What Is Religion

What is religion? Does anybody really know? Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine seemed to know well enough. Unfortunately in our culture today, there are so many religions and people are becoming confused with the idea that there is just one religion that should be supreme to them all. It is all a matter of opinion. You may have been raised in a muslm culture and believe hole heartedly that to be muslim is the correct religion. On the other hand you could have been brought to believe that Christianity (since our country is founded on it) is the correct religion. There is also the matter that some do not believe in any religion at all. Thomas Jefferson believed that "...You need not believe nor reject anything..." in the case of religion. I do believe that Thomas Jefferson's religion was based on Christianity, but there were some things that he did not agree on involving the church.

He believed that you can not talk to different people about religion and expect there to be no contradiction between the parties. They are going to disagree on things, there is no avoiding it. But we should not take argument between different people as a bad thing. If there was no disagreement on anything then we would never be able to have new theories, ideas, or anything that could cause something dramatic to happen in our culture. For example, if Galileo Galilei hadn't gone against the church and suggested the theory of the sun being the center of the universe in stead of the earth, would the scientist or our culture still be as successful in science as they are today? Would we still have created all of the technology that we have today? Besides the sun in the center of the universe theory, there is the law of gravity, the theory of the earth being round instead of flat, and the law of inertia. So many little things (like thoughts or theories) can alter our entire future so dramatically.

Thomas Jefferson said that we should "Question with boldness even the existence of God..." but should we really question something as serious as God? Should we really question religion, the thing that we have based our entire life on? It is hard to grasp how difficult it can really be to question your religion. Even if you claim to not have one, shouldn't you still question your thoughts and feelings about religion? Just as the Catholic church was wrong about the universe, couldn't also we as simple human beings be wrong about our particular theory on religion? No one can give you peace of mind on this subject but yourself. You must research, ask questions, and finally decide on what you believe to be the truth. Religion is not something to be simply cast aside. It is a very serious matter which should be thought out carefully. I personally am a Christian, and believe it with all my heart. But couldn't someone of a different religion feel the same way as I do?

Thomas Paine had many of the same ideas and questions on religion as Thomas Jefferson. He believed that he there was "...one God, and no more..." This quote will obviously be contradiction with several different religions who believe there to be more than one god. He goes on to say; "...and I hope for the happiness beyond this life." As far as I know, all religions believe that when we die we are sure to go somewhere, whether Heaven or Hell. I know that the Morman religion believes that the more good works you do on earth, the higher rank of heaven you will go to when you die. Heaven and Hell are one of the few things that most religions share and teach to there followers. It is a mutual belief that there is a place that we will go to after death, and so that is the reason they are talked about so often.

In his letter, Thomas Paine says he does not believe in a certain church, he says, "...his mind is his church." I believe this to mean that no religion seems to fit his beliefs, so he chooses to make