Defining Religion

Religion has been defined in many ways. While some regard religion to be related to a beleif in God or Gods and how they worship their Gods, others define religion to be a particular system invoking particular moral codes and practices that relate to beleifs. My personal definition on Religion would be that it is an abode for a particular belief or set of beliefs in some cases, related to understanding of cosmic being in relation to the universe system as a whole.

There are occasionally laws to a belief and conditions that should be undertaken before embracing that particular religion, whether by means of purification (being baptised by example) or by stating a decleration (in example, the "shahada" in islam, where one must submitt to a certain will, beleif in god and his messengers). However, with all that in consideration, is one to have a particular value or worth before others, in order to be accepted?

Sometimes religion is not only about agreeing to a certain agenda set by a group of people, or about following what your fathers beleived in, or beleiving (or claiming to beleive) in something for the sake of being accepted, in order to be "normal". Religion is sometimes seen as a spiritual driver towards something that can bring you closer to your creator, something that helps you understand why you are the created and why this came to be.

Those who refuse or fail to come to terms with the great force behind this, have not found a convincing enough arguement to drive people away from their beleifs. So an important question here would be.. what is the reason behind this? Why do people seek a means to understand how they come to be? Curiosity as a part of ones innate features? why a particular method of worship? why the dedication?

It seems that humans have always throughout the generations found the need to have a beleif n a creator in order to satisfy themselves as to their presence, and in order to resolve the plucking curiosity humans have. The type of belief has come in different forms and measures, however the reason for those beliefs have obviously risen for the same reasons. The world being so phenomenal, and complicated in its way. When one looks around him an inevitable feling comes over him, in which he is overwhelmed by his surroundings, unable to grasp its complexity. This feeling allows humans to realise that there must be such a great force or power to bring about such an intricate system of life.

This is where man looks to what he sees to be his creator and provider who brought him into being. The belief in a creator does not however mean that one who does not have faith in god does not have a religion. We have to understand that there are certain values, moral and ethical ones which mankind agrees on, these agreed upon rules can still bring us closer to each other. The religion of Islam beleives that if one is not a brother in faith then he is a brother in mankind.