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What is Religion?

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What is Religion?
Print What is Religion? Reading Comprehension


Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 9 to 12
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	8.96

Vocabulary

	challenging words:		scribes, atheism, jewish, lightning-and, pantheism, reincarnate, religare, taoists, wonderings, zoroastrians, heavenly, mystical, deity, mahatma, scripture, writing
	content words:		Benjamin Franklin, Christopher Columbus, Middle East, Ahura Mazda, Holy Communion, Crispy Christmas, Mahatma Gandhi

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What is Religion? By Colleen Messina

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¹     People love to wonder. Can you remember how many questions you asked your parents when you were small? We wonder about the dark crevasses in the ocean floor, the nature of black holes, and what happens to us when we die. The billions of people on earth lead very different lives, but they are united in their ability to wonder.
 
²     Everyone has something special that they wonder about because people are naturally curious. Some people concentrate on the mysteries of the physical world. Benjamin Franklin boldly tied a key to a kite to understand lightning-and nearly fried himself in the process. Christopher Columbus bravely sailed to what many believed to be the edge of the flat earth to discover a new world. Other "explorers of the spirit" left kingdoms behind in order to discover more about the heavenly world. Their revelations and experiences became the cornerstones of the major world religions. All religions began with one person wondering about the meaning of life.
 
³     The word, "religion" comes from the Latin word religare, which means "to tie." People of all faiths believe that their religion ties them to a higher purpose. Some feel that religion ties them to a sense of community through shared values. Religion has also tied art, culture, and societies together for thousands of years. Magnificent buildings, beautiful works of art, and stirring books have been inspired by religious faith.
 
⁴     Religion helps people figure out the meaning of life and the mystery of death. Some faiths believe we only live once, while others, like Hinduism and Buddhism, believe that we reincarnate many times to fulfill our purpose. Long before any scribes scribbled on papyrus, religion has been important to men, whether they called it "religion" or not.

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