Religion

Religion
There are three principal varieties of religion: monotheism, that is, believing in one God only, polytheism, believing in more than one God, and totemism , the worship and veneration of an animal or plant as both God and an Ancestor. Totemism is common among primitive peoples and the totem is nearly something important to the community as either a food source or a dangerous predator.

All forms of religion have certain basic elements in common: (1) the creation of the sacred (a sacred item is set apart from everyday life and evokes special respect and reverence), (2) the establishment of rituals which bring believers together in a group, (3) the establishment of a system of beliefs that helps to explain the meaning and purpose of the scared and the ritual, (4) the formation of an organization of believers to assure the continuity and effectiveness of the religious experience.

Religion appears to have a number of functions in modern societies. In times of crises, it can bring about a type of unity of religion generally supports the social order, its norms and institutions. It can also take on a prophetic function of protest against of the ills of the social order. Psychologically, religion has the function of giving people answers to moral questions and also a feeling of place and importance in the universe, it answers which can be sources of bewilderment and despair.

Most people are socialized into a religion, but some are converted to a new belief. Converts are people who feel that their earlier religion has failed them.