Religion
From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Religion is a word for the ideas about the basic structure of the world that people cannot see or know with our other senses, or that scientists cannot study with machines. There are many different religions in the world.
Religions try to answer important but mysterious questions like "Where did the world come from?" and "What happens to us after we die?" When people believe that they have answers to these questions, they often start new religions, or add their new ideas to old religions. Many religions believe in supernatural beings such as spirits, angels, devils, polytheistic gods, or a monotheistic god (such as the Christian, Islamic, or Judaic God), who can influence people and the world. People who teach or write about religion often say that they got their ideas from a supernatural being.
Many religions are very old, but new religions are always being created when some people aren't satisfied with the answers from the old religions. Things which are considered important and good by religions are called sacred or holy. Many religions have sacred books that give the most important ideas and stories of their religions.
Religions usually say how people should behave in order to be happy together or to please God. Many religions believe that people who live in a right way will go to Heaven forever after they die, or that people who live in a wrong way will go to Hell. Some religions believe in the Resurrection - that God will bring some, most or all dead people alive again one day; while other religions believe in Reincarnation - that people will be born again as a new person or as an animal after they die. Usually this is believed to be according to how a person acts in their previous life. Some religions believe a mixture of all of these ideas.
Most religions teach people to be good and to help each other, but unfortunately religions also sometimes create problems. This is partly because the questions of religion are so important to people, and because it is difficult to be sure which answers are correct. Many people are unhappy when other people do not agree with their ideas about religion, or when they think that people will cause problems for their religion.
When this happens, people sometimes make wars against people of other religions, or punish people who do not agree with their ideas about religion. This has happened many times in history, and continues to happen today. At other times, wars have been begun for more selfish reasons that were really nothing to do with religion, but in order to win more support for these wars, the kings or politicians would try hard to make it seem to be about religion, or would give the people a supposedly 'religious' reason for fighting a war.
Many religions build buildings for their people to meet. In different religions, these buildings may be called churches, mosques, synagogues, temples, pathis, or shrines. Many of the oldest, most beautiful, and most famous buildings are religious buildings.
Some religions are:
See List of religions for more.
