it's view in a pleasing and free manner. This is my humble explanation of the birth of various religions.

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