Perhaps the belief in religion and a Super Power began many, many years ago. Some say that man became aware of religion during the Upper Paleolithic Revolution, nearly 50,000 years ago.

Fact 1 What Is Religion

Religion refers to beliefs that may be on natural forces, some imaginary all-powerful deity, or belief in the Almighty who has a form to some followers while He is all-pervading without any shape or clear form. It is a cultural universal that is common in all human beings. Researchers explain that religion has grown alongside other developments like culture, education, art, music, etc. However, it is not known for sure when religion or the belief in divine power who controls all beings started. It is an abstract idea that varies from person to person and the expressions too vary accordingly.

Fact 2 Religion During The Agricultural Age

When agriculture became the main livelihood for humans and they settled in different places leaving behind their nomadic life, they looked upon the forces of nature as their God and the Giver of sun and rain that helped them to grow crops, etc to live a happy life. Although, there has been great technological developments in agriculture, no one can ignore the forces of nature like the sun and the rain that are responsible for agriculture of all kinds and also animal rearing. From this time a bond was established between God and man and everyone prayed to God for all his needs.

Fact 3 Religious References In Cave Art And Paintings

Some of the paintings found in ancient caves like the Gargas Caves in France, point out to the fact that our ancestors believed in the great powers of the spirits or maybe Gods and praying to them in deep caves without any outward disturbances would bring them good luck and peace.

Fact 4 Other Explanations

Some researchers classify Religion into three categories – Polytheistic (belief in many gods, e.g Hinduism); Pantheistic (all is God) and Monotheistic (Belief in One God, e.g. Christianity and Islam). Thus religion or belief in god or gods differed among the people throughout the world. There are different names by which we speak about that great force that controls everything present on earth. The methods of worshipping also differed according to each one’s belief and gradually those people who were considered as the seers of Truth explained the unmatched power of this Force. Gradually different structures were created where people could come together to pray and ask for blessings from God. Churches, Temples, Mosques, Gurudwaras, Monasteries were built by great architects from time to time.

Since people could not find much time to pray to God regularly with perfect concentration, special days were allotted when one is bound to visit the prayer centers to show his/her reverence and thankfulness to God for all that He has given us. All Christians go to their Churches on Sundays, just as the followers of Islam consider Friday as the most important day of prayer to their Allah.

Fact 5 Differences In Beliefs And Religions

During the early years, when man prayed on their own, the offerings and methods of prayer were solely on the discretion of the people. But as the ideas of religion spread, there grew up preachers and saints who moved from one place to another, explaining the strength of prayer and other theories. Polytheism is clearly explained in the Bhagavad Gita and it was the religion of ancient cultures like Egypt, Greece, Assyria, Rome and others. Pantheism was prevalent among the African and American-Indian cultures, later Egyptians, Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism also. Monotheism was most prominent among the Judeo-Christian-Muslim beliefs. We get the Jewish Scriptures, the Bible and the Quran explaining their ideas of Religion.