Why Is Religion Important? Essay -- Why Study Religion?

Just as a candle cannot burn without fire, men cannot live without a spiritual life.-- BuddhaSo I say to you, Ask and it bequeath be given to you search, and you will find knock, and the door will be opened for you.--Jesus ChristWhether you consider yourself a religious person or not, or whether you think religion has played a positive or negative role in history, it is an incontrovertible fact that from the beginning of time, humans have move in activities that we now call religion, such as worship, prayer, and rituals marking important life passages. Moreover, religions have always asked fundamental questions, such as What is the true implication of life? What happens to us after death? How do we explain human suffering and injustices?The answers different religious traditions give to these important questions are many and wide-ranging and often contradictory. But the questions themselves are ones with which humans throughout time have grappled, and probably will continue to gra pple with into the indefinite future. Thus, one of the first reasons to psychoanalyze religion is sim...