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Every human in this universe needs some kind of guidance in order to lead their lives. Most of the people in this world follow some set of rules and regulations that teach them how they should live, what is morality, how they should behave in public, and what should be their code of conduct in private. This set of rules and regulations also define that what is ethical and what is not, hence a person should shape up their thinking and actions according to that. This specific set of rules or framework of guidelines is known as Religion.
Currently, there are more than 4200 religions that are being practiced in this world. Many authors, experts, scholars, researchers, philosophers, and even psychologists have contributed a lot in the area of religion and helped in the clarification of many complicated concepts related to various religions. Roderick Ninian Smart is one of them. According to Ninian, there are seven clearly defined dimensions of any religion and every religion just practices them differently. These seven dimensions or characteristics of religion are Experiential, Mythical, Doctrinal, Ethical, Ritual, Social, and Material (Smart).
One of the most interesting yet complex questions that have been widely worked upon is why do humans develop religion. Researchers, experts, and scholars have always wondered why there comes a time that human starts craving for a code of conduct or a set of rules and regulations. The answer to this, in my opinion, is that not only humans, but everything in this universe needs an order or pattern to work, and the order in the case of humans is provided by religion. Some people may think that religion has done more harm to humanity than benefit, as it divides people instead of uniting them, but this is not the case. Religion unites people and brings them together, only if understood in the true sense (Feuerbach).
Works Cited:
Smart, Ninian. "The Seven Dimensions of Religion." University of California Cambridge University Press. pp9–21 Smith, SA (2008).
Feuerbach, Ludwig. Lectures on the Essence of Religion. Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2018.
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