Exploring World Religions For Health Care Professionals Assignment - 1

Exploring World Religions For Health Care Professionals - Assignment Example This paper will begin with the statement that almost all of us are associated with some religion or the other, and as for those who aren’t, are referred to as atheists. Religion can simply be explained as a set of value, a belief and cultural system, and various views that connect spirituality and moral values to the existence of humanity. Different religions have different symbolism, teachings, traditional variations, and histories all which have the purpose of making humanity understand the reason for its existence, and why this universe came into creation into the first place. According to very rough research, there are almost four thousand two hundred different types of religion in this world. A question that many people ask is why does religion exist and what its purpose is. One needs to know that two things, belief, and faith are inherently inbuilt in human nature, and they have been so since the beginning of times. Now if we go into a little bit more detail, some of the se beliefs have been properly organized or shaped into teachings, doctrines and properly organized structures which are set up in a hierarchal manner. Like the case is with any kind of organized structure, religion seeks to exist to preserve its existence and therefore all such acts related to it are ultimately focused towards survival and expansion in an exponential manner. It is quite a question to understand why the study of religion is important for humanity. Since the beginning of times, human beings have been in need of guidance. The Muslims were guided on how to lead their lives by Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon Him), who was the last messenger of Allah on Earth and from the Quran, the Holy Book of Muslims which contains guidance and a code of life from Allah. Similarly, the Christians received guidance from Jesus Christ and believe in the teachings of the Bible, as they believe that their God communicated to them through the words of the Bible. All religions serve to guide its people as to how their lives, what to do and what not to and so on regarding almost all major issues of life. If one doesn’t have an understanding of a religion, then he would be doomed and lack knowledge, and pretty much lost as to what to do regarding various circumstances in life (Macmillan, 2004). In simple words, one does need to study religion so he has guidance, so he can distinguish between what’s good and bad for him, and so he knows how to deal with certain things when they come up in life. When we talk of religions, there aren’t many who don’t know about organized religions. Organized religion can simply be understood as a social institution which consists of a particular set of beliefs, rituals, and cultures which are not only arranged in a systematic manner but also established in a proper manner. Organized religions can also be understood as those religions that are known the world over by their name and to which people often associate t hemselves with legally and openly. Some well-known organized religions include Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, Jews, and Buddhists. There are some characteristics that are common amongst all these religions. To start off, all of them talk about helping humanity, restricting people from engaging in war and harming others without any due cause. Moreover, all these religions press upon their followers to speak the truth and always take care of scarce resources as they are bound to deplete one day. Differences occur when it comes to religious practices and the hierarchy of leadership and rituals, but other than that, all religions promote peace and love amongst humanity. Most people also get confused between spirituality and religion. These are two very separate things and need to be understood very clearly.