The Gift of Spirituality

Worldview
Religions have sacred histories, narratives, and mythologies which may be preserved in
sacred scriptures, and symbols and holy places, that aim to explain the meaning of life,
the origin of life, or the Universe.
Practices
The practices of a religion may include rituals, sermons, commemoration or veneration
(of a deity, gods, or goddesses), sacrifices, festivals, feasts, trances, initiations, funerary
services, matrimonial services, meditation, prayer, music, art, dance, public service, or
other aspects of human culture.
Social Organization
Religions have a societal basis, either as a living tradition which is carried by lay
participants, or with an organized clergy, and a definition of what constitutes adherence
or membership.
Academic Study
A number of disciplines study the phenomenon of religion: theology, comparative
religion, history of religion, evolutionary origin of religions, anthropology of
religion, psychology of religion (including neuroscience of religion and evolutionary
psychology of religion), law and religion, and sociology of religion.
Daniel L. Pals mentions eight classical theories of religion, focusing on various aspects
of religion: animism and magic, by E.B. Tylor and J.G. Frazer; the psychoanalytic
approach of Sigmund Freud; and further Emile Durkheim, Karl Marx, Max
Weber, Mircea Eliade, E.E. Evans-Pritchard, and Clifford Geertz.
Michael Stausberg gives an overview of contemporary theories of religion,
including cognitive and biological approaches.
Theories
Sociological and anthropological theories of religion generally attempt to explain
the origin and function of religion. These theories define what they present as universal
characteristics of religious belief and practice.
Origins and Development
The origin of religion is uncertain. There are a number of theories regarding the
subsequent origins of religious practices.
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