Prepare a 1–2 page paper that takes 2–3 terms or concepts and relate it to how you approach the study of religion, or how the introduction of the course material in this unit has modified your approach to religion, in general. Remember to approach this subject from an academic perspective, especially if you choose to reflect on your personal spiritual practices.
Note: I have uploaded the scoring guide for this assignment.
Weekly Reflection
Religion is a crucial factor in social life for all people. In a phenomenological approach, religions can be related to psychological needs. Human beings want to feel loved and secure. They believe in God since he is a superpower and loves everybody. Their choice of religion, therefore, fulfills their psychological needs (Cunningham & Kelsay, 2012). Additionally, the concept of religion is broad and cannot be distinctly defined. Some people define it as a belief in a living God or supernatural being with great powers, a feeling of absolute independence, or reunion of superior powers that rule nature and human life among others.
Reflecting on the two concepts, my approach towards religion is that people create religion through their beliefs and principles. The emergence of new faiths in the world has confirmed that religion cannot be based on a particular thing. Some of the new arrivals have been tagged as evil cults but people still follow them because their beliefs are constituted in that religion. Similarly, they believe in the religion’s ideologies because their humanity approves of them (Cunningham & Kelsay, 2012). Thus, religious beliefs are founded by what people consider is right or wrong and their understanding of the nature of the world.
Moreover, I believe that people join different religions because they receive inner satisfaction. If people only believed in God, there would be only one Christian church in the universe. However, due to the diverse nature of human psychology, people feel that a certain church is more powerful and satisfying than the other. For instance, some religions believe that there is a living God who can protect them from the miseries of the world even if He is unseen (Cunningham & Kelsay, 2012). Others worship idol gods and have a perception that the seen god is more powerful than the unseen Supreme Being. Therefore, in my opinion, people follow various religions because of the psychological satisfaction which comes along and the beliefs which they have towards different things.
References
Cunningham, L., & Kelsay, J. (2012). The Sacred Quest: An Invitation to the Study of Religion. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
