Religion is a way of life for billions of people. Some call it a way of thinking or feeling, others a system of faith and morality, still more a community of practice. No one definition seems to satisfiy the complexity and richness of this phenomenon. However, philosophers have made many attempts to clarify and describe religion. Most are called “monothetic” because they operate with the classical view that every instance of a concept will share a single property that places it in that category. In contrast, the last few decades have seen a rise of “polythetic” approaches which abandon this assumption and allow multiple properties to define religion.
One major theory of the origin of religion holds that it arose out of humankind’s natural curiosity about the universe and our place in it, as well as our fear of uncontrollable forces beyond our power. Religion transformed these human concerns into hope that there was a way to live happily ever after, or at least a means to overcome death and other forms of suffering.
Anthropologists (scientists who study the cultures and traditions of past and present human societies) have uncovered evidence of religious practices in some prehistoric sites. For example, they have discovered that the Neanderthals, who were a subspecies of modern humans that no longer exist, prepared their dead with care, suggesting that they believed in some form of afterlife.
Other anthropologists hold that religion was created by humans in response to a biological or cultural need. For the former, it is a response to the fact that humankind has become self-aware and thus knows that it will eventually die. Religion provides a way to cope with this fact and, at the same time, offers a solution, such as salvation, to the problem of death.
Whatever the source of religion, there is no doubt that it has powerful effects on the lives of billions of people. Regular religious practice increases health, learning, and economic well-being; improves self-control, social skills, and empathy; and reduces out-of-wedlock births, crime, drug and alcohol abuse, and many diseases. It also answers questions that science cannot, such as the purpose of life and what happens after death.
While there is a lot of debate about which religion is best, all religious beliefs have certain things in common. They teach us to be good and to help other people. They offer us a path to happiness and peace on earth, and they lead to heaven. They also teach us to respect the other religions of the world and not to try to convert them. This is a powerful lesson for us all. Baha’is believe that all the major religions of the world are one, and that the teachings of our prophet, Baha’u’llah, are the most comprehensive and unified of all. Hence, the name of our Faith, the Oneness of Religion. This principle is reflected in our teachings about the fundamental unity of all religions and the essential oneness of humanity.