Link to my glog

http://www.glogster.com/edit/g-6lhk33i1jc983md8umt5ba0

My glog

http://www.glogster.com/edit/g-6lhk33i1jc983md8umt5ba0

Why religion is linked with better health and well being

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/15/religion-health-well-being_n_1423713.html

Why Religion is Linked With Better Health and Well Being
by Philip Moeller

• Many studies have shown repeatedly that people who devoutly follow religions, especially ones that prohibit alcohol and smoking, live longer than those that do not.
• Such people are also known to be happier with their lives than those that are not.
• However, scientists are not sure if this boost in happiness is caused by the feeling of being around like-minded people or actually worshipping.
• It is believed that strong adherance to a religion can greatly reduce stress in a person's life, and less stress usually means less health problems and a longer life.
• Another thing that may cause them to be happier is knowing that there is a God, which is a very comforting belief.
• Certain religious groups such as Seventh Day Adventists and Mormons live particularly longer lives.
• The ban on alcohol and smoking is also believed to be a major reason for their longer lifespans.

This article was reliable because it was posted on the Huffington post, which is a very reliable website.
It was published on April 15, 2012. The author does refer to scientific studies that prove this.

Blog Post #6 Anand Gandhi

For my interview I interviewed Angad Gandhi who is studying philosphy/religion in the University of Chicago.

2.They are a reliable source for this reason.

3. I interviewed him on email and asked him a few questions a few days ago.

4. Some questions I asked were:

            1. What was the role of religion in history?

•      The role of religion is vast. It has been essential in forming society and forming a sense of identity. Before there were nations, there was religion. It was a way for individuals in the most primitive societies to come together.
•         Religion has provided people with a purpose, a code of conduct and an understanding of the world. This is very brief and a lot can be said about the role of religion but if I had to be brief, I'd say that identity, unity, understanding of the world and purpose in life -- this is some of what religion has given.
    

            2. What aspects of religion make it so attractive to human beings?

•  I think people like religion because it allows them to come to terms with the vastness of this world. If someone told you that you had no purpose in your life, what would there be to live for?
•  By giving us a higher aim in life, religion makes life worth living. People live because they want to reach God, attain salvation, or whatever each religion prescribes as its final goal.
• More importantly, religion makes us feel like we belong. When the priest tells me I am God's son, it makes me feel significant.

            3  What are some ways religion relates to the world today?

• Religion touches our day to day life in nearly every way. It affects the way we vote, the way we dress, the way we make financial decisions, the values we live for, the way we talk, etc. This obviously varies from religion to religion and person to person, specifically in how religious one is and also how strictly one follows the dictates of one's religion.

Keep in mind that I will probably be doing another interview with him.

book plog post 5

The Story of World Religion by Katharine Savage
Intro chapter

1. Religions existed long before recorded human history.
2. They existed in literally every human society.
3. The first religions were polytheistic, meaning they believed in multiple Gods, instead of monotheistic which is believing in only one God.
4. Tribes followed these religions and most of them worshipped the sun, the moon, or rivers because these were very important things for all of them.
5.As agriculture became widespread and societies settled down, people started to think more and monotheistic religions started to emerge.
6. Religions provided comfort for people who were living in constant threat of earthquakes, floods, and drought.
7. Still, many wars were fought over religion because different people were raised to believe differently and they could not get along with one another.

In this book, Katharine Savage explains that religion has been a defining characteristic of human beings since very early times. One fact that supports this idea is that ancient ruins have been found in several places that seem to have a religious significance with altars and such. Another reason that supports this idea is that early humans would have faced many challenges and they needed something to cope with them. Finally, the author gives the fact that religion has been found in every single culture long before the main religions of today existed. These ideas are similar to an article I read previously about ruins being discovered in Turkey because it talks about religion's role in the ancient world.

Many Turn to religion for comfort

http://search.proquest.com/docview/405418915/1354B961A6531796F65/3?accountid=6222

Many Turn To Religion For Comfort

This editorial was published in 2001 not long after the September 11th attacks. The publisher was Boston Globe. The editorial seems credible because they actually quote people who they talked to, so it has a primary source.

1. People of many different religions turned to faith more immediately after the Sept. 11th attacks.

2. Elizabeth Englander, an associate professor of psychology at Bridgewater State College, says that a return to faith is predictable in this situation.
3. One pastor compared the 9/11 attacks to something like a highschooler getting into a car crash and reminding everyone of their own mortality.
4. Many of the new church goers also said that they were trying to make sense of what happened.
5. Rev. Peter Gomes said that religion was designed to help people deal with anxiety.
6. People tend to turn to faith when their world is badly shaken and they are dealing with fear, anxiety, uncertainty, and hopelessness.
7. This is actually exactly what I expected.

1. So if people are drawn to faith in times of difficulty, are people less like to be religious in areas where there is more prosperity?
2. As our society and the world changes, are people more likely to lose faith or become more religious?

Article on early religion

• It is thought that the first organized religions probably began in the fertile crescent area, which is Turkey, Syria, Palestine, Iraq, etc. during the Neolithic period where agriculture was invented and the human population became huge.
• It is believed that they probably formed to make these farming societies get along with each other because they would always be fighting with each other.
• However, there are ruins of an ancient civilization in Turkey which is ten thousand years old and there is archeological evidence that they must have had a religion. 
• Huge pillars and drawings of various things, including animals, were found that suggested a common religion, although this society was so old that agriculture wasn't even invented yet.
• This suggests that religious rituals probably began even before we had complex societies and instead might have began in small villages in primitive societies that were still foraging for food.
• Schmidt's view is that human beings began to do this when they stopped seeing themselves as a part of nature but as the masters of nature.

 1. If religion has been there since the beginning of time, then what does this say about the religions that we have today?
2. What were these religions like?

http://web.ebscohost.com/src/detail?vid=3&hid=21&sid=57dacb08-ea15-4bfc-9a48-0cf0a6832fc4%40sessionmgr4&bdata=JnNpdGU9c3JjLWxpdmU%3d#db=sch&AN=60677174

One religion

• All religions serve the same purpose despite how different they are, because they answer the basic questions of life.
• There would not be peace if there was only one religion because human beings are selfish in their nature.
• Being kept under the same religion will not keep people from committing crimes against each other as it has already been shown in the world.
• Everyone has their own individual thoughts and feelings, and there are some with very horrible thoughts and feelings who are not bound by religion.
• There will also be countless differences that will exist regardless of religion that threaten to divide people.
• Also, a common religion would do nothing to stop floods, earthquakes, and other natural disasters.
• Over time, the religion would diversify and different sects and forms of it will form until there are several, completely different religions.

1. What if there was no religion at all?
2. What was the first religion like?


http://find.galegroup.com/gic/retrieve.do?sgHitCountType=None&sort=Relevance&tabID=T006&prodId=GIC&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchId=R2&searchType=&currentPosition=1&qrySerId=Locale%28en%2C%2C%29%3AFQE%3D%28KE%2CNone%2C8%29religion%24&userGroupName=hins30136&inPS=true&docId=A193289779&contentSet=IAC-Documents&docId=A193289779&docType=IAC

Why is there religion?

To answer this question, I will ask these questions also.

1. What makes people like it?
2. How did it start
4.Why it spread
5.What if we were one religion
6. What if we had no religion

What I know is that religion has been there for a very long time and that its really fun for a lot of people.