A Religious Belief System

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses beliefs and religion, with particular focus on how an individual's beliefs can make up a religious belief system. The paper looks at how one acquires a religious belief system and the benefits and disadvantages of having such a system. The paper then looks at the role of tradition in one's religious belief system. In addition, the paper discusses the writer's particular belief system.

Table of Contents:
How Your Beliefs Make Up A Religious Belief System
How You Acquired Your Religious Belief System
The Benefits And Disadvantages Of Having Your Particular Belief System
The Role Of Tradition In Your Religious Belief System
The Conclusive Role of Tradition in General

From the Paper:

"Tradition is the foundation and infrastructure upon which religion is built, as without it religion would not be possible. Tradition is defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as an inherited, established, or customary pattern of thought, action, or behavior (as a religious practice or a social custom), or also a belief or story or a body of beliefs or stories relating to the past that are commonly accepted as historical although they are not verifiable. The entirely of religion is founded upon the concept of tradition. In regards to Christianity as with other religions and belief systems as mentioned above, the tradition is based upon a textual document or scripture. In Christianity this document would be the Christian Bible, which has become a more prominent topic in recent decades due to its role in defining religious traditions in the United States. (Hoffmann, Bartkowski 1245) Tradition is that which regulates the performance of the belief system or religion, and is the basis upon which they are constructed, oftentimes taking the form of a textual document or scripture such as the Bible , the Qur'an, or even non-religious belief systems such as those in business, for example Six Sigma, or even a concept such as democracy and the document upon which it is based, that of a Constitution."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Salaam, Abdul. "Religion as a belief system (excerpt)." ETC.: A Review of General Semantics. 61.1 (April 2004): 80(4). Expanded Academic ASAP. Gale. Worcester Public Library. 1 Nov. 2008 <http://find.galegroup.com.ezwx.ez.cwmars.org:58000/itx/start.do?prodId=EAIM>.
• Hoffmann, John P., and John P. Bartkowski. "Gender, religious tradition and biblical literalism." Social Forces. 86.3 (March 2008): 1245(28). General Reference Center Gold. Gale. Worcester Public Library. 1 Nov. 2008 <http://find.galegroup.com.ezwx.ez.cwmars.org:58000/itx/start.do?prodId=GRGM>.
• "Tradition." Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Retrieved on 31 October 2008, from:
• Morris, Henry; Clark, Martin. "The Bible Has the Answer." Retrieved on 31 October 2008, from:
• "The Bible." Retrieved on 24 August 2008, from:

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