Whether you’re a steadfast Christian or a hardcore atheist, you have the right to believe whatever it is that keeps you ticking. With the freedom of belief, however, comes a responsibility – the responsibility to respect other people’s beliefs in the same way that you expect other to respect your own.
The wheel turns and seasons come and go. Which means, in short, that the year shifts and turns to the main celebrational sabbats for pagans. For those new to paganism, there are eight major sabbats to keep track of each year.
Buddhism is one of the foremost global religions with a complicated history and system of beliefs. The following article is intended to introduce Buddhism’s history and fundamental tenets, and by no means covers the religion comprehensively.
If you have attended a group meditation, yoga class or participated in a reiki session, the instructors and practitioners most likely touched on chakras. Chakras are a complex and ancient energy system that derive from India. They are energy points within our bodies, corresponding to bundles of nerves, major organs, and other areas within our bodies responsible for our physical and emotional well-being. There are 7 main chakras that run along our spines with a specific allocation, name, and number.
Religion has been a part of mankind since the dawn of civilisation. For many thousands of years, our ancestors and their descendants believed that there was more to existence than could be seen with the eye, and these beliefs usually revolved around deities that not only created the reality that we interacted with but had the power to control and even punish their subjects.
For many people, religion can be an immense source of comfort. Not only does it provide a sense of morality and higher guidance, but to many, it also constitutes a sense of connection, togetherness, and community because of shared experiences.
Death is inevitable for every living thing in the universe. Even the universe itself is constantly moving toward its own form of death known as entropy. For tens of thousands of years, mankind has been obsessed with death and the potential of there being more to existence after we have passed from the physical world.
Ethics have long been a part of religions, both ancient and modern, and many cultures base their ethical standards on the religions that they adopt. The Western views on ethics, specifically good and evil, stem from the Christian religion, where God is seen as the ultimate good, and the Devil, also known as Satan, is represented as the personification of evil, and causes much of the suffering in the world.
The vast majority of the populations of the world subscribe to some kind of belief system. At the top lie Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, and Judaism. This is only a fraction of the religions that have been a part of our species, as we’ve believed in a higher power from long before recorded history.
As far as cults go, most aware of those that have gained notoriety. Everyone is aware of Scientology, for example, and what it involves. But as far as the broad range of cults in the world go, Scientology is rather harmless in comparison. Which is not to say that Scientology is okay, but rather that there are far worse cults out there, some of which are still active to this very day.