Report on the Religious Life of Planet Earth - Essay Example

Religion on Earth "Report on the Religious Life of Planet Earth" Religion is an aspect of life that affects the lifestyle and beliefs of people who live in different parts of the planet. To determine whether the people who live in this planet are religious, it is extremely essential that one comes up with criteria to identify the tangible and the intangible signs and symbols, which indicate that people practice religious activities and rituals (Caputo, 2001). Further, the criteria will include of an analysis of the possibility of certain days of the week, which are set aside for religious functions.

The other aspect of religion that I will analyze in this paper will involve the possibility of sacred places, which are protected and adored for religious functions and prayers.During the tour, I noticed that the people who live on earth tend to be notoriously religious, and they believe in supernatural beings, which protect them and guide them, as well control nature. There were structures in many parts of the earth that had been constructed to serve as churches, temples, mosques and monasteries for religious functions and rituals.

These structures were well protected and respected by the entire members of the society, and those who violate the conventional rules for the buildings were severely sanctioned by the society (Haught, 1990). Further, serious sermons and prayers were conducted inside the churches by people who were believed to poses exceptional abilities, which enabled them to mediate with the supreme beings.On the same note, I realized that people chose one day in a week to worship and thanksgiving to their creator.

Most of the people worshiped on the seventh day of every week while others chose other weekdays apart from Sunday (Caputo, 2001). However, other groups that were extremely religious did worship every day for several times, without ceasing. Further, people performed sacrifices to honor their creator; they mumbled things that were difficult to comprehend (Haught, 1990). During the sacrifices, it appeared as if the people on earth were confessing their sins and they were pleading with the super natural power; this serves to forgive them the transgressions that they had committed.

The roles that religion seemed to play in the world was to foster solidarity among the society members as they came together to worship and share their life experiences (Caputo, 2001). Religion seemed to make people hopeful about the life. Further, religion was the tool of checking morality in the world; people used it judge moral behavior from immoral behavior. The religious teachings seemed to inflict fear to wrong doers, with a warning that they might face extreme suffering (Caputo, 2001).On the other hand, there was a promise of a good life to those people who were righteous.

Religion is better understood when it is approached from its function point of view. Other views can also provide a strong explanation to religion, but the views leave plenty of crucial information, which is related to religion (Haught, 1990). It is clear that an approach that does not include crucial information that concerns a phenomenon is not sufficient to describe that phenomenon. Therefore, the approach should be avoided for convenience reasons.ReferencesCaputo, J.D. (2001). On Religion.

New York: Routledge.Haught, J.H. (1990). What Is Religion?: An Introduction. London: Paulist Press.