by Colette Duval

Created on: February 17, 2008

Let's face it. How many people consciously choose to follow a certain religion because they have weighted up its good and bad points?
The majority of people are born into the religion favoured by a particular society and practiced by their family.
In oder to answer this question with any degree of objectivity it would most certainly be better to have an outsider's point of view because a person of specific faith will defend that faith.

There is not one single definition of the term ' religion', some definitions are broader than others but they all agree that religion is basically a system of believes and practices which revolve around the idea that there is a superhuman power who is omnipresent and omnipotent.

Worldwide there are as many as 19 distinct religions which each subdivided further into thousands of sub groups. No two groups are exactly the same , no two groups teach the exact same principles. Why is that?

Its because all religions evolve. There evolve out of necessity for people to give meaning to their lives, to be able to explain why things happen or to accept the unacceptable. Religious practices tend to fit around people's life in general. For instance tribes who live in close connection with nature and rely on it for food and shelter believe in nature's spirits.
It may also make sense to believe in more than one God, each responsible for a different aspect of life.

There are major differences within the main Christian religions. Catholicism for instance emphasizes the role of Mary as the mother of Jesus, as well as teaching the concept of hell.

This last point highlights another function which religion can have: It a form of control and is used by governments and churches alike to control behaviour through fear.

The main point I am trying to make is this: Religions must be understood in their historical and cultural context. They evolve for a reason and are often very specific in their teachings.
However, even the teachings of a religion on a specific subject, say, homosexuality, can change. This is possible and necessary because religion is not disconnected from the social , psychological or philosophical sphere. No religion is absolute and untouchable in the sense that is it what it is. This is because religion is man made. And it responds to changes from mankind.

This said, there is no possible way to determine whether one religion is superior to another.
There certainly is no objective way of finding out. Ask a Hindu which religion is best and you would hear' Hinduism'. Ask a Muslim and you'd hear ' Islam'.
Whichever religion you believe in is completely incidental depending on your place of birth and family of origin.

There is just one thing which all religions have in common, and that is the belief in the existence of a being or beings more powerful than us. That is at the core of each and every
religion. After that there is a big bang and religions float like particles in the universe,
none better than the other, its just that the ones closer to home look familiar and safe.

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